going do after four paragraphs in the speech. but in that same poll, his approval rating was 59%. i would say that christie supporter could take heart from that poll. that, yeah, jersians are skeptical people and cynical people and realistic people. and he may not have told every tiny truth in 1 hour and 48 minutes last week. so for 51% to say they think he's not telling the truth, i think there are other numbers in that poll that offset that. >> okay. >> and michael, as you know, this story is very much being played out both locally and nationally. conservatives around the country are still debating, figuring out how legitimate he will be come 2016. and that will continue to play out. but help us understand the feel more locally on the ground. you've been following this very closely. is it your sense that both republicans and democrats see christie over the next four

years as still being very much a power player? >> i think where this stands right now, the consensus among trenton insiders who have followed the governor closely, seems to be, that if there's nothing else, he can survive this scandal and his presidential aspirations will survive his scandal. may even help him in the long run. he certainly is known everywhere now. but if there are more revelations and this scandal so far has unfolded in chapters so we don't know if we're at the final chapter. if there's more and if it goes higher, it could be very serious for his ambitions. >> and, michael, as we're looking at you, we're of course, looking at live footage there in the capitol of trenton waiting for governor christie's state of the state address. and another issue that's coming up as we've been interviewing

both republicans and democrats in new jersey. we hear time to time that people have good working relationships with the governor. i put that in quotes. we've heard from people who have been affiliated with some of these paybacks and are looking forward to working with him in a second term. that surprised some of us you were there and talking to people regularly. why so much emphasis across the aisle of working closely with this governor, even in the midst of the scandal? >> well it's not clear if they're going to continue to work that closely with him. this is now the start of his second term. in fact, the legislature was reorganized today. and he delivers his inaugural address for his second term a week from today. they have to work with him if they want to get anything done. but there's a sense that the second term is going to be tougher for him than the first term. in part, because of his

presidential aspirations. and they don't want to be seen as rolling over for that. he also is likely to find maybe a little bit more independence in the republican half of the legislature, than was shown in the first four years, when nobody would cross him for anything. because there was sometimes a price to be paid for it. there was a leadership fight here about three weeks ago. tom kean, jr., the leader, survived the fight despite chris christie in another leadership position and that may have emboldened republicans so i don't know there's going to be a second honeymoon next week. >> you mentioned, michael, a price to be paid. and that goes to show whether that's usual politics or whether governor christie and his aides were ethical or illegal. we'll let you get inside. thanks for your time. >> thank you.

absolutely as we wait for governor christie to take the podium we're bringing in josh bear barrel, covering chris christie. and jonathan cape from "the washington post" and how it could end up causing more damage. let me start with you, josh, you were there when chris christie was capping at the time -- a short time ago, was considered an incredible bipartisan victory in new jersey. we covered it here. a lot of republicans around the country were excited by that. what by your time on the ground in new jersey as we're waiting for the governor to come out, what is the differences in your mind? >> i think there's a difference in the state and nationally. nationally, this turns something that's been an asset for christie that he has an ability to bring people together and force compromises into something

that may be a liability. and people are asking how is he enforcing that within the state. i think within the state of new jersey, though in a sense there's go be ton about inclination of wrongfulness. i think there are democrats closely involved in the legislation who are going to keep pushing this story and something that's a headache for the governor for months to come. but i also think there's an appetite on both sides of the aisle in new jersey to do the legislative things that they were planning to do this year. i think that's what the governor is going to spend all of his time talking about in the state of the state address. i think if you had an analogous that was affecting president obama, i think they would try to do political damage. i think in new jersey, republicans are going to be wanting to inflict political damage on the opponent but also wanting to get things done with

the governor. and that will involve not training all the fire on him that they could. >> jonathan, another theme that you've been writing about in the past from chris christie is his ego. even in his lengthy press conference, even in his apology, it was really more about him being the victim and him firing bridget kelly because she lied to him. not so much because of the actions that she took. is this a dangerous neetheme fo chris christie going forward. we also saw criticism of him in the same vein after he delivered a speech. >> right in tampa. i was there in tampa and i remember hearing the christie s of time talking about him. and the press conference which was dubbed the me, me, mea culpa

