Anybody who thinks Charlie Crist's loss in November was a career-ending outcome doesn't know Charlie Crist.
No matter how many times the former governor blows up, he repairs and regenerates like Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator" character. Trust me, same as the warrior cyborg, he'll be back.
Charlie wants the White House. He's always wanted it. And though his two defeats in four years might have knocked him back some, the man is far from done. Running for office is what he does.
Charlie always has in mind another option, a larger stage, a grander plan.
So, what is it this time? Inquiring minds want to know.
Most of the rumors floating around Tallahassee these days include the assumption that Charlie won't be working much longer at his $300,000-a-year billboard-lawyer job for Morgan & Morgan -- if, indeed, he's still employed there as the new year begins. Though the Florida Bar website still has him working at Morgan & Morgan in Tampa, the Orlando office would not confirm for Sunshine State News his whereabouts or his employment status when contacted during the holiday week between Christmas and New Year's Day.
So, let's assess for a moment some of the what's-next-for-Charlie-Crist rumors out there.
1. He wants to be ambassador to Cuba.
This is the one I hear most often. And I think it's probably true. Never mind that he can't speak the language, wouldn't Charlie love to get a plum like Cuba? Think of the power and prestige he would command, particularly in Florida, and the potential (campaign) money at his fingertips as Big Business and the communist island work out a future together.
Charlie telegraphed this as his back-up plan back in February when hebegan toeing the Obama line on a new Cuba policy. When asked about Cuba, he told Bill Maher during an HBO inteview,It is obvious to me that we need to move forward and I think get the embargo taken away. Really. I believe that.
He believes it now, but it's a full flop from the position he took as a Republican governor. Just after his election in 2006, when asked if he would favor altering the embargo, he said no:"I feel very strongly about not supporting the totalitarian dictator's regime."
Charlie was going to visit Cuba in early summer 2014, really wanted to, but let his campaign team talk him out of it.
Then, the first time he surfaced publicly after walking off the stage at his election night party, where does he turn up? Not thestate Democratic Executive Committee dinner, he missed that. Besides some time in Washington to attend the White House Christmas party, he's on MSNBC, talking up the president's new Cuba policy.
But here's where Ambassador Crist's little daydream comes a cropper: Even if Obama put his name forward for selection, guess who he has to go through first? Marco Rubio. The Florida senator, who calls Charlie Crist "a political opportunist of the first degree" who will say or do anything to get where he wants to go, is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That's the committee "thatholds jurisdiction over all diplomatic nominations." The outgoing committee chairman, Robert Menendez, is a Democrat, yes, but he and Rubio have a congenial relationship and agree the new Cuba policy is ill-advised. It is highly unlikely he would move to confirm Charlie against Rubio's wishes or better judgment. I'd bet my paycheck Charlie gets confirmed for any embassy post over Rubio's dead body.
2. He still aims to be Sen. Charlie Crist and will prepare now to run later.
I'm convinced this is Charlie's preferred route to the White House -- through the U.S. Senate. But there are major hiccups in this plan.
Sen. Marco Rubio, unless he ends up as the Republicans presidential candidate, will defend his Senate seat in 2016. Rubio crushed Charlie in the 2010 Senate race, and with his clout in the upper chamber probably would again. Charlie would be ill-advised to take Rubio on again.
And 2018 is a long time to wait. A lot could happen between now and then. True, Bill Nelson will be 76 in 2018, a reasonable retirement age for a U.S. senator. But who says Nelson will fancy the pasture? And even if he does and Charlie gets his chance, think of all the Republicans likely to have their eye on the job. He probably would face one of the current crop of Cabinet members term-limited in 2018. Or former Speaker Will Weatherford. Or popular Congressman Tom Rooney. Or even Congressman Patrick Murphy in the Democratic primary.
A sure thing it isn't.
3. He will challenge David Jolly in 2016 for his congressional seat.
Possibly. Charlie is in Jolly's district. The logistics are right. But, where Jolly has gained in strength in Pinellas County, Charlie has lost some of the once-rock-solid support he had there. And, frankly, I think Charlie would be underwhelmed at the idea of running for Congress, considers it beneath him.
Only if he can't find any other way back.
4. He wants any job Obama can find for him, as long as it's in Washington.
My money's on this one. Nobody wants to go backward, especially Charlie Crist. He'll take anything a la George Sheldon -- a deputy anything, a member of the senior command anywhere -- maybe a position somewhere in the Justice Department. Just to spend the next couple of years near the Oval Office, the national media, the Washington parties. Can't you picture it? Certainly it beats hustling clients for John Morgan. And it puts him where he wants to be while he waits to run for the House or Senate.
If Obama wants it to happen, it will.
5. He will be a lobbyist.
I've heard this one very recently. I can't imagine where it's coming from, I can't imagine him working as hard as a lobbyist has to work, and I can't imagine who in the corridors of power at the Capitol he possibly could influence.
But then again, I was wrong after the 2010 election. When I found out Charlie went from governor of Florida to huckster for a personal injury attorney virtually overnight, I thought someone was playing a joke on me.
This is Charlie Crist we're talking about. We have to remember that. As long as there's a camera involved, he's probably game for anything.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
