The Double-Edged Sword of "Crist"

As could have been predicted, Gov. Charlie Crist's party switcheroo, viewed by him as a blessing, is also quickly turning into his curse. As issues go, this one is tantamount to painting a bullseye on his struggling campaign for U.S. Senate.

Already Crist has slipped in the polls. He's gone from polls showing him winning a three-way race to now holding a statistically insignificant edge in one recent poll. It's interesting to watch how the governor's political flipflop is providing a different kind of "edge" as that becomes the focus of candidates' ad campaigns. Check out Google, for example. The double-edged sword of Crist's move to "no party affiliation" is readily apparent.

Such paid ads are set to appear when a Google user conducts a search using a certain term. SSN typed in the search term "Charlie Crist" to read the news clips this morning and up popped these three ads, each playing off one word, "Crist." Here they are in the order in which they appeared:

1. Flip the Switch onCrist

   www.MarcoRubio.com/Again Help Elect a Principled Republican Stand With Marco

2. SupportCharlie Crist

   www.charliecrist.com It's About People, Not Politics. Declare Your Independence.

3. Fed up withCrist?

   www.jeffgreene.com Join Jeff Greene - a real outsider who will get results for Florida.