which is too many mes and mys. when he was asked the question about the 2016 presidential ambitions, he didn't push them aside and say this isn't about that, this is about now and the 4-year-old and the thousands who were late to work and couldn't get 0 work. this is what this is about. i'm going to make sure this never happens again to them. that wasn't in anything that he said, so chris christie going forward, let's say he weathers this storm -- sorry, no pun intended here -- but if he weathers this, he has to remember to keep that me, i, my in check. >> yeah, watch the puns. >> frank, i am not for the christie over 2016 camp. people in that camp, notably joan walsh. and john cape, the way it works it's not that the voters are

going to abandon him, but that this creates a series of liabilities that republican opponents can easily exploit. he's untrustworthy, he hugged obama. and he surrendered on obamacare. where are you on this. do you think that chris christie is trending towards over for 2016? or will this be forgotten by a country that has a short memory at times? >> well, first of all, we still have no clue why this happened so you're asking me to guess, which i'm happy to do because that's what i'm on here for. i've got a foot and a half on he's in deep trouble. i would go beyond what john cape said. in a best case scenario in which everything that christie said in his news conference last week is absolutely true. he has no culpability whatsoever. we have a staff that is at the very senior level completely out

of control, exercising horrific judgment and what appears to be atrocious values. that's not a good calling card for 2016, no matter what party you're in. >> stay with us. i want to bring in michael isikoff live outside the jersey state house in trenton. give us a sense of what's going on right now. >> well, i think everybody's waiting to hear from the governor but, look, we now know, as we just reported, the governor is going to refer to the george washington bridge matter in the first couple paragraphs of the speech and then try to pivot and move on. and he will do that. but there are certain investigative steps that are now in motion that he is powerless to stop at this point. the supercommittee is going to be formed. we just got an announcement on thursday they're going to convene. the first matter is going to be renewal of subpoena power.

and the expectation is that on thursday, or friday at the latest, there will be a new round of subpoenas. specifically to bridget kelly for her e-mails and bill stepien, the governor's former campaign manager. so those, how those get responded to, and what we see, what documents we see, what more we learn are going to be crucial factors in how this plays out. david wildstein took the fifth amendment last week. he is, you know, a critical player in all of this, as far as all the testimony goes. he was the guy that implemented the lane closures on the bridge. all we know is, prior to doing that, he had this communication from bridget kelly. time for traffic problems in ft. lee. is bridget -- will bridget kelly testify? if she does, will she take the fifth amendment? those are big questions that are sort of beyond christie's

ability to influence at this point. and for him to get beyond this, people are going to want to see beyond those questions. and hear the accounts from bridget kelly, david stepien and bills wou bill. >> i want to bring up a recent pew poll that came out just four days after the scandal. but it gave you a sense of how people were affected, at least in the beginning stages. it shows 60%, really, their opinion did not change of governor chris christie. it made me wonder two things, either they just don't care. or this sort of behavior is essentially expected from the governor of new jersey. how do you read that? >> well, i don't think the impacts that we'll see on public opinion nationally are the importants ones that we'll see today. what will happen this will be on the image of chris christie.

in a general election and more importantly in a presidential primary will use to try to define him. part of the reason why the scandal is damaging is because it's so simple. everybody can relate to being stuck in a traffic jam so it will be easy to tell a story about why this scandal was and why it says a negative thing about chris christie or his leadership. i wouldn't look too closely at the pew poll today but i do think there's potential for damage in the hands of a savvy opponent. >> you already see that in the brand. in the previous state of the state address, chris christie said the last two years chris christie set the governance in america. be honest, don't mince words. those are chris christie's words. we're not going to hear that kind of brand that we see as we wait for him to come out. frank, i want to pick up on two things, one i heard you say

