Perhaps London's famous fog affects the brains of visiting Republican politicians differently than those of other American tourists.
How else to explain Gov. Christie's Mitt moment in Great Britain?
While the former Massachusetts governor/then-presidential candidate Romney insulted the British in 2012 by implying that London might not be up to the task of hosting the Olympics, New Jersey's current governor/future presidential candidate inadvertently created an international firestorm Monday by seeming to suggest that at least some child vaccinations ought to be optional.
Christie made the remarks during a visit to a Cambridge, England laboratory as part of a three-day trade mission/pre-presidential campaign swing. His press office quickly walked back/clarified/ran away screaming from the governor's apparent assertion -- similar to one he made to a prominent New Jersey anti-vaxxer in 2009 -- that "balance" and parental "choice" ought to be given consideration in matters of mass innoculation against some contagious diseases.
In 2011, Christie famously said he was "not a scientist" when asked about his previous semi-skepticism about global warming. By last fall, however, he had apparently embraced his inner scientist, or perhaps epidemiologist, and insisted that a nurse whose plane landed at Newark, and who was believed to have been exposed to Ebola, should be quarantined.
As to what may be causing the once sure-footed Christie to lose his own political balance, the diagnosis is pending. But the testing is underway.
--KEVIN RIORDAN
Updated and corrected at 4:44 p.m.