Charlie In Charge

I still have a problem with Obama backing Charlie Crist in Florida over Kendrick Meek.  Crist is running against his own party at this point and continues to take an increasingly larger slice of the voter pie from both Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek.  I understand that Obama's doing this with the expectation that Crist will caucus with the Dems.

I'm just saying he shouldn't count on it.

Nearly three months after losing his Republican allies and campaign staff by leaving his party, Mr. Crist has rebuilt his political machinery and gained a footing among many general-election voters as he runs as an independent. One reason: He has used the Republican-led state legislature as a conservative foil to increase his appeal among centrist and Democratic voters.

Mr. Crist has shored up some conservative positions, such as his support for gun rights, while shifting to the left on core issues like abortion, education and gay rights. And he has successfully courted top Democrats—including some with close ties to President Barack Obama and the White House—to work on his campaign, even though two Democrats are making serious bids for the Senate seat.

"So many of the elected politicians in Washington seem to be shackled by the fear of a primary," Mr. Crist said in an interview last week in this seaside city, where he attended a briefing on the effects of the Gulf oil spill. As an independent, Mr. Crist said, he is free to speak his mind without worrying about the most ideological voters.

"It's liberating," Mr. Crist said. "It's a lot of fun, and I'm convinced it's what the people want."

Mr. Crist believes he has stumbled on a political sweet spot, amid polls showing voters are angry at incumbents and disenchanted with both political parties. 

I'm wondering if the Dems have learned anything from having Joe F'ckin Lieberman play the kingmaker card time and time again in the Senate, and here they are again setting themselves up for Crist to do the same type of damage to bills and be the enfant terrible raging across the airwaves saying "I'm voting my heart" while demanding deals.

What's Crist's price for sticking with the Dems?  Will he flip too should the Republicans get close enough that they could get control of the Senate if Lieberman and Crist jump ship?  What's to stop Crist from being a complete prima donna?

Short term I can see why you'd do this, but I think the Dems throwing Kendrick Meek under the bus like this is even worse than what they did to Ned Lamont.  Meek's been a solid vote in the House, but that shows you when a Senate seat in a state like Florida is up for grabs, hope and change only matters if you can win, I guess.