earlier, if i understood you right we don't know exactly why it happened. i'm pretty sure we know broadly why it happened at least according to the contemporaneous information that we have. there was a desire and even a glee at punishing democrats and people that they saw were their political enemies. that's in the e-mails. >> but which ones? >> but we know it was political retribution. >> right. the point i'm making it was designed to punish people. and what michael isikoff mentioned, as this turned into a series of investigations, the politics will proceed for some time, but the information can be extremely damaging. i want to be clear for viewers to try to understand where this goes. there are state and state legislature on one track. the federal investigation, the u.s. attorney's office is in

inquiry right now. and it if proceeds to a full investigation, you could have a grand jury required where you don't get to plead the fifth. those people will be brought up and have to give answers. your thoughts on any of that? >> i think people like us tend to talk about political spin a lot -- >> --! >> no. >> you can't spin your way out of something like that. >> right. >> it doesn't matter what chris christie says. it will either be exonerated and this will look like a serious management lapse on his part in hiring people he should not have hired and empowering people he should not have empowered or it will be far more serious than that. and i presume both the democrats and the legislature, and whatever federal investigations are pursued, they're going to deliver at least most of those facts. >> and, jonathan, the other part

of this story is since the initial bridge revelations have come out, we've seen story after story, hmm, was i targeted, one mayor had all these meetings lined up with cabinet-level folks. all of a sudden, when he decided not to endorse christie, suddenly those meetings weren't going to happen anymore. you had another mayor who failed christie's legislation and suddenly the dmv was moved -- we'll get back to that as christie comes in. but there seems to be a theme of culture developing that people are talking about around this administration. with a lot of different stories indicating that maybe we can't quite pin it on christie. but maybe there is more than just this one bridge scandal to look at. >> yeah, what the mayors are now talking about and what we've all been talking about is the bully factor. chris christie has this reputation of being a bully. we saw it when gayle called into

a radio show to ask whether he sends his kids or public school, he said, gayle, that's none of your business. he and i got on a fight on "morning joe." he's gotten into fights with reporters all the time during his governorship. but what we're seeing here, and i think what has empowered the mayors in terms of trying to find out whether they have been -- whether a vendetta has been taken out against them because of positions they've taken that the governor doesn't like is because it fits in with a pattern of behavior from the governor or from the governor's administration that shows that, you know, he's willing to do things big and small. petty and not so petty to get back at people who haven't done things he wants them to do. or who have said things -- have said things that he doesn't like. >> frank, a lot of people have made that point that john just made. quickly, is it a stretch to see chris christie at this point as

nixonian? >> well, he almost promoted his image as a bully. and then we have a staff acting like bull lisies. the narrative writes itself but of the facts dictate how this ends. >> josh, this is interesting this invariably will be a drip-drip situation. but there are folks who say i knew chris christie was this bully type. that's actually the part of him that i liked. if there's no linkage here, he may survive the storm and come out fine. >> i would separate this into a couple of things. the stuff about the mayor of jersey city having the meetings canceled. that's kind of seems like you give more access to your political allies. what caused this to go haywire is they took this bizarre -- >> i'm going to interrupt you right now and go right to governor christie.

>> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. happy new year. lieutenant governor, mr. speaker, congratulations. mr. president. members of the state legislature. friends and fellow new

jerseyans. now, the last week has certainly tested this administration. the stamistakes were clearly ma and as a result, we let down the people we were entrusted to serve. i know our citizens deserve better. much better. now, i'm the governor, and i'm ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch, both good and bad. and without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure that this breach of trust does not happen again. but i also want to assure the people of new jersey today that what has occurred does not define us or our state. this administration and this legislature will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives of new jersey to be delayed for any reason. [ applause ]

i am the leader of this state and its people. and i stand here today proud to be both. [ applause ] but also, those of you who know me know i am always, always determined to do better. so, now, i come before you once again for my fourth time to report to you on the state of our state. and the good news is that today,

the state of our state is good, and it is getting better. [ applause ] let's remember, that four years ago right now we were in the throes of an economic crisis. today, our unemployment rate is 7.8%, that is the lowest in five years. [ applause ] four years ago, we were losing jobs. today, we have gained 70,000 jobs in 2013 alone and a total of 150,000 in the last four years. [ applause ] four years ago, wealth and jobs

