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Opinion The Lowe-Down | Chan Lowe

Chan Lowe: Charlie Crist endorses Obama

Herewith, the editorial I wrote on this topic:

Democrats, and President Barack Obama, have found an unlikely ally in the form of former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who just endorsed Mr. Obama in a surprise op-ed article in the Tampa Bay Times on the eve of the Republican National Convention.

As expected, the Republican Crist was excoriated by GOP pooh-bahs for his apostasy. “(Crist's) political ambitions will always come before the needs of Floridians,” sneered Republican bigwig Lenny Curry.

Floridians with political memories will recall the 2010 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate nomination, wherein a reasonably popular Governor Crist, on the verge of being trounced by the insurgent tea party darling, Marco Rubio, seceded from his party to run as an independent. After losing to Rubio in the general election, Crist reverted to private citizen status at the end of his gubernatorial term.

Republican leaders may have good reason to be affronted by Gov. Crist, who used to tout himself as a conservative and a lifelong Republican. Now, in a move evocative of the chameleon-like qualities of the GOP's own standard-bearer, Mitt Romney, Gov. Crist has not only blithely repudiated the extreme positions of his former party, he’s even managed to snag precious speaking time next week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte to extol the virtues of his newfound political hero.

Cynics have suggested that Gov. Crist is setting himself up for a 2014 run to topple the unpopular Republican governor, Rick Scott, and reinstall (and reinvent) himself as Florida's chief executive, only this time as a Democrat.

Two points would argue in favor of this view: First, what business does Charlie Crist, private citizen, have endorsing anybody for president unless he has some kind of personal agenda, and second, Florida is unique in that its voters have a rich history of electing (for better or worse) candidates who have the most name recognition. It may be that by 2014, Floridians will be so weary of the divisive ultraconservative antics of a Scott administration that they will no longer care what party abbreviation comes after Charlie Crist's name, so long as he can promise a return to the older, more tolerant and inclusive days for which his governorship was known.

If that is Crist's gamble, it might just pay off. Conservatives already distrust him, so his treachery won't lose him any votes. Teachers will never forget his courageous, or craven (depending on your point of view) veto of a merit-pay bill passed by the Republican Legislature a few years ago, so they are likely to lend their numbers in support of his candidacy.

No one can get inside the former governor's head, but so far he is making all the right moves to stage a dramatic comeback. One more thing: It's unwise ever to bet against Charlie Crist's ambition.


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