Excerpt:
As a number of readers are aware, I've had more than my fair share to say about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie of late, much of it on the negative side of the ledger — although I'd caution that that "ledger" is more about whether he is a "consistent conservative" (no) than about his quality as a governor (above average, particularly for a blue state). So it's necessary to give credit where credit is due: The Christie administration is to be commended for conducting a fair and objective investigation of the New York City Police Department's intelligence gathering efforts in the Garden State, which date back to at least 2007, when Gov. Christie was the state's Bush-appointed U.S. attorney. New Jersey's state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa has concluded that the NYPD's surveillance activities did not violate state law.
This is one of those situations where the inquiry could easily have been politicized to make the boss look good. Gov. Christie initially blasted the NYPD and got into a public spat with NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Congressman Pete King (R., NY). Christie's first statements echoed the CAIR Islamophobia talking points; nevertheless, the governor seemed to tone it down and argue that his quarrel was more with the fact that he had not been informed of the NYPD surveillance (while he was U.S. attorney) than over the fact that the surveillance had happened.