Christie: Both Parties To Blame For Fed Shutdown

 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says both Republicans and Democrats are to blame for the partial shutdown of the federal government.

In a meeting Friday with The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board, the Republican governor said it was "irresponsible of both sides to have allowed this to get where it's gotten."

Asked what he would do if he was a U.S. senator right now, he said, "If I was in the Senate right now, I'd kill myself."

Christie said the standoff is why he has never had any interest in holding a legislative position and denied his visit this week with interim-Senator Jeff Chiesa in Washington was simply a friendly visit according to the newspaper. He calls Washington "an alternate universe."

He says both President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner can share blame for the shutdown. "The president saw this train coming for a long time. All of a sudden today's the first day he has anyone over to the White House? Same thing with the Speaker, same thing with the majority. They saw this train coming for a long time and did nothing to stop it."

Opponent Barbara Buono, says Christie does share some of the responsibility for the standoff because he campaigned for "that crazy element in Washington, the Tea Party" according to the Inquirer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
The Associated Press