were leaving the state. today, personal income for new jerseyan s is at an all-time high. and we're attracting new companies, and that has brought jobs. we now have four straight years of private sector job growth. [ applause ] in fact, in november, the drop in our unemployment rate has the largest one-month drop ever measured. and in the last year, new jersey had the second largest drop in its unemployment rate in america, only behind the state of north carolina. and we could have chosen to go down a path of continued tax increases and fund the state's addiction to spending, but we didn't. we held the line against any new taxes and brought spending, in the current fiscal year, to a level below fiscal year 2008 six

years ago. now, we do have let state government grow even while the private sector shrank, but we didn't. today, there are 6,000 fewer state employees than when i took office four years ago. but there are more than 155,000 new private sector employees. we've improved our business climate. and today by every measure, business confidence in new jersey is up. in fact, one national magazine ranked new jersey among the top five states with the most improved business climates in america. [ applause ] it's no accident how we got to this place today. no accident at all. we chose, we chose the way.

and in this new year and in the next four years, we need to build on this momentum by creating a new attitude. we need to create an attitude of choice. attitude of choice is not about choosing everything. it's not about saying yes to everyone. it is about us, setting our priorities, and choosing to invest in new jersey where it matters. and to put in place the reforms and the reductions that will make that possible. and the best part of our turnaround in these past four years is because we have chosen to work together. let's take a moment. these are our achievements. four balanced budgets, passed with bipartisan support. pension reform, passed with bipartisan support. teacher tenure reform.

passed by bipartisan support. a cap on property taxes, passed by bipartisan support. we acted. and we koacted together. even though the competition amongst states is fierce, the record on this is clear. no state in this country has shown more bipartisan cooperation and governance over the last four years than new jersey, and our people are proud of it. [ applause ] let's resolve today that we will continue to put those people who are proud of us now, that we'll put them first. that we'll choose to do our jobs. now, one of the things that we know historically has driven people out of new jersey is high property taxes. in 2010, together we capped

them. and the 2% cap has worked. in these past two years, property tax growth has been the lowest in two decades. but the job is far from finished. property taxes are still too high. so, today, i ask for you to join me in enacting a new property tax relief initiative that tackles the root causes that are driving up property taxes in the first place. but, first, let's get some context. the 2% cap we've already enacted has worked for a reason. the reason it's worked is because we've done it by controlling costs. we accompany it with reform of an interest arbitration award system that we all knew needed fixing. as you know, the interest arbitration cap was not permanent. it is set to expire this april, unless we act. so, i ask you today, both sides of the aisle, with the cap on

the arbitration interest awards that is working and let's make that cap permanent before the deadline in april. [ applause ] another reason property taxes are so high is that our cities and our towns are stuck with a series of costly state rules that increase the cost of local government. as the cost of government grows, taxpayers, property taxpayers, are paying the price. now, we've worked with the senate to try to pass real consolidation and civil service, shared services reform. we haven't yet got it done in the assembly. we need to have an effort that includes everyone responsible for property taxes. the senate, the assembly, our administration. and local governments. to provide them with the authority to run their

governments like a business, to consolidate, to share services, to cut duplication, and ultimately to reduce property taxes. don't think it's possible? let's look at what happened last year in princeton. now, princeton borough, princeton township talked about this for a long time, but finally, they consolidated into a single government. no two tax departments, no two police forces answering the phone. the savings in one year, $3 million. that's on a budget of $64 million. that's a 4.7% savings on their budget. and the citizens of princeton got this in return. more services, despite a smaller budget. and imagine this, a reduction in their municipal taxes. now, that's not just an opinion. the local unit alignment reorganization and consolidation

commission, if you think that's easy to say, let me try it one more time -- no, i'm not going to do it. they said that the civil service seniority rules were at the top of the list of barriers to shared services. so let's help our towns clear away from arcane rules that stand between them and lower property taxes. now, when it comes to driving costs, let's not forget, i can't imagine you could, the expensive practice of six-figure sick leave payouts for government employees. sick time should be used when you're sick. and if you are lucky enough to be healthy, that should be your reward. sick leave has been abused too many times, and the cost is real. almost $1 billion in liability. facing new jersey towns, $880 million to be exact as we stand here today. and it will only get higher if

