LOOKS LIKE HIS NIXON MOMENT

“I AM NOT a bully,” declared Gov. Chris Christie.

Unfortunately, he said it with the same air of certitude with which President Richard Nixon declared,

“I am not a crook.”

As with Nixon, the embattled governor merely accentuated the allegation despite an epic performance

that still left his White House ambitions tenuous. At more than two hours, it was Fidel Castro-like in length and an emotional and rhetorical kaleidoscope.

He apologized profusely and was alternately humble, decisive, defiant, defensive, scowling, introspective, self-congratulatory and befuddling.

This is a tough former prosecutor, who by his own admission Thur

sday, let his staff run am ok. Christie initially said the disputed lane closures

were part of an actual traffic study. Well, he may need the Navy SEALS to

find it, or Metuchen, N.J., native David Copperfield to magically create

and backdate one.

Voting is two years off and Christie still has big name recognition, noted Republican consultant John McGovern.

The name recognition is even greater now. And so is the target on his back.