memeorandum: Graham: Bridge controversy reinforces ‘troublesome’ rap on Christie (First Read/NBCNews)

9:45 AM ET, January 10, 2014

Top Items:

CNN:

Christie's choice: Be seen as a crook or a schnook? — Scandal is unfolding around New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over lane closures on the George Washington Bridge as part of a political vendetta to punish a local mayor who wouldn't support him at the polls.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Week, The Daily Caller, Democratic Strategist, ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast and The Raw Story

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Chris Christie's damage control — Chris Christie did about as well as he could, given the circumstances. All he can do now is wait, and hope it passes without many more revelations. — That was the sentiment coming from people who wanted to offer support to the Republican governor of New Jersey …

Discussion: Guardian

Nate Schweber / New York Times:

Woman Says Lane Closings Were Not to Blame for Her Mother's Death — The daughter of a 91-year-old woman from Fort Lee, N.J., who died on the day of a major traffic jam precipitated by top aides to Gov. Chris Christie said on Thursday that she did not believe the inability of an ambulance …

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

So, Christie Says He Couldn't Pick Fort Lee Mayor ‘Out of a Lineup’... Really? — A photo posted on the New Jersey governor's own website, taken at a news conference on Dec. 8, 2011, tells a different story. The photo shows Christie speaking on the issue of sick pay reform with several mayors …

Discussion: Washington Post, New Jersey Online, TheBlaze.com, ABC News and Politico

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Kean: Christie questions remain — Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, a longtime mentor to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said Thursday that Christie handled a nearly two-hour press conference “extraordinarily well,” but that questions remain about the bridge controversy that has been linked to his office.

Discussion: The Fix and CNN

Dan Merica / CNN:
U.S. attorney probing Christie has opened wallet to Democrats

Discussion: Politico, NewsBusters blogs, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, The Moderate Voice and No More Mister Nice Blog

Rush Limbaugh:
RINOs Stampede Away from Christie

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Politico

Elizabeth Titus / Politico:
Chris Christie ally David Wildstein pleads Fifth to panel

Discussion: CNN, The Fix, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

John Dickerson / Slate:
His press conference was bold, but if anything he said turns out to be false, he could be finished.

Discussion: Hot Air, Hit & Run, American Spectator and The Daily Caller

The Hill:
Christie tries to stop the bleeding

Discussion: Politico

First Read / NBCNews:
Graham: Bridge controversy reinforces ‘troublesome’ rap on Christie

Discussion: First Read, CNN, Roll Call, Mediaite and The Hill

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Four Uncomfortable Questions From Chris Christie's Bridgegate Press Conference

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Hullabaloo, The Dish and Talking Points Memo

The Star-Ledger Editorial Page:
Chris Christie bridge scandal: Humbled gov still has explaining to do (Editorial)

Discussion: Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, NBCNews and The Rude Pundit

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:
Conservatives on Chris Christie: Diva Getting What He Deserves

Discussion: First Read, Forbes, Ross Douthat, The Political Carnival, ThinkProgress, Politico and New York Times

David Voreacos / Bloomberg:
Christie Ally Seeks to Block Testimony on Bridge Scandal

Discussion: The Reaction

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Over Two Weeks Ago, Christie Claimed His Staff Gave Him a ‘Full Briefing’ on Bridgegate

Discussion: Salon, The Dish, The Reality-Based Community, Hot Air, Daily Kos, CANNONFIRE, Michelle Malkin, NewsBusters, Talking Points Memo and The Federalist

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Liberal Self-Identification Edges Up to New High in 2013 — Fifteen-percentage-point conservative advantage ties as smallest to date — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans continue to be more likely to identify as conservatives (38%) than as liberals (23%). But the conservative advantage …

Discussion: Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Real Clear Politics, CNN, Weasel Zippers and The Dish

Josh Hicks / Washington Post:

Obama donor leading Justice Department's IRS investigation — Two Republican lawmakers and a conservative legal group are questioning the Justice Department's selection of a Democratic donor to lead the agency's probe into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of certain advocacy groups during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.

Discussion: Hot Air, Da Tech Guy On DaRadio Blog, The Other McCain and Washington Times

Wall Street Journal:
Contrast the Governor's contrition with Obama's lack thereof.

Discussion: Betsy's Page, The Hugh Hewitt Show and National Review

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
FBI chief warns on intel reforms, Snowden

Discussion: ABC News

Communications / OpenSecrets.org:

Millionaires' Club: For First Time, Most Lawmakers are Worth $1 Million-Plus — For the first time in history, most members of Congress are millionaires, according to a new analysis of personal financial disclosure data by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Discussion: TIME, The Verge, Political Capital, DCist, Politico, CNN and First Read

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Half of Congress Members Are Millionaires, Report Says

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Reid's Uncompromising Power Play in Senate Rankles Republicans — WASHINGTON — With his strong-armed change to the filibuster rule and an iron-fisted control of the Senate floor, Senator Harry Reid has engaged in the greatest consolidation of congressional power since Newt Gingrich ruled the House …

Discussion: Liberaland

New York Times:

Obama Seeks Balance in Plan for Spy Programs — WASHINGTON — As he assembles a plan to overhaul the nation's surveillance programs, President Obama is trying to navigate what advisers call a middle course that will satisfy protesting national security agencies while tamping down criticism by civil liberties advocates.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Intel panel: DOD report finds Snowden leaks helped terrorists

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake, Freedom of the Press …, Politico, Hit & Run and The Moderate Voice

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Begich misses jobless vote for speech in Hawaii — Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) missed a procedural vote on extending unemployment benefits to deliver a speech to a lobby group in Hawaii, The Hill has learned. — Begich delivered a keynote speech Wednesday morning to the American Aviation Issues conference …

Discussion: Roll Call

John P / Pew Research Center:

Who is this man? Many Americans don't recognize top news anchor — Nightly News is now the nightly White House propaganda , it's talking points , personal attacks and lies. They don't even give reeivent news. I stopped watching the communist run media when I got my first computer.

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs, Poynter, Mediaite, TVNewser and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Steven Russolillo / MoneyBeat:

Live From New York! It's Jobs Friday! … Yes, it's that time again, folks. The time when for one ever-so-brief moment the interests of Wall Street, Washington and Main Street are all aligned on one thing: Jobs. — The Labor Department said U.S. payrolls rose by 74,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 7%.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:

U.S. job growth weakest in three years — (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired the fewest workers in almost three years in December, but the setback was likely to be temporary amid signs that cold weather conditions might have had an impact. — Nonfarm payrolls rose only 74,000 last month …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Hot Air

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

The Kids Are Alright: Another Obamacare Lesson from Massachusetts — Last month, everybody wanted to know how many people were signing up for Obamacare. This month, everybody wants to know how many healthy people are signing up for Obamacare. — It's a reasonable question.