Star-Ledger: Chris Christie Endorsement Was A Mistake
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Newark Star-Ledger is eating its supportive words about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
New Jersey's largest newspaper says it now regrets endorsing the Republican governor for re-election last year.
In a column posted Sunday on the Star-Ledger's website, editorial page editor Tom Moran writes, "We blew this one" and refers to Christie as the "most overrated politician in the country."
The editorial comes weeks after emails revealed Christie aides orchestrated lane closures on a bridge for apparent political retribution and a Democratic mayor accused the Christie administration of tying superstorm Sandy aid to her support of a real estate development project. Christie has denied involvement in each.
"Yes, we knew Christie was a bully," Moran wrote. "But we didn't know his crew was crazy enough to put people's lives at risk in Fort Lee as a means to pressure the mayor. We didn't know he would use Hurricane Sandy aid as a political slush fund. And we certainly didn't know that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer was sitting on a credible charge of extortion by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno."
Moran says the 2013 endorsement had been a close call, but Christie's opponent just wasn't up to the job. Moran says the newspaper opposed several of Christie's policies but felt he had made progress on improving education and reforming pension and health care costs.
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