In the house where Florida Democrats live, the candidate cupboard is bare. Let's see how long it takes the party of desperation to snatch up Charlie Crist like he's water in a desert.
Not long, I bet. Already libs like Saint Petersblog's Peter Schorsch are praising him for his "courage." No doubt more admirers are on their way.
Charlie didn't -- as rumored last week -- turn Democrat in a Sunday Tampa Bay Times guest column. But on the eve of the Republican National Convention, he did the next closest thing. He publicly, officially, endorsed Barack Obama for president.
This time the famous Obama hug turned into a choreographed kiss. I'm sorry to say this, Mr. President, but I don't think Charlie meant anything by it.
Read "Former Gov. Charlie Crist: Here's why I am backing Barack Obama" in Sunday morning's Times.
Clearly, this career politician, Florida's 44th governor, wants his job back and it doesn't matter to him if he tramples over old loyalties to get it. He's an ambulance chaser and a billboard poster child for a rich Democrat personal injury law firm, for a major donor to the party, Morgan and Morgan.
State Dems love that Morgan money.
Never mind his flaws, his flip-flops, his felonious friends, his unholy alliances along the way. Trust me, Charlie will be welcomed into the fold, bought and paid for and wrapped in a big box with a blue ribbon, ready to charge after Rick Scott in 2014.
State Republican leaders know that very well. Assessing the column in the Times, Florida GOP Chairman Lenny Curry wrote in an email to Florida Republicans, Make no mistake about it: This is Charlie Crist trying to shed his skin for a political comeback. ...
Calling him a liberal will only play into his hand, Curry cautioned his party leaders. He hopes it will divert attention away from his record and his years of calling himself a conservative. You should take every opportunity with the media to remind Floridians that Crist has made a career out of bashing theDemocrat Partyand everything President Obama stands for. (See all of Curry's remarks to state GOP leaders in the attachment below.)
Charlie has more baggage than American Airlines. But he's been coached by Democrats and union bosses immersed in party despondency. These are libs who lookeddown the line at possible Democratic gubernatorial contenders against Scott in 2014:
- His 2010 opponent Alex Sink? She made serious mistakes. Her loser taint has stuck.
- Name-recognitionless Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, D-Weston? She announced her interest in the office last September and few Dems treat her candidacy with respect.
- Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith? The former state senator has been retread for election too many times.
- Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham?DNC Chairwoman and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Both emphatically say no way, we're not interested.
Charlie Crist wasn't embracing Barack Obama on Sunday. He was joining the club. He was preparing to pick up his political career. He was wooing even national liberal left media. He was measuring the field as deliberately as he could on the Republican Party's biggest week in the last four years.
It's "game on" for Charlie.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews or at (850) 727-0859.
