Another rough week for Gov. Charlie Crist on the Veep-O-Meter. First came the St. Pete Times/Bay News 9/Herald poll showing he wouldn't help John McCain draw lots of Florida Democrats.

Now, the April National Review has a Crist profile (Headline: ""He's no Jeb Bush." Charlie Crist -- ambiguous conservative, potential vice president") featuring a laundry list of reasons why conservatives might distrust Crist, including his pro-choice past, his support for restoring felon rights, global warming initiatives, his being described by Democrats as among "the best Democratic governors Florida's ever had," and his handling of the property insurance crisis in Florida.

"He socialized our state’s insurance market,” state Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, told William F. Buckley's magazine. “He’s doing everything he can to run insurance companies out of Florida.”

The piece concludes thusly: "On March 11, Crist explained the source of his passion (for fighting global warming): “Do you know who first introduced me to the idea of climate change? It was John McCain.”
Conservatives are likely to want a little more balance on the GOP presidential ticket. If McCain decides to spurn them, he would be smart to buy some disaster insurance beforehand."