Crist Disses Bush

From the Sun-Sentinel:

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The closer the election came to the finish line, the more President Bush's aides battled the perception he was doing his party as much harm as good and was unwanted in many districts.

On Monday, Bush jetted to a conservative corner of Florida's Panhandle, about as far as he could get from the state's three in-play House districts. To the White House's embarrassment and irritation, Republican Charlie Crist, whom Bush came to help in his bid to succeed the president's brother as governor, decided at the last minute to skip the chance to be by the president's side.

[...]

White House aides mocked Crist's choice to duck the Bush rally, which they only learned about on Sunday morning -- too late to change the printed schedules that had Crist introducing the president at the rally.

Crist chief of staff George LeMieux said the conservative Pensacola area was so firmly in his camp, and so hard to get to, that it made more sense to campaign elsewhere in the state. Said Crist: "I'm glad he's come to our state, but I've got to get around Florida."

Still, Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, suggested that reporters see whether Crist would be able to hastily assemble anything like the Pensacola event, which drew about 7,000.

Just for that, Mr. Rove added, he won't fix the governor's race in Florida.