the system is not fixed. these reforms are common sense. so let's lift this billion-dollar albatross off the nexts of new jersey towns. let's together in a bipartisan way, enact that zero means zero plan, and stop these payouts in their tracks and the harm it does to their taxpayers. >> we've been listening to governor chris christie in his state of the state of new jersey, talking at the beginning, about the bridgegate scandal, addressing that without saying the name. and then moving on to the business of the state. and, abby, one of the things that struck me here, in the brief opening that he did, refusing to the bridge scandal without actually directly saying it. he said i want to assure the people of new jersey today that what has occurred does not define us as a state, this administration, this legislature, will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives of new jersey to be delayed -- i'm just amazed as the way this guy

is able to turn this around as such a shared challenge that we're in this to overcome it? >> that's why he's such a politician. if i were in this, that is what i would tell him to do, we can get through this together. we're not going to let the national narrative define the state. there's a great piece last week entitled the "i" in chris christie's storm. i am the governor of the state, i represent this state. and we very much saw that there. but you know, he came across very strong. very passive, though. he very much wants to get past this controversy and really talk about the state of new jersey. seems like he's doing a fine job of doing that. >> we're looking at live footage of chris christie in the state of the state address. he addressed the scandal, saying mistakes were clearly made.

as kristal has pointed out he's trying to make this as something that happened to new jersey -- >> right, and happened to him. >> what happened is his aides perpetuated a political comeback that has affected aides. it's a governor that hasn't changed the lyrics. in its heart, in uplooking upwardly looking emphasis strikes me as incredibly off key. this is a man whose administration was accused of inappropriate payback against this political enemies. and he's still trying to give an address for the state and beyond and trying to tout a bipartisan

situation that really isn't there. he was getting a lot of applause, i will note, from both sides of the aisle today. >> can i hit on that a little bit? because he is still the governor of the state of new jersey and he had time to address that in the press conference that lasted nearly two hours. you're still the governor and still have to give the state of the state address and talk about the issues that affect your state. obviously, he opened up with the issue at hand. i will push back and say i think he's handling this well. and i think he has to speak when there's a time. >> and abby is referring to what is calls the most watched state of the state address in the history of american states. i don't think he's as dead as smart folks are saying. and i don't think he's anywhere as certain as some smart folks are saying. he's an extraordinarily talented as noted on the show several times. and i see on the right a desire

for masculinity. brett hume talked about this the other day. and being a bully, i think there are some on the right who will like that and warm to that rather than certain people farther to the right ideologi l ideologically and will not reed into that. >> you know what else they will like the sense that the quote/unquote media is attacking him. there's a scenario in my mind where this turns around to help him in the primary if they feel like he's being attacked by the liberal media. we have the all-star christie panel. up next, michael isikoff at the state house in trenton. bus msnbc's mike murray is going to join "the cycle." ♪ [ laughs ]

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governor chris christie state of the state address. we're going to bring back nbc's national correspondent michael isikoff live outside the state house in trenton. michael, i want to start with something we heard breaking news from governor christie he said at the top of the state of the state address that we're still watching, quote, without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to assure that this breach of trust will not happen again. what does that line mean to you? and does that mean that he will make all of his aides available to testify in the inquiries? >> exactly. that was the news in the speech. when he said, that's the one that has consequences. what he seems to be saying there is he's committed to turning over documents. turning over e-mails, text messages, directing the staff to staff to testify. assuming they get subpoenaed, and not invoking executive privilege over any of the matters within his office.

and that is pretty significant. i would remind you that a prior governor, jon corzine, had invoked executive privilege on a matter that was before him. christie seems to be saying here he will not do that. now there is that caveat word in there "appropriate inquiries." now, what does that mean, and is he suggesting that there might be inquiries throughout that inappropriate. he could have just said, we will cooperate with all inquiries. so, we don't know. but on its face, he's made a pretty significant commitment here. and, remember, at the end of the day, he could very well get subpoenaed himself. to get a full accounting of what happened here. >> certainly. >> with supercommittee, newly created, going to meet on thursday, will almost inevitably want to hear the governor's account of what he knew, when he knew it, and under oath.

