The Democrats, along with the media, appear to think that they've struck a mighty blow in the preparations for Hillary's 2016 "coronation" in taking down Chris Christie. (And he has been taken down -- the accusation from Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken is strike three, and that's the end of it.)

But in truth, they've done the GOP a great favor in removing a loose cannon that could only have damaged the party and its chances in the upcoming election.

As anybody familiar with the state is aware, Christie is a typical Jersey pol -- outspoken, colorful, vicious, and as corrupt as they come. New Jersey is Arkansas North, and you don't succeed in politics there without a leaving a vast and lengthy trail of questionable deals and activities. This is particularly true of somebody who rises by way of being a public prosecutor, a position through which powerful enemies will inevitably be made -- enemies capable of wrecking anybody's career -- unless certain arrangements are not reached beforehand. Many, if not most of those arrangements, will be either questionable or outright illegal.

We can be certain that Christie has such a trail, and the Democrats have documented every last milestone on it. Bridgegate tipped their hand early; it would have been much better for them to wait until the last possible moment to reveal Christie's various faux pas, but media frenzies have their own rules, and the Dems are now behaving as if they planned things this way all along.

But the actual problem with Christie is that his reputation as a political "moderate," along with his popularity -- perhaps better termed "notoriety" -- as an outspoken enemy of privilege (always a fake pose no matter which party the politician belongs to), would make him the "white hope" candidate for 2016. Ever eager to go with the moderate (as opposed to wild-eyed radicals such as McCain and Romney), the Republican establishment would have presented Christie as a fait accompli, "the only man who can beat Hillary." Other possibilities would be scared off or undercut, and the Christie wave would continue rolling right up until a month or so before the election, at which point all the dirty little stories (including Dawn Zimmer's) would suddenly pop up, dominating the media landscape straight through election day.

But now that's not going to happen. With the Christie balloon already punctured, the GOP can take its time considering serious candidates such as Scott Walker (the single most effective GOP executive of the current moment) or Susana Martinez, among plenty of others. Bridgegate has rid us of a potential distraction. Hillary remains eminently beatable (keep in mind that she's already blown one presidential election), and the campaign has not yet even begun.