Florida Frenemies

Former Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is now backing Barack Obama, causing howls of betrayal from the state's Republicans.

As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I'm confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation. I applaud and share his vision of a future built by a strong and confident middle class in an economy that gives us the opportunity to reap prosperity through hard work and personal responsibility. It is a vision of the future proven right by our history.

We often remind ourselves to learn the lessons of the past, lest we risk repeating its mistakes. Yet nearly as often, our short-term memory fails us. Many have already forgotten how deep and daunting our shared crisis was in the winter of 2009, as President Obama was inaugurated. It was no ordinary challenge, and the president served as the nation's calm through a historically turbulent storm.

The president's response was swift, smart and farsighted. He kept his compass pointed due north and relentlessly focused on saving jobs, creating more and helping the many who felt trapped beneath the house of cards that had collapsed upon them. 

But it's the Tea Party that has really turned Crist off:

As Republicans gather in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney, Americans can expect to hear tales of how President Obama has failed to work with their party or turn the economy around.

But an element of their party has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they've proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims.

The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve. 

Ouch.

How much Crist's endorsement of Obama will help, I have no clue.  It's not like he had a whole lot of political capital in the blood red Marco Rubio/Rick Scott Florida.   But there's a reason why Dem Sen. Ben Nelson and Barack Obama are running a tough race in this supposedly now permanently red southern state, and it has everything to do with what Crist had to say about the GOP.

Coming on the doorstep of the Tampa convention, that's going to get noticed.