More and more I am seriously thinking Crist is resenting being passed over, especially for the dullwit Real Doll, now with talking point action!

I am a native Floridian, but live in DC now. My family is still back there and while we are all democrats for the most part we have liked Crist alright. He is more of a moderate and he has handled the issues of since taking office pretty well. I rarely hear much complaint throughout the state about him. I will admit I voted for the democrat but was a little weary of that decision since he had been involved in some possible corruption. This decision by Crist makes me like him that much more.

Isn't Charlie the "all dressed up, nowhere to go" guy? Got himself engaged? or was it married? All for nothing. No wonder he's pissed.

Hmmm. Country before party? Are you sure Crist is a Republican?!

Good governance? Practical solutions to real problems?

Crist should stop experimenting with socialism.

Crist has to look at the big picture for Florida:

What happens if McCain wins?

What happens if the US doesn't sign onto global-warming legislation, and the sea-levels rise? How much of Florida winds up submerged 50 or 100 years from now? Dolphins and manatees don't pay taxes; neither do condemned beachfront properties and abandoned tourism venues.

What happens when a McCain healthcare plan results in Floridians dying for lack of healthcare?

What happens when a McCain domestic agenda bleeds the economy dry?

What happens when a McCain war-without-end mentality turns into a revive-the-draft mentality?

What happens when a McCain foreign policy paints a great big target on Florida's cities?

What happens when a McCain disaster-recovery plan works just like the Bush plan did for NOLA, when some future Katrina-like storm rips Florida to pieces?

A McCain presidency has the potential to become a steroid-enhanced Bush presidency---and would be catastrophic for Florida. Crist backing McCain would be the end of Crist's career---and Crist knows it.

I feel sorry for people in states without no-excuse early voting, especially in swing states like VA, PA, and MO. A huge turnout could be a real problem, especially in cities, where most of the Dems are.

Maybe positioning as the moderate Republican alternative to Palin in the 2012 primaries?

Well he does serve the people of Florida. Are we so amazed that a political office holder does what is best for his constituents rather than his party?

Oh. Well, come to think of it. Never mind.

McCain was a fool for not picking Crist or Romney. He probably still didn't have a shot, but at least he wouldn't have been exposed as a complete incompetent. Crist is one of the few republicans that I don't hate.

Charlie has always been able to feel a change in wind direction before it ever arrives. During the his days as a legislator he was known as "Chain Gang Charlie", for his tough-on-crime positions. He's no stranger to Right Wing Orthodoxy - but he knew enough to stay out of the Schiavo controversy, even though he was the state's Attorney General. He avoided appearing with Bush when he sensed the ground shifting under the Republican majorities. He latched onto McCain when he looked like a winner, but has distanced himself since - a sure sign that Florida may be going blue. He's going to have a tough race against Alex Sink for Governor in two years. She's a smart female democrat who was elected as Chief Financial Officer of the state and is perfectly positioned to move up. He knows it, and has to run toward the center as he sees the Right Wing brand self-destructing. This is the right thing for him, and the state. What a nice coincidence.

You are absolutely right for recognizing and commending this!

Crist seems to be one of the reality-based moderate republicans. It will be interesting to see if he and others like him can regain control of the GOP.

Ditto on Crist putting his state first. I grew up in FL, have family and in-laws still there, he's doing a decent job of conservative-flavored good government.

YAY!

One reason McCain passed up Crist was because he believed Florida was a solid red state.

Yet another demostration of McCain's lack of stragetic thinking. It's been fairly clear for the past couple of years that Florida is trending blue. It's also obvious that a republican can not win the White House without winning Florida. They need Florida and Texas (and to a lesser extant Ohio) to offset New York and California's electoral dominance.

And yet despite both these rather obvious truths, McCain's ground game in Florida has been minimal. Especially compared to Obama's. McCain failed to devote early resources to the state (again missing the shifts in Florida's political landscapes). The McCain campaign's current actions in Florida are all reactionary and playing catch up.

There is still enough room in the polls for a little shenanigans on the ground to give the state to McCain. But it appears the McCain camp no longer enjoys the support among Florida's elected officials that Bush did.

We can hope.

But it appears the McCain camp no longer enjoys the support among Florida's elected officials that Bush did.

Well maybe it's because McCain and Crist didn't come out of the same womb.

As a former Floridian, I'm glad to see Crist doing the right thing. As a returned Washingtonian (the state, not the city), I'm glad I don't have to deal with that crap anymore. Washington is slowly following Oregon's path of strictly mail-in ballots. Hubby and I filled ours out last night, and will be getting them in later today.

McCain was a fool for not picking Crist or Romney. Posted by: Patrick

Romney is a non-starter in national politics. I believe that people in W. Virginia would have as much a problem voting for a Mormon as an African-American. In fact, I think the whole Bible Belt might be even more put off by Romney's Mormonism than the color of Obama's skin. If not, I guess it's time for a Scientologist candidate. There all such high achievers!

