Now that it’s finally official and Gov. Charlie Crist will, indeed, run for Mel Martinez’s U.S. Senate seat, it’s already apparent what his strategy will be. That was underscored and summarized in his low-key, e-mailed announcement.
“Here in Florida we’ve shown that when we put people first and work together, much can be accomplished, and I intend to bring that same approach to Washington,” declared Crist.
In other words, there’s a lot more mileage left in slogans, platitudes and a quintessential, nice-guy image.
While it obviously wasn’t all his fault, Crist will be leaving a state worse off than when he came to office. Property taxes and insurance rates never dropped like rocks, and he never considered exhuming Jeb’s bully pulpit to even try to pressure the Legislature to act financially responsible. Florida’s Ponzi-inspired, revenue-raising formula was never challenged as the state stayed fixated on one-time income paying too big a portion of recurring expenses.
Charlie fiddled while Florida yearned for a post mega-growth strategy. Crist doesn’t just leave unfinished business; he leaves unstarted business.
And who knows how long he can keeping dodging a major hurricane on his watch?
The usual political observers have already expressed (influence-eroding) concern about Crist’s lame duck status. What happens to his leverage? A better question: Will anyone notice a difference?