2010 Part Deux? Bill McCollum and Excessive Campaign Spending

In what could ring as a bit of deja vu for Floridians, former Attorney General Bill McCollum chalked up Newt Gingrich's Florida primary loss to a disadvantage in his campaign war chest. Gingrichs Florida co-chairman told MSNBC's Chuck Todd this morning that Gingrich has the ideas, but he couldn't match up to the Romney camp's spending spree and flurry of negative advertising. Wait, have I heard this before?

According to McCollum, the 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate is now a part of the strategy team to help Newt devise a blueprint to win. The revelation has left political observers in the state wondering if McCollum -- who famously lost to Rick Scott's outsider millions -- is the right guy to combat the deficiency.

"That's ludicrous, Newt spent millions and millions of dollars," laughed one Florida political strategist. "What ultimately failed him were two soggy debate performances. I'm not sure I want Bill McCollum at the table lecturing me on how to win after he lost three statewide elections. Counting last night, he's 0 for 4.It shows the degree of the desperation in the Gingrich campaign."