Another hat in the ring: McCollum announces bid for governor

In a decision that surprises no one, the ever-ambitious loser Bill McCollum (R-You Ever Giving Up?) has announced that he's running for governor of Florida.

Currently the state's Attorney General, McCollum had a lengthy career in Congress before coming to the curious decision that the state deserved a leader of his caliber (by which I mean "BB"), no doubt in the afterglow of his co-management of the Clinton impeachment hearings in the U.S. House. However, unlike his fellow manager Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, he couldn't use the impeachment as a stepping-stone to the U.S. Senate, losing the 2000 election to Democrat Bill Nelson.

McCollum did go on to win the AG post in 2006, albeit against little-known state senator Skip Campbell, who himself went on to bail out of a winnable election that might have returned him to the state Senate in 2008. This hardly burnishes McCollum's record, and he further demonstrated his questionable judgment by eagerly signing onto that electoral Hindenburg, the 2008 presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani, as his Florida chairman. Bottom line: if McCollum had anything whatsoever to do with Giuliani's disastrous strategy of putting all his eggs into Florida's basket (did he, for example, "guarantee" a Rudy win in the primary?), then he certainly ought not be anywhere near the governor's desk.

The last state AG to run for governor, of course, was none other than Charlie Crist. But McCollum may face opposition from his own party, as state Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is considering entering the race. Bronson's candidacy would further splinter the state GOP, already reeling from innumerable missteps and mismanagement in 2008, but Bronson probably has a decent shot at winning the nomination against McCollum, who has the campaign acumen of a bowl of wet Corn Flakes. Whether Bronson runs or not, the Republicans appear disorganized and McCollum seems like a consolation prize. And against a Democratic Party unified behind Alex Sink, that doesn't bode well for their chances to retain the governorship ... which, of course, is excellent news for Florida.

Blast Off! endorses Alex Sink for governor

Earlier today, state CFO Alex Sink (right) announced her candidacy for governor of Florida in the 2010 election. Several months ago, she withdrew her name from consideration for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mel Martinez, and that naturally led to increasing speculation regarding her candidacy for governor. With two major political plums up for grabs next year, all eyes have been on Gov. Charlie Crist as he mulled over his options; his announcement yesterday that he would run for Senate made today's statement by Sink almost anticlimactic.

I'm running for Governor.

Floridians from Pensacola over to Jacksonville and all the way down to Key West are facing enormous challenges. Each and every day, the global financial crisis tests our families, our economy and our resolve.

In unique and challenging times like these, our state needs a new and different kind of leadership.

Thousands of Floridians have told me they need leaders committed to protecting the middle class, strengthening our economy and giving our families a fighting chance. As a businesswoman and working mom, I couldn’t agree more.

Before the people of Florida elected me their CFO, I spent nearly three decades in business – creating jobs and economic opportunity in communities all across our state.

During my short time in state government, a couple of things have become crystal clear: Tallahassee’s tired old ways of doing business just aren’t enough to answer the urgent new challenges we face. And a state government influenced by narrow special interests cannot put the best interests of everyday Floridians first.

Today, I’m announcing I will be a candidate for Governor of Florida in the November 2010 election, and put my business experience and know-how to work restoring our economy.

And, as Florida’s CFO, I’ll continue using my business experience to cut wasteful spending, crack down on financial fraud and reform state contracts.

For too long, we’ve had to tolerate a state government that puts playing politics ahead of helping families. Together, we can change all that, and give our state a fresh start.

Alex

p.s. Watch my announcement on video here.

For some time, I've said here and elsewhere that whatever Charlie Crist runs for, he'll win (although I'm hedging my bets a little now, as his primary challenge may well be tougher than the general for him) and that I hoped Alex Sink would run for whatever Charlie didn't. Moreover, I've predicted that the non-Crist race in 2010 (between Senate and governor) will go the Democrats' way. Well, today my forecast officially became half right. Even though I publicly urged Sink to run for Senate, I look at it simply like she and Crist exchanged election races.

