Did he fix it? Or get past it? Did Gov. Chris Christie's lengthy press conference on Thursday repair the enormous damage from Bridgegate? The reviews are mixed.

Governor Chris Christie
Governor's Office, Tim Larsen
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Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute says the governor did everything he needed to do, up to this point, in managing the enormous fallout from lane closures near the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee in September.

However, Murray adds that much of the damage control is out of Christie's hands.

"He's gotta hope that the public believes what he said," Murray commented.

Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison says the governor still has a way to go in fixing this. But she does not believe Bridgegate will derail Christie's presidential train, should he choose to climb aboard for 2016.

"There is an enormous amount of time between now and the presidential primary process," Harrison said. "That said, I think that this is not a story that's going to be going away in the days or weeks ahead, and I think it's something that he's going to have to live with."

Evaluating the governor's very long and apologetic appearance in front of the cameras Thursday, Murray said it was the first time that we failed to see Chris Christie end a press conference in a better position than when he started.

"That tells how important this story is," Murray said.

 

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