Watch CBS News

John Dickerson on Chris Christie speech: "You could almost hear the page turning"

Photos have surfaced of the New Jersey governor with two political appointees involved in the scandal
Christie's bridge scandal: New photos bring new controversy 03:20

In his State of the State address Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie touched on the George Washington Bridge scandal, but only briefly. The governor conceded "mistakes were clearly made" and promised cooperation in all inquiries. He then turned to policy issues.

CBS News political director John Dickerson told the co-hosts of "CBS This Morning" this strategy was well thought out.

"You could almost hear the page turning in that speech," Dickerson said. "The governor is now saying, 'This is important, but here are the other things I care about - education, crime.'"

Christie: Bridge scandal “does not define” New Jersey 02:42

 Dickerson noted that many times during the 46-minute-long speech, Christie used the word "we" in talking about his administration's push on the issues moving forward.


"He didn't use the first person singular, talking about himself," he said. This, Dickerson said, was part of an effort to stress a spirit of bipartisanship.

"One thing that will be interesting to see is, as he goes forward trying to fight for these programs, will he change the way he has been effective in the past, that brusque manner that he used to boast about; have his wings been clipped a little?" Dickerson asked.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday still shows a great deal of support for Christie in New Jersey. Dickerson said that is definitely good news for the governor: "For now it looks like he's weathered that first wave of public opinion."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.