But regardless of the office, I have been impressed with Alex Sink every time I've spoken with her and seen her speak, whether it was to a few people or to a whole audience of Democrats. Not only is she the highest-ranking Democratic state official in Florida but, other than Bill Nelson, who already has a job (for a while at least), she's the only Florida Democrat currently holding office who has proven she can win a statewide election.

Alex Sink is the best hope for Florida to stem the tide of Republican malfeasance that has infected the state through Jeb! Bush's two terms as governor and, indeed, right on through the current administration of faux-moderate Charlie Crist. Because of that, and because of my deep respect for her and her proven leadership ability, I am pleased to give Blast Off!'s 2010 gubernatorial endorsement to Alex Sink.

Is it 2010 yet?

Hard to believe that 2009 has barely started and we're already getting into the silly season for 2010, particularly regarding the U.S. Senate race here in America's Wang™.

With Jeb! Bush and Alex Sink taking themselves out of contention, it's turned into a real free-for-all. Naturally, the Chief Wanger™, Gov. Charlie Crist, leads the way among Republicans. His popularity is as high as that of the President right now ... should Charlie strike while the iron's hot?

The poll found that 67 percent of Floridians view Crist favorably, 21 percent unfavorably. Obama is viewed favorably by 66 percent and unfavorably by 16 percent in the survey completed on the eve of his inauguration.

"No one has surfaced as a likely Democratic opponent for Gov. Charlie Crist and that's not surprising, given how well he is thought of by Floridians," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "It's impressive at this time of national Obamamania that Gov. Crist's favorability rating is slightly higher than that of the new president.

"Of course, it's still more than 21 months until the 2010 election, but Charlie Crist looks like a very strong candidate for reelection."

Assuming, of course, that Gov. Crist is seeking reelection as governor ... but what about the Senate?

The interesting thing that no one seems to have mentioned yet is that should Gov. Crist seek the Senate nod, that opens up the governor's chair. And one name that comes up repeatedly for that role on the Democratic side is ... Alex Sink. Currently the highest-ranking Democrat in state government, CFO Sink is a leading candidate to win the office her husband, Bill McBride, sought a few years back ... which probably would set up kind of a win-win situation. Stay with me on this one for a moment:

Say Crist seeks reelection ... then it's a decent bet, if not a certainty, that the Democratic candidate (maybe Rep. Kendrick Meek?) wins the Senate seat. But if Charlie goes to Washington (I'm assuming he's unbeatable right now, although I know that could change), then we quite likely could end up with a Democratic governor. I don't think in this current climate, the GOP wins both races.

So, look for the union label silver lining, folks: while we still may be stuck with Charlie, something good is likely to come of it, one way or the other.

Where have all the governors gone?

(ed. note -- this post is adapted from my comment at the Florida Progressive Coalition Blog)

As I continue to wend my way through the maelstrom of Democratic presidential candidates without being able to settle on one firmly (although I still lean Edwards), I can't help but wonder why Democrats, and indeed many Republicans, persist in thinking that the U.S. Senate is some kind of great stepping stone to the White House.

The last sitting Senator to be elected president was John F. Kennedy in 1960. So, who’s out there for the Democrats?

Of course, the only sitting governor who is running on the Democratic side is Bill Richardson. I'm not convinced that he's the answer, although he definitely has some attractive features as a candidate. But he's no Howard Dean, and I'm probably going to have to get over that formidable psychological obstacle in order to feel good about my vote in 2008.

There’s also Virginia’s Mark Warner, a former governor, but he seems a lock to win John Warner’s (no relation) Senate seat next year. (Why he wants to be a senator, I’ve no idea.) I absolutely love Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, but unfortunately she’s not eligible for the presidency, having been born in Canada. Some Dem governors, like Ted Strickland in Ohio, John Lynch in New Hampshire, Elliot Spitzer in New York, and Deval Patrick in Massachusetts, are just too new to consider. Others, like Illinois’ Rod Blagojevich, Pennsylvania’s Ed Rendell, New Jersey’s Jon Corzine, and Louisiana’s Kathleen Blanco, have had a lot of problems that make them less than attractive candidates.

