In Wednesday's St. Petersburg Times, Gov. Charlie Crist has a response to the Times/Herald analysis of his official daily schedule as governor and a critical editorial in Tuesday's Times. The Times/Herald analysis found he has taken the equivalent of almost 10 weeks off a year since taking office in 2007. An except from his response:

The schedule of a governor should not — and cannot — be reduced to a spreadsheet. To do so is ridiculous and does not reflect the endless hours spent briefing with agency leaders and staff, reading policy briefings and the day's news, meeting and talking on the phone with constituents, advisers and legislators, and responding to the types of things that just simply cannot be scheduled. To look at a governor's published daily schedule, which is provided as a simple snapshot of public events and planned meetings, disregards the spontaneity required to lead our state. ...

I was elected by the people of this great state to make a difference, not to mark time, and that is just what I am doing. I look forward to rolling out our 2010 legislative priorities in the coming months, because while we have accomplished much in less than three years, there is much more to do — provide tax cuts and incentives for Florida's businesses, continue to increase education standards and maintain per student funding, tackle corruption in local government through vigorous ethics reform, and protect our children and seniors through strict background-screening reform.

Read the whole response here.