For all the breathless talk about Marco Rubio being poised to beat Charlie Crist, don't forget that pesky little question of money. There has been lots of talk that nearly half of Crist's money can't be spent until the general election, so he's not nearly so far ahead. Wrong.

We've crunched the numbers, and it looks like only about $2.5 million of Crist's campaign account is restricted to the general election. As of Sept. 30, the governor had a 5-to-1 financial advantage over Rubio, $4.17 million on hand for the primary, versus $802,000 for Rubio, who had more than $90,000 restricted for the general election. The underdog Miami Republican has spent $712,000 to date, compared to $656,000 for Crist.

With all the chatter about Charlie Crist as the next Dede Scozzafava, it's a safe bet Rubio will see a big upswing in donations. "People see this as the chance to get in early and not rally behind the conservative late in the game,'' said Rubio campaign manager Alex Burgos.

The campaign tomorrow plans to launch what it calls "the most powerful online fundraising tool in Florida's political history."

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