Rick Scott Wins the Praise of Steve Forbes

One of the leading economic conservatives in the nation offered high marks for Gov. Rick Scott on Monday.

Steve Forbes, the editor-in-chief of the magazine bearing his familys name and a former candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, praised Scotts role in bringing Floridas economy back in a piece over at ABC News.Forbes offers a strong look at the challenges Scott faced when he took office in early 2011:

On the day he took office, Scott took charge of a state that was, perhaps, in the worst economic shape since the 1930s. The entire country was suffering but Florida was an unholy mess.

Over a million Floridians were out of work and unemployment was at 11.1 percent. The previous four years had seen the state suffer the loss of over 825,000 jobs. Such was the darkening disillusionment in the Sunshine State that, in the year prior to Scott's taking the reins, Florida saw more people leaving the state than moving into it for the first time since World War II.

Forbes goes through the gains Floridas economy has made under Scotts watch and contrasts the governors record with President Barack Obamas in the White House:

One could forgive President Obama if he is a bit jealous and confused when looking at Florida's success. Obama's liberal, big government policies have led to a stagnant national economy with massive job losses and minimal investment as businesses continue to hold trillions of dollars on the sidelines in fear of what this administration is doing to the national economy.

Unlike Scott, Obama's response to the economic problems facing the nation upon taking office were trillions in more deficit spending through his "stimulus," and more taxes and regulation through his signature policy initiative: Obamacare. The results are 180 degrees from where Scott has brought Florida.

Governor Scott's 2010 campaign slogan was simply "Let's get to work." By any measure he has certainly delivered.