Having said all that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Spitzer or maybe Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as a running-mate to whoever takes the Democratic nomination. Tim Kaine of Virginia is another up-and-comer out there. But indeed there just doesn’t seem to be a top-notch Democratic-governor-as-presidential-candidate (arguably, other than Richardson) out there.

Why is this? Where are the Bill Clintons and Jimmy Carters on the Democratic side? We've seen in recent years the lack of success that sitting senators have when running for president: John Kerry in 2004, Bob Dole in 1996, and Walter Mondale in 1984 were singularly poor choices in many ways, ultimately winning their nominations as compromise or consensus candidates but unable to oust popular incumbent presidents. By contrast, of the presidential elections without an incumbent or where the incumbent was defeated, each winner since 1960 was a sitting or recent governor or vice president: Nixon in 1968, Carter in 1976, Reagan in 1980, George H.W. Bush in 1988, Clinton in 1992, and Gore/Drunky McStagger in 2000 (take your pick). Since we don't have an incumbent vice president running this time, nor would we on the Democratic side, that leaves governors ... and the cupboard is rather bare.

The three Democratic front-runners -- Clinton, Obama, and Edwards -- are all sitting or former senators. But on the Republican side, former governor Mitt Romney is trailing former mayor (!) Rudy Giuliani and former senator Fred Thompson, while sitting senators John McCain and Sam Brownback and sitting congressmen Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, and Tom Tancredo are in the mix. Other than Romney, only former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has been a chief executive.

Every presidential election since 1976 has featured at least one candidate who at one time had been the governor of a state. Are we going to buck that trend in 2008? And can the U.S. Senate truly be a launching pad to the presidency?

UPDATE (4:23 pm 10/16/07): Yes, I forgot some candidates this year, like Chris Dodd (sitting senator). So sue me. ;)

Gov. Crist: listen to your elders

Past governors know a thing or two about being governor, right? So, with that in mind, Florida TaxWatch has given Gov. Charlie Crist a primer on being governor, including "Governor to Governor" advice from his predecessors.

For example:

"Don't let other people's priorities dictate your time." - Reubin Askew (1971-79)

Askew also stresses the importance of selecting "men and women of high integrity" to serve in the administration.

Especially: "Do not hire your campaign manager as your chief of staff."

Crist promptly violated that admonition with the appointment of George LeMieux, a lawyer and confidant who held the No. 2 post in the attorney general's office.

The cautionary words of Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan (1999-2003) might now seem prophetic: "Be very sensitive to the expenditures and accountability of the transition."

Stung by criticism of the $500,000 donations solicited for his inauguration festivities, Crist scaled down the contributions and dropped plans for an inaugural ball.

The best advice, though, comes from the ever-curmudgeonly Claude Kirk:

The irascible Claude Kirk (1967-71) dishes out some blunt advice ("Never … never … have a 'one-on-one' discussion without your own security witness." "Call me if you don't know how to make the teachers' union 'come to the crusade!' "), but not before dismissing the whole premise of the handbook.

"You sought no advice from me during the campaign," Kirk observes, " … so, why would I expect you to respect my advice NOW .. and much less, NOW follow my seriously studied and carefully written thoughts, cautions, and urgings. Well, you should first note that this book is just like the 'bad' government systems the people elected you to toss out … namely, someone started a 'pet' (but useless) idea and no one has had the guts to say 'No' … 'stop[.]' "

The best examples of leadership come from those leaders who surround themselves with able, sensible advisors. Up in Washington, for example, Drunky McStagger has failed that test. Here's hoping Gov. Crist can resist the siren song of the hyper-conservative Bushites and be his own (presumably, bipartisan) man.