Houseguests and Fish, and Rudy Giuliani

My grandfather always said that after three days, houseguests and fish start to smell the same. I guess in the case of Florida and the presidential election, it's three months.

It's been close to three months since Rudy Giuliani declared that his road to the White House marched up the Florida Turnpike. And now Governor Charlie Crist has said, "Hey Rudy, it's been nice having you here. If you could take the sheets off the bed and put them in the laundry hamper on your way out the door, we'd appreciate it."

How else can we read Crist's endorsement of Sen. John McCain to be the Republican nominee yesterday? He's saying to Giuliani that it's time to pack your bags, get on that Fort Lauderdale to JFK flight on JetBlue, and head back to New York and the private sector.

All those cafe con leches and all that key lime pie didn't mean much to Florida's political establishment.

This comes as something of a shock to Team Rudy. Giuliani believed he had brought the best possible gift to his hosts - a promise that he'll set up a National Catastrophic Insurance Fund for the hurricane-prone state, which is Crist's favorite policy hobby horse. By promising to help property-owners recover their losses from big storms, Giuliani was convinced that he'd get Floridians, including Crist, in his pocket.

After all, according to Giuliani, McCain says that he's opposed to a national catastrophe fund. How could Crist, or Floridians, support a candidate who opposes one of their top national policy priorities?

Instead, it's apparently been more like Hurricane Rudy moving up the length of the peninsula. Most Floridians have simply been ducking for cover, waiting for the storm to pass, and hoping the Spanish tiles will still be up on their rooftops when it's over.

The calculation here seems to be one of viability. According to Fox News, Crist had promised Giuliani an endorsement until New Hampshire, where the New Yorker finished so poorly in the polls. And so it appears that Rudy's last one out of the gate, first one across the finish line strategy caused Crist and other Republican Party leaders to question his real chances of picking up across the country.

But what's most significant about this endorsement is what it means for McCain. As a former official in the Jeb Bush administration, Crist is closer to the Bush dynasty than many of McCain's supporters. Crist's thumbs up will allow the Arizona senator to put on the mantle of true conservative and party leader with the backing of his party's power structure. And if Crist can help McCain appear closer to the Bush family and their core Republican supporters, it will allow him to once and for all overcome the argument that he only gets the votes of independents and moderate Republicans. That's what he must do if he's going to build the coalition he needs to credibly claim he can defeat the Democrats in November.

Cross-posted from The Right's Field.

Comments

[zigzag1]

Say 9/11 goodnight 9/11 Rudy 9/11 you're 9/11 toast 9/11

[desmirl]

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy--how we will miss you once you drop out of the campaign..­. NOT!

[oberon123]

The only way Rudy Gooliani has a chance at the Republican nomination is if he changes his name to Nina Levin, puts on some makeup, puts on one of his trade mark dresses and convert to Southern Baptist (ala Mccain).

[oldpotsmuggler]

Floridians probably genuinely like Rudy as a person. On second thought they probably are alot lke the rest of us and don't think much of Guiliani as a person or a President. The guy wanted to short cut his way into the Whitehouse, and we want someone to want it enough to realy work hard. We've already seen what it's like to have a President who enjoys clearing brush more than breaking a sweat at his paying job. (Actually two of them, but Reagan was an actor so there are still people who think of him as the real deal instead of just as the role he was hired to play.)

As far as the Republican winning the general this time, it ain't going to happen. Too many people would enjoy having a tooth pulled more than voting Republican now. At least that's what the numbers say so far. The race on the Republican side is turning out to be a national yawner, and the Democratic Primary has (and we can agree to disagrree on the reasons) electrified the nation like no other. When was the last time we had a President elected with a majority of voters turning out, and a huge majority of them going for the winner? This one looks like a Democratic Whitehouse all of the way, and a big enough win in Congress to make even the wingnuts hide for at least a couple of years.

[Quaoar]

"He's saying to Giuliani that it's time to pack your bags, get on that Fort Lauderdale to JFK flight on JetBlue, and head back to New York and the private sector."

The New York and the private sector are probably no more likely to embrace Giuliani than the GOP primary voters. It's time for Rudith to retire permanently.

[lgillooly]

After the last 7 years with Bush and the Republicans you have to be INSANE to vote for ANY one of them. They have raped and pillaged our Military,Treasury and Reputation.