Who Runs Gov

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is being taken seriously by national Dems and Republicans as a potential Senate candidate in 2010, but there are signs he may not be ready for the intense national media scrutiny such a race would bring.

How else to explain the fact that Crist, at a time when the local press is pillorying him for not working hard for the state, has decided to spend a whole day on a high profile fishing trip?

Crist got clobbered the other day by an investigative story in the Florida Sun Sentinel which claimed that Crist, as they say, has been hardly working. The paper reported that at a time when his constituents are struggling with “home foreclosures and dwindling bank accounts,” Crist has been jet-setting and yukking it up with celebs.

That’s pretty rough publicity. But now Crist seems to be setting himself up for more, going on an all-day fishing trip fundraiser next month (click to enlarge):

The headlines on this one write themselves.

National Dems are preparing for a possible race against Crist, so they’re likely to hit Crist for going fishing at a time when Florida has still not received its education stimulus cash. While Crist is popular in Florida, stuff like this makes you wonder whether Crist understands how lethal memes like this can be in high-profile Senate contests, particularly when the ad wars and press scrutiny kick in.

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