As an independent who usually votes Democratic, I have always liked Charlie, and voted for him over the Dem, Jim Davis. He won me over when he sued AT&T a few years back, for repeatedly overcharging people.

Besides, I've always believed he was a RINO

Romney is a non-starter in national politics. -Jeff II

Romney's perceived area of expertise is economics. I'd hate to see what the polls would look like now with Romney on the ticket.

Obama is running a great, absolutely fantastic campaign, but he honestly needed the perfect storm that is McCain/Palin to get here.

I think our victory next week will have as much to do with luck as with skill.

Thank you Gov. Crist. Please help the rest of your party become supportive of democratic institutions.

It's kind of hard not to like Crist, even if you're a Florida Dem. He's shown an honorable respect for the right of citizens to vote, despite past felony convicrtions, and he's been light-years ahead of his predecessor, Jeb, on just about every issue.
I'm seeing his endorsement of McLame as pro-forma. I don't even think that the VP snub has much to do with it.

For some years now, The Prince (your basic knee-jerk pinko liberal) has lived down in Florida, where you need to drive north to get to the South. The Prince says if you're looking to find just another Repub to mock, Crist is not your man. He marches to a drummer that only plays inside his own head. The thing he did regarding US Sugar/Everglades won him my dem vote forever. Crist is the kind of guy who will do the right thing for no other reason than it seems to be the right thing. How perverse.

Good for him! If anybody is able to maintain the GOP as a national party, it will be Republicans such as Gov. Crist. The Founding Fathers didn't like the idea of political parties, but, as it appears we're stuck with them, at least let them be led by people with some principles.

I think our victory next week will have as much to do with luck as with skill.

It's tricky, though, because somehow Obama always manages to get really, really lucky, like when the Illinois Republican Party imploded in 2004 and he got 70 percent of the vote. He was 20 points ahead even before the news about Jack Ryan's nasty divorce broke and they had to bring carpetbagging Alan Keyes in from Maryland to run against Obama.

I'm still convinced there's something about Obama himself (his coolness in a crisis? his refusal to snap at the bait they put in front of him?) that drives his opponents to do really dumb things to get the reaction they want.

It's tricky, though, because somehow Obama always manages to get really, really lucky, like when the Illinois Republican Party imploded in 2004 and he got 70 percent of the vote.

I've always believed that luck favors the prepared. Then there's judgement to consider. Had conditions in Illinois not been favorable, would Obama have entered the race? He doesn't strike as the sort of guy that undertakes something unless he's certain that he has a good chance of succeeding and he can live with the downside risk. So, yeah. There's something about Obama. Good judgement and a calm demeanor.

I love the quote from an unnamed Republican source in Florida to Ben Smith over on Politico:

"He just blew Florida for John McCain," one plugged-in Florida Republican just told me.

+5 karma for Crist. It's nice to see someone do the right thing.

romney's perceived area of expertise is economics. i'd hate to see what the polls would look like now with romney on the ticket.

i have been saying this since the market crashed. we are lucky that mcmuffin likes a pretty ass more than he likes to think about strategy, because w/romney on the ticket, the polls would still be neck & neck.

If the Palindrones have their way, Crist will be driven out of office and replaced by some Bible waving hypocrite with a closet full of specially modified wetsuits.

I can hardly believe after the fiasco of the 2000 election in Florida that ANYONE thinks those early votes will actually be counted. Sure, why not encourage the Obama voters to come in and vote early -- just gives the R's more time to figure out how to dispose (ahem) lose the ballots.

"...conservative-flavored good government."

Fighting Bob LaFollette lives! But who'd a thunk it would be in Florida?

More and more I am seriously thinking Crist is resenting being passed over, especially for the dullwit Real Doll, now with talking point action!

I suspect he falls on his knees every night and gives thanks for being passed over by the trainwreck that is John McCain. I agree with the folks saying that old Charlie sees which way the wind blows. He's preparing to be the sane Republican in the room during the next few years, while the rest of the GOP stages its amateur production of Suddenly Last Summer.

I guess I'll have to be the somewhat cynical one. From what I've read over the past week or so, everyone knew it was the Republicans' fault they were standing in long lines. Since Republicans all over are starting to talk post-election politics as if McCain has already lost, it doesn't take a genius to guess that pissing off voters in Florida isn't going to make that much difference, and decide to protect the local GOP brand instead.

I hope it's because of genuine good-government motives, but I can see a simple political calculation, too.

Nice work Gov. Crist! You're kind of a maverick here... :)

It is going to be an interesting election day. My wife waited an hour to vote early yesterday in Illinois.