Kathleen Parker February 4, 2014

We have officially reached the take-a-step-back moment in theunfolding — or unraveling — of the Chris Christie allegedbridge/political retribution/Sandy funds political scandal.

It always happens in any story these days. News stampedes throughthe ether, trampling context and nuance, oblivious to potholes andfissures. And then corrections must be made.

This isn’tfinger-pointing at my colleagues. Columnists have the luxury of takingtheir time with facts, while reporters are expected to update news bythe minute, or less. In our amped-up, bloglodyte world, stories arechugging 5-Hour Energy shots just to keep up with reporters and, it must be said, gossips.

Thus on Tuesday, Mika Brzezinski said thenecessary on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”: “Calm down.” Later, a guest on theshow added, “People need to step back,” a sentiment with which allpresent were in accord.

For the past several days on most news shows, the dominant buzz has centered on a New York Times story, subsequently adjusted, that came close to accusing Christie of lying when he has insisted repeatedly that he knew nothing about the George Washington Bridge lane closings that resulted in a four-day traffic jam and that have been characterized as political retribution.

The Times story cited a letter from Alan L. Zegas, attorney for DavidWildstein, the former Port Authority executive and one-time Christieally who, after an infamous e-mail exchange with Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly (“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee”), ordered the lane closings.

In the Times story, Wildstein was said to have “had the evidence” to prove that Christie knew contemporaneously about the lane closings. Later,the Times story was tweaked to reflect what the letter actually said:“evidence exists” that Christie knew at the time of the lane closings.Thank you for the clarification. What evidence? Whose? Where? The voiceknows.

And then she heard it again, the same chilling voice whispering asthe curtains fluttered on a still night. “It exists . . . itexists . . . it exists.”

But seriously, without confirmation or corroboration of suchdamning evidence, what, really, was this latest chapter? The letter wasessentially a plea to the Port Authority that it pay Wildstein’s legalexpenses, which it previously had declined to do.

To be fair, the Times story was not without basis — the letter does exist and itscontents are of interest. News. But it is also damning of Christie’scharacter without substantiation, otherwise known as one man’s wordagainst another — and that’s not good for journalism.

Before youcould say heywaitaminute, the Drudge Report led with the scurrilousheadline “He Knew.” Though Matt Drudge clearly isn’t a Christie fan(this must be terribly painful for the governor), the result has been acircling of conservative wagons by those who hate the media more thanthey dislike a moderate Republican — as foretold by a certain columnist weeks ago. Thus, Christie has been invited to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference next month, to which he was conspicuously not invited a year ago.

Meanwhile, Christie’s office has fired back, impugning Wildstein’s character, even going back to his high school days and calling him “tumultuous.” One can only imagine his yearbook inscription: “Dude, stay as tumultuous as you are and bridges will fear you!”

In a parallel saga, CNN recently poked holes in Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s story claiming that Christie’s office threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy recovery funds if she didn’t support a development project the governor favored.

CNN cited not only contradictions and discrepancies but also evidence thatZimmer may have practiced the same tactics of which she has accusedChristie. The executive director of the Hoboken Housing Authority hadsued Zimmer, claiming that the mayor had “an unwritten policy ofpolitical patronage or ‘pay to play’ to reward . . . politicalsupporters.”

Shocking.

As the Christie scandal machinegrinds on, his polling numbers un-shockingly are plummeting. Once in the lead in a fantasy presidential race, he now trails Hillary Clinton 39percent to 55 percent. In the race for the GOP nomination, he trails Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul, tying with Jeb Bush.

But the night is young. It remains entirely possible that Christie istelling the truth. And evidence may or may not exist. Which means a newnarrative must fill the void. It goes like this: Even if he’s tellingthe truth, Christie created the culture in which his people felt free to abuse power.

Stay tuned . . . and stay calm.