A Sign Of The Times

Some interesting news from Florida (from Fox):

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist decided Sunday to skip an appearance with President Bush in favor of crisscrossing the state in the final hours before Election Day .

Crist, the state attorney general, is in a close race with Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Davis to replace the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush , who can't seek re-election because of term limits.

Crist's chief of staff, George LeMieux, said that the decision to skip the Monday rally with Bush in Pensacola wasn't a snub of the president, but a choice to appear in seven other cities where Crist has a chance of gaining ground.

Crist, you might remember, was the guy who claimed he spoke up against government intervention in the Terri Schiavo situation when he actually did not (at least not in public). So I can understand why he wants to avoid Bush like the plague -- Crist has enough problems already.

One would think that Bush, once he heard that he was being snubbed by Crist, would find some other state to visit, but very few GOP candidates seem to want him around.

Our president is one strange dude -- he stays on vacation when he is truly needed (like after being warned in August 2001 that bin Laden is determined to strike inside the U.S. or during the Katrina Catastrophe), but doesn't go on vacation when he probably should be staying as far away from a situation as possible. He certainly doesn't seem to be very popular with the voters right now, if the new CNN poll is any indication (from Political Wire):

President Bush's approval rating dipped to 35% in the final CNN poll before the midterm elections. A stunning 41% of likely voters say their disapproval of his performance will affect their vote in Tuesday's elections for control of Congress.

In the generic congressional race, the poll gives Democrats a 20 point lead, 58% to 38%.

This election season is definitely a strange one. Usually, I can't stand to watch Bush talk on TV, but now I love seeing him get lots of screen time and it's the Republican candidates who would love to see him go away.