Thursday, March 13, 2008

Charlie Crist as Vice President


Charlie Crist has been mentioned as a potential candidate for vice president by
John McCain. Crist is the governor of Florida and is a Republican, naturally. He is actually quite new at the job as he has not even been in office for one full term.


Prior to becoming governor, Crist was the attorney general for the state of Florida. He was elected governor in 2006 and has only been in office a little over a year.

Charlie Crist grew up in Pennsylvania and is the son of a Greek father and Scotch-Irish mother. He played football at Wake Forest University and was a frat boy at Florida State. He received his Juris Doctorate from the Cumberland School of Law in Alabama, according to Wikipedia.

Crist has been divorced for the past 28 years. He was only married for one year. He has no children nor has he ever re-married. He has, however, given tax benefits to heterosexual couples who adopt.

Charlie Crist stands tough on crime, which is one reason why he ended up getting elected as Governor. Activist John Walsh is a strong supporter of Crist as is anyone who is appalled by murder, especially of children. Crist has worked extensively with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

As governor, he is cutting the state budget, which is making some Florida taxpayers very happy. Others, who are depending on the state and who look for jobs that pay decent money in which you really don't have to do anything or even show up, are upset.

Crist has had little scandal throughout his political career which began when he won the state senate seat in 1992. He was a supporter of chain gangs and was nicknamed "Chain Gang Charlie" by critics who are fighting for HBO and Showtime for convicted murderers and felons, according to Wikipedia.

Charlie Crist is pro life and pro family, according to Wikipedia information. He is pro death penalty, pro NRA, wants to expand state gambling but is also "green" as he wants to ban oil drilling on Florida's coastline so that we can be beholden to the Saudis.

In short, Charlie Crist is a Republican platform. His platform is a solid Republican platform. And despite the fact that he is unmarried and has no children, nor does he have a significant other, he is pro the "Defense of Marriage Act."

Charlie Crist has been a staunch supporter of civil rights and has been called the state's "First Black Governor" by Democrat Terry Fields in that he has been a "friend to the African American community even before he became governor," according to a report on Wikipedia. He campaigned with McCain frequently during the Florida primaries and endorsed the republican candidate.

Florida has 27 electoral votes. Winning the presidential election in Florida is considered to be crucial in the presidential race. We all remember how important it was in the 2000 election, right?

On a personal note, my parents met Charlie Crist who spoke on behalf of a national landmark that developers were trying to destroy. Crist is in favor of keeping the Belleaire Biltmore Hotel and his support actually allowed the 120 year old hotel to be spared from a developer's wrecking ball. My parents asked if they could take a photo with him and he was glad to oblige.

According to my mother, he was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and spent plenty of time with the residents of their community. They were exceedingly grateful that he interceded on behalf of the landmark hotel and, by the way, this was way before the primaries began.

Crist is a good choice in Vice President for McCain. He has republican ideals but is not preachy and has a nice smile as well as charisma. He would be a good choice for McCain who wants to bring in the Florida vote.

Sources: Wikipedia
Mike & Joanne Friel

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