Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a Republican, is getting a lot of heat and blame for staff members who did really dumb stuff. They caused traffic snarls around Fort Lee as retaliation against a Democratic mayor who didn't support Christie for governor. When Christie asked them directly if they had anything to do with the snarls, they denied it.
Now many people are giving Christie a lot of heat for something he had little control over. Let's give him slack. He is not a king who can command exact obedience. Just as Obama makes statements like keeping your current insurance plan, he must rely on others to give him correct and timely information.
If we expect our leaders to know everything they need to know by their direct experience, they will never be able to lead because they are spending so much time gathering information. Why do you think there are briefing books and executive summaries?
Do we blame the small business owner for the shenanigans of a trusted bookkeeper who siphoned off funds for years? Without trust, any organization large or small would become inefficient with a burden of checks and cross-checks.