so given that, i think, like i said before, that's the news in the speech. and he's, in some respects, boxed himself in if he does anything less than full cooperation. people are going to be playing and replaying that one line over and over again. >> michael isikoff thank you very much. joining us nbc political editor mark murray. charlie cooke interesting people in the "national journal" he said this chris christie 2016 thing is laughable before the bridge flap. i want to get your take. he says i don't sense this back to the bort mentality in the republican party not strongly enough to make such a dramatic shift and nominate christie as a center-right as opposed to a right-right candidate. that would require an attitudal change on the right that doesn't seem to have happened yet. do you buy this idea that chris christie is not right enough for

the right in america today? >> i buy it to a point. there is a sense that chris krikri chris christie would be seen as the centrist character and that's not a good place for republicans running in primaries but just look at the last two presidential elections. john mccain and mitt romney and will they do that again. and it seems that the way they've actually done in trying to take the most eelectable person has won at the end of the day. of course, you can look and say john mccain won the nomination because he ended up having mitt romney tanking in iowa and new hampshire and having enough money. and in 2012 that mitt romney faced a whole host of other characters that couldn't beat him. but, you know, i do think chris christie would be formidable even with this, but, yes, you look at people like scott walker

and others he would face serious ideological questions. >> and it seems, mark, the strong base is trying to figure out how do they handle this, do they rally behind chris christie and kristal made the point earlier, they want to define the fate for them. and i would ask him, mark, it seems chris christie is the only one if you think about someone who potentially get through a primary, if he can that he could very well be electable in a general election. they don't want to lose that either. >> well, right, electability, when you're talking about something from two years from now can be defined in a whole host of ways. there was one point back in 2005 and 2006, people thought rudy giuliani was the most electable republicans. you ended up having hillary clinton the most electable democrat. things can easily change on that

equation. abbi, you do look at that. and there are republicans who would rather be the republican nominee or who for some reason or another see themselves as a potential enemy of chris christie. i wouldn't be surprised in the weeks ahead that we see other republicans that try to stick it to him. >> and, mark, to ask that question more directly, i'm not thinking so much about the republican leadership and rank and file and the hard right and the people that would show up in a primary. is there any chance that this scandal actually helps him, that they see him as a victim of the liberal media? you remember newt gingrich back in the south carolina primary where there are questions about him asking his wife for an open marriage. turned this into a debate there and ended up winning the south

carolina primary. is there a chance in some crazy way this actually helps christie in a republican primary? >> i think the only way it helps chris christie politically overall, it shows he can take a lot of punches and not get knocked down. one of the characteristics of our modern era is that politicians get whacked from all corners from the news media and people of their own part and from the opposition. and a true test is that they can still stay standing even after delivered punch after punch. we've seen bill clinton after impeachment. we saw barack obama able to endure a lot of slings and arrows from the opposition. and if chris christie is able to survive this, he actually will be stronger. here's the thing, we have a long way to go, new jersey democrats are going to have investigation after investigation, and we'll see if chris christie is still standing in the weeks and months ahead. >> chris christie is like a

weeble wobble, weebles wobble but they don't fall down. chris christie is wrapping up the biggest state of the state address in the history of states. we're going to wrap up and the all-star panel how we got here straight ahead. from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ [ male announcer ] the beautifully practical and practically beautiful cadillac srx. lease this 2014 cadillac srx for around $319 a month

