Sounds like BS to me. Christie consistently led in the GOP primary polls post-re election but pre-bridgegate, he also performed far better than any other Republican against Hillary in this timeframe. At this point, his numbers both in the primary and the general election have been unremarkable. Regardless of whether or not Bridgegate has lasting consequences (and despite the media's rumor mill, this has yet to be confirmed), the fact that it happened at all was a huge blow to Christie's momentum coming off his landslide win.
Regarding the primary polling….I just don't think it means much of anything at this early stage. Ordinary voters aren't really engaged, and a few recent positive or negative news cycles for a candidate can shift the numbers up and down, without it having any lasting effects.
What matters far more is support among party elites (broadly defined). On that score, I think Bridgeghazi hurt Christie with a certain class of elites, but I kind of agree with Weigel that it may also have *gained* him some support among a different set of elites (the latter being ideologically more to the right than the former group). Whether that actually turns into a net plus in the end is unclear.
Either way, I would not fixate too much on current polls. You have to project forward a year or more and predict how this stuff will play when it's more in the rearview mirror.
