[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me this morning. Happening now, opening bell on Wall Street. U.S. stock futures just a bit higher, but Macy's stock surged in free market trading. The retailer said it would cut 2,500 workers and the street loved it. Back to our big top story now, the New Jersey traffic jam scandal that has involved the administration of Governor Chris Christie. At the center of the controversy are top aides to Christie and a mayor there accused of targeting for political revenge. One of these top players, David Wildstein, was a highest level Christie appointee for the New Jersey Port Authority. The Port Authority is the group that operates the bridge connecting New Jersey and New York. Wildstein received an e-mail from Christie's deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, who told Wildstein, quote, "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." That was believed to be an order to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge, that would be the nation's busiest crossing into New York City. That bridge also leads to Fort Lee, New Jersey, which is the jurisdiction of this man, the Democrat Mayor Mark Sokolich. Reports say Sokolich and the city of Fort Lee were targeted by Christie's aides after Sokolich refused to back Christie during his re-election bid. Chris Christie's tough talking, no-nonsense style has made for some very memorable moments. Here's a look back at Christie's take on everything from reporters who go off topic, to a presidential election scheduled for just a few weeks after Superstorm Sandy.
[Unidentified Male:] On Monday. Are you going to be addressing the legislature?
[Gov. Chris Christie . New Jersey:] Did I say on topic? Are you are you stupid? On topic. On topic. Next question. Good. Thank thank you. Thank you. Thank you all very much and I'm sorry for the idiot over there. I find it fascinating that a doctor in Arizona who's never met me, never examined me, never reviewed my medical history or records, knows nothing about my family history, could make a diagnosis from 2,400 miles away. She must be a genius. You have numbnuts that Reed Gusciora who put out a statement, you know, comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox. Now, you know, come on, guys, at some point you've got to be able to call B.S. on those kind of press releases.
[Unidentified Female:] You don't send your children to public schools. You send them to private schools. So I was wondering why you think it's fair to be cutting school funding to public schools.
[Christie:] What's her name?
[Unidentified Male:] What's her name, guys, real quick, because the governor's talking. What is it? Gail. Talk to Gail.
[Christie:] Gail, you know what, first off, it's none of your business. I don't ask you where you send your kids to school. Don't bother me about where I send mine. I don't give a damn about election day. It doesn't matter a lick to me. At the moment, I've got much bigger fish to fry than that. So do the people of the state of New Jersey.
[Costello:] So some people love that tough talking and some people, well, they don't love it so much. But let's talk about that. Larry Sabato is the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. John Avlon is a CNN political analyst and executive editor for "The Daily Beast." Good morning to both of you.
[Larry Sabato, Director, University Of Virginia Ctr. For Politics:] Good morning.
[John Avlon, Cnn Political Analyst, Cnn Political Analyst:] Good morning.
[Costello:] OK, so this isn't the first time Christie has been accused of retaliation or bullying. He's known for this. The question is, will this scandal have ramifications nationwide? Will people really be so upset at this that it will ruin Christie's chances of possibly becoming president of the United States. Larry, I'll start with you.
[Sabato:] Well, Carol, first, we have to know whether Governor Christie had any knowledge of this at the time the bridge was closed or those lanes on the bridge were closed. Second, we need to know whether he participated in any way in the cover-up after the incident first occurred. Assuming the answer is no to both of those questions, and assuming he does the obvious thing, which is to clean house of his own appointees who were involved in this, then I think he can go forward. But clearly people are going to have a lot of questions about what kind of person Chris Christie is, and that's appropriate for a presidential campaign. Being governor of New Jersey is one thing. The enormous power in the Oval Office can easily be misused by a vindictive, bullying chief executive. We once had one. His name was Richard Nixon. And his staff reflected his values. So that's what we have to find out. Do the staffers in Christie's office reflect his values? Assuming Christie was not involved.
[Costello:] Well, and, John, lest we forget, this isn't the first time Christie has been accused of political retaliation. "The New York Times" reports a former governor was stripped of police security at public events. A Rutgers professor lost state financing for cherished programs. A state senator lost his candidacy for a judgeship. It suddenly stalled for some reason. Another state senator was disinvited from an event with the governor in his own district. So maybe Christie can recover from bridge-gate, but what about the rest, because surely all of that's going to come out now.
[Avlon:] Well, Carol, look, politics is perception. And the problem of this particular scandal and we'll know more after Christie's 11:00 press conference, which really could be pivotal in terms of the narrative of his administration and any future political attributions he might have. But politics and perception. And the flip-side of being a tough guy is that your opponents call you a bully. We've seen this, especially in a tri-state area. When prosecutors become politicians, Rudy Giuliani, Eliot Spitzer, that that is an accusation that gets thrown around. Sometimes it is dead-on accurate. Sometimes it's just political opponents trying to find the negative spin on a core tribute that seems to be broadly popular. Chris Christie is broadly popular New Jersey, but this is what his opponents have been griping about for a long time and all of a sudden you have a very urgent smoking gun and national media attention and that's why this is such a pivotal moment in the Christie administration.
[Costello:] You know, Larry, Dana Bash brought up something interesting, you know, on "New Day." She said that Republicans weren't so into Chris Christie anyway. And it wasn't because of his bullying, it was because of his politics. So maybe we're just jumping the gun here thinking that Christie had any chance of winning the presidency in 2016 anyway.
[Avlon:] Well,
[Sabato:] Well, Carol, that's what I've been saying. Look, I keep reading in the press that Chris Christie is the front-runner for the Republican nomination. No, there is no front-runner. There's not a single one of the approximately eight potential candidates that even has 20 percent of the Republican vote in the primaries. So Chris Christie and no one else is a front-runner. And Chris Christie has problems wholly apart from, you know, whether he's a bridge over troubled water, which he clearly is not. He's got problems with some of the social issues. He's considered too moderate by much of the Republican base. So I think you're absolutely right.
[Costello:] Well, the other question, John, is, New Jersey's newspaper came out and said, if these allegations are true, if Christie is lying about his possible role in bridge-gate, then he's not fit to hold office. Could he lose his governorship?
[Avlon:] Well, I mean, look, you know, if it is found that Chris Christie knew about this and lied to the people in New Jersey, of course that becomes very, very, very serious. His core attribute as a politician is that he's straightforward, he's blunt, he's honest. And if all of a sudden, you know, one of the core political sins is hypocrisy. And if that gets undercut and we find that Chris Christie knew about this, that becomes very, very serious. There's also questions about the aides who ordered this shutdown. Not just whether it was reflecting tone from the top. Whether it's a Thomas A. Beckett-type situation or something more sinister. But also, when you slow down traffic and all of a sudden ambulances can't get to people, there are statutes on the book that could make that a criminal matter. But that will be played out over the coming days and weeks.
[Costello:] All right, John Avlon and Larry Sabato, thanks so much for playing with me today. I appreciate it.
[Avlon:] Take care, Carol.
[Costello:] Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Chris Christie has long touted his ability to rise above petty politics. But was he just saying the right things get elected? Dana Bash live on Capitol Hill. Hi, Dana.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Chief Congressional Correspondent:] Hi there, Carol. Well, the sound of silence among congressional Republicans is deafening right now. But I'll tell you the way Republicans who have been on the receiving end of some of Christie's blunt talks are quietly reacting, right after the break.