Rick Scott was little more than a speck in the distance, but Cole Mehone, 38, stood weighted down by his backpack at the far edge of the VIP section, straining to hear every word the newly sworn-in governor had to say. The out-of-work accountant had hitchhiked from Panama City to Tallahassee, without a ticket or money to buy one -- to see his first inauguration, yes, but more important, to honor the man he believes is going to jump-start his stalled life.
"If Rick Scott is going to put more jobs out there, then I'm going to support him," Mehone told me. "It's kind of a symbolic thing, me coming here today. I don't know, I had to do it."
Mehone called the trip "no big deal" because he got lucky when the first ride he caught was from a tractor-trailer driver headed straight into the state capital.
"Here's the thing," he said. "I believe Rick Scott. He's different. When he says he's going to create 700,000 jobs, I don't think he's talking bull, I think he'll come through, I really do."
Mehone's inauguration-arrival style -- traveling by thumb -- probably was unique. But his reason for attending the celebration was not. I interviewed more than two dozen guests -- donors, friends, legislators, inauguration staff, local folks. And I never found a single soul, Democrat or Republican, who wanted a return to the status quo, who didn't share Scott's No. 1 goal of creating jobs, who wasn't ready for a change in how state government does business.
Few talked about Scott's personality. Liking him, not liking him -- not an issue, they said. The real message they were sending was this: Scott promised jobs, he promised to turn Florida's recessed economy around. We believe he's the man who can pull it off.
Joel Kidd from Marathon, retired executive, Chrysler Motors: "We've been saying for years we need a CEO governor. We've finally got one. Watch Florida go now, watch us build jobs and compete with the world."
Rep. Marti Coley, R-Mariana: What a speech, did you hear it? So optimistic. Gov. Scott clearly has heard from so many that business owners are frustrated with the bureaucracy and permitting processes.
Mike Palecki, general counsel, Agency for Persons With Disabilities: "I'm a big supporter of Rick Scott, have been from the beginning. I think he's going to do great things for Florida. I think this is going to be a day we'll remember for a long time."
George and Liz Foote, Miami: "This governor is going to be so good for Florida. He's going to shape things up. Our economy needs changing and I'm convinced he's the man to do it."
George Markward from Winter Springs, political consultant: "Jobs -- people need jobs, and I have every confidence that Rick can be Florida's savior."
Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando: "I know jobs are priority No. 1. But I'm encouraged that Governor Scott wants to do something to stop filling up our prisons with drug addicts. The answer to the drug problem is education. Florida must invest in education. I'm hopeful Gov. Scott will put a big emphasis on funding education."
Barney Bishop, president, Associated Industries of Florida: "Trust me on this, Rick Scott is going to be a fantastic governor who will change the state radically, and all for the better. He served on our board for two years; I know what he can do. This is all very exciting."
Vinny Angiolillo, Collier County candidate for sheriff in 2012: "I've known Rick a long time. I supported and endorsed him on his website from the beginning. I can promise you that he will do everything possible to remove corruption from state government, and he will downsize Florida bureaucracy the right way, by consolidating departments. This is all stuff he knows how to do -- watch him work."
Marlin Hutchens of Orlando, marketing vice president, Walgreen's and member of Scott's Tort and Insurance Reform Transition Team: "I was so impressed with the business focus he brings to this office and the fact that he takes a wide view, he doesn't look at anything through a narrow lens. This is going to be an interesting four years."
Enrique L. Gomez, M.D., Miami: "I was working in the first hospital Rick Scott acquired in Miami, and we've been great friends ever since. I helped deliver 52 percent of the Hispanic vote to him. I know the man, I know his family, I know the altruistic reasons he's running for office and I know he is going to do everything he promised in the campaign. None of it is beyond his ability or talent. I think he will be the greatest governor Florida ever had."
All of the Inauguration Day excitement, yet such a disconnect between the media and the citizens of Florida. Seems to me Floridians want to see Scott succeed in keeping his biggest promises, growing jobs and improving the state economy. They almost expect it. Meanwhile, over in the media gallery -- failure was predicted, failure is expected and failure is -- as we speak -- being carefully constructed on the pages of most major newspapers across the state.
It's hard to fathom but I think I understand.
The media have an obligation to shine a light on public officeholders. It's one of the most important things they do and it's a role they take seriously in Tallahassee -- they're a seasoned corps and the public is well-served.
But, make no mistake, reporters are human. The ones who stay around the state capital a long time bond with the culture. They become part of it. And the culture has its own conventions.
No wonder Rick Scott, who paid his dues a galaxy away from Tallahassee, grates on the media like too much salt in a margarita.
Right now anyway, by their definition, he can't do anything right. Capitol reporterdom is still in shock. He didn't make appointments fast enough or conventional enough. His inauguration was too regal -- and paid for by businesses that want something. He didn't pitch his executive orders, he didn't honey-coat them at a press conference first, he just signed them and announced them -- done. And the one press conference he did have? Oppressively structured.
Does Rick Scott have a learning curve before there can be peace in the valley? You bet. But so do the media.
Rick Scott is not Charlie Crist. He isn't auditioning for his next job, he's zeroed-in on this one. He isn't the hail-fellow-well-met people's governor, he's the policy governor, he's the governor who can't deliver five words of a speech without tripping over them, he's the workaholic governor, the governor who doesn't give a toss for insignificance or criticism or institutional tradition.
Scott's CEO-style moves, exciting as they are to me, aren't helping to heal his relationship with Florida's media giants. He has disposed of what he considers time-consuming niceties -- communication, for instance. No doubt he knows he's in a honeymoon period and he won't get away with it forever. The Legislature will pick its own battles with him soon enough. But for now Scott is like a quarterback quick-snapping the ball while the defense is still lining up. And every head fake, every step up into the pocket is big news.
He's shaking up a city, an institution, that quite frankly could use a boot in its behind.
But the sobering prospect for Rick Scott is that the people of Florida really do believe he's going to keep his promises, create those 700,000 jobs and deliver their salvation. That's what it's all about now -- not tilting with a pouty press. It's about doing all the things he talked about in the let's-get-to-work speech he repeated on the campaign trail. Floridians have new hope in their lives, they don't care about his methods, they want him to live up to his promises and to succeed.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
