Can't stand the man. But once in a very great while, he says something I agree with, causing me to feel the need to shower.
This morning, it happened again. I found myself agreeing with him as he was shouting at Mika that the criticism of Crist's decision to go indpendent as mere "political expediency" is wrong. As Joe pointed out, Crist has frequently rejected opportunities -- the most recent being the ed "reform" bill that he chose to veto -- to hew the purist, politically expedient, conservative line.
Below the line, a discussion of the phone call to Bill Press's radio show this morning that convinced me Crist will win the Senate seat.
A Florida caller to Bill Press this morning said that Meek is his choice, but that Crist is not so bad. If Meek isn't making a good showing as the election approaches, he'll vote for Crist to keep Rubio from winning. Press said there are probably a lot of Florida Dems who feel the same way.
It occurred to me there might be a lot of Republicans who feel the same way on the other side. They support Rubio, but if it looks like Meek is taking it, they'll vote for Crist.
Typically a third party centrist candidate has difficulty winning because people who support him or her in their hearts ultimately defect, going with the "safe" party vote instead. In this race, with the current level of polarization characterizing our politics, I think Crist may be seen by both sides as the "safe" candidate, the bulwark against a victory by the hated other.
And while we certainly need every (real) Dem we can get in the Senate, I think that from a messaging perspective, a Crist victory might not be an entirely bad thing. The Florida Senate race may well be the most closely examined election of this cycle. Everyone will be looking for clues about what each party should do going forward. If Rubio wins, the message to Republicans will obviously be, "Continue on your path toward ever more extreme conservatism." If Meek wins, the likely lesson pundits will extract for Republicans is that they need to stay united, because when they split the vote, the Dems win. If Crist wins, the message might be, "Hold up on the Tea-Partying of the GOP: Moderation is the way to win elections."