Bill Pascrell on bridge flap: ‘Worst is yet to come’  —  New Jersey House members aren't calling for congressional investigations into revelations that a staffer in Gov. Chris Christie's office called for the closing of lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge.

Chris Christie's critics savor his misfortune  —  Chris Christie is learning that being a Party of One can be pretty lonely when times get tough.  —  Democrats predictably condemned the New Jersey governor after a bombshell report Wednesday tied one of his top staffers to a burgeoning scandal that's already been dubbed “Bridge-gate.”

Christie's Waterloo  —  In the best possible light, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie built a top staff of lying thugs who threatened lives and safety to serve his political ends.  If not, Christie is a lying thug himself.  —  Emails and text messages among his close aides made public Wednesday documented …

Christie's rising star now a target  —  Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's The Daily Telegraph.  He is the author of “The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan.”  —  (CNN) — Politics is a cruel road.

Obama's insincere war  —  Robert Gates has roiled the Beltway with perhaps the least surprising bombshells ever to appear in a tell-all Washington memoir.  —  Did anyone believe that President Barack Obama was passionately committed to the Afghanistan war that he escalated at the same time he announced a withdrawal date?

Prospects worsen for Senate passage of unemployment benefits  —  (CNN) - The prospects for passing an extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed got significantly worse Wednesday after two Republican senators who voted with Democrats earlier this week said they will pull …