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you've written recently about the threat that chris christie faces is folks spilling the beans. you write christie may believe that wildstein like kelly is prone to talk and that is talk may be especially harmful better to cast him as a loser and lay the groundwork for a more savage thrashing of wildstein's credibility down the road." how real do you think it's going to be that he'll be spilling the beans on him? >> when people get charges hovering over their heads, their attitudes about their boss seep to change a bit. you know, that goes back to michael isikoff's point. the not just that christie would withhold his staff, but the staff may have their own liability issues where they don't want to testify. they want to plead the fifth but what i was remarking responsible in that piece is the enormous amount of energy he spent in the news conference singling out two

aides and sort of isolating them. that's wildstein and his former deputy chief of staff whose name is escaping me at the moment. >> bridget kelly. >> correct. bridget kelly. and way that i thought might be a signal that these folks are going to be the ones in for a rough time from the governor's office. >> jonathan, frank has me thinking about something that david simon wrote earlier today. this is him talking. what good does it do a political operative if you can't tell your boss about it? they're doing that sort of work and demonizing and attacking the opposition and not telling the boss about it. >> it goes back to the culture question. some people are saying chris christie knew definitively.

other people are saying it doesn't matter if the governor knew definitively knew what was happening. he was in on the plans. the idea that you would have political appointees who thought it was okay to do something like this and then you add the fake traffic study on top of all the other petty things they have done throughout his first term and what you get a culture of vendetta and payback where you've got people who feel like it's okay. if you're a political operative and you want to go brag to the boss that you did this, that says a lot about this boss. >> one person acting alone will couple this as a conspiracy. it looks like operating procedure. one of the things we were talking on earlier is that the music has changed but the lyrics

haven't. he's accused of all these partisan political paybacks. does he really look credibly bipartisan as he gives this address? >> he has a lot of close democratic allies in this state. there are a lot of republicans and democrats in new jersey who feel good about what they've gotten done together in the last four years. they want to get back to that. his picture is, we've got a good thing going here. let's not get derailed by the scandal. >> we're going to keep a close eye on that. that was mixed applause in there. we will be back with more and a report from crystal ball on where this story goes next. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one.

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christie's revenge, that's been the story this week and whether or not christie specifically ordered those controversial gw bridge closures. a picture of a vengeful and vindictive man has come into focus. every day there's stories that smell like revenge, but that you can't quite pin to christie and you can't quite connect conclusively to a vengeful motive. the flooded town only received 1% of their requested sandy aid

amount. only $300,000 after their mayor declined to endorse christie. the motor vehicle commission was closed when they voted against legislation that was back eed b the governor. the funding for one of the professor's programming was eliminated the following year. none of these stories individually is conclusive, but together they paint a picture of the man and his style of governing. there's another group that dared to cross christie. who would that be? women. and the retribution was swift and brutal. his first budget hurt women by eliminating $7.5 million for family planning. christie used his line item veto to gut women's health again.

the impact was felt immediately. the next year family planning clinics saw 33,000 fewer patients. the number of breast exams dropped over 30%. six clinics closed all together. women's health suffered, and this pattern has been repeated in every budget since christie took office. he also vetoed twice a program that would have expanded medicaid to more low-income women. christie justifies this as all fiscal responsibility. the same excuse he uses for his vengeful schemes. that's absurd on its face when you asker 90% of that medicaid family planning program would be paid by the federal government and when you consider every one dollar invested in family planning saves $6 in medical

expenditures. women failed to back christie and he's failed to back them. i'm being a bit tongue in cheek here. do i think christie's motive for failing to support women was reven revenge? no, i think it was ideology. we've been sold on he's the leader, he's the moderate. last time i checked, they don't destroy women's health care costing the state more money to pursue an ideological agenda. we expect these type of attacks on women's health in places like texas, but in jersey. come on, man. governor christie is a crafty guy, a talented politician. it's time we see the other things he is as well before he has a chance to take his revenge

on the entire country. all right. that does it for us here at "the cycle." our old friend and new neighbor in the late afternoon alex wagner continues our christie coverage. did the man embroiled in a political retribution scandal really just double down on bipartisanship? yes, yes he did. it is tuesday, january 14th and this is "now." >> governor christie's state of the state speech today. >> we let down the people we're entrusted to serve. >> it is tough to keep them straight. >> a super panel to investigate christie's inner circle. >> i think you're going to see more names come forward. >> several new jersey democrats were