Charlie Crist looks to be dissing Jeb Bush's legacy in speech

Charlie Crist campaigned for governor calling himself a Jeb Bush Republican.

But to hear Crist talk on the campaign trail lately about his accomplishments cutting spending and taxes and improving schools, it can sound like much of his time has been spent cleaning up after former Gov. Bush.

"When I got elected governor, out of 50 states, Florida in K-12 education was ranked 31st — 31st out of 50. Not so good,'' Crist told party leaders gathered at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan on Friday night.

"Last year we went from 31st to 14 and this year, top 10. We're very proud of that," said Crist, who as governor has been little more than a caretaker for education policies put in place by Bush. His highest profile education initiative has been to promote physical education.

So who had more to do with those improved rankings?

"That's up to others to decide, but clearly I think he deserves an enormous amount of credit,'' Crist told the St. Petersburg Times on Monday, saying he saw firsthand how hard Bush worked on education. "I was education commissioner when he was governor."

Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is the first governor in Florida history not to seek re-election. The Michigan speech underscored the challenge he faces in touting his record leading a state with one of the worst economies in the country.

He hasn't been in office long enough to have a significant legacy and to suggest he has fixed major problems in the state is to imply a beloved figure among most Florida Republicans, Gov. Bush, left major problems.

Crist never mentioned Bush, and he told the Times he in no way meant to imply anything critical about the former governor.

"Florida is doing a lot better because of the recent leadership. . . . Lesser me than him,'' the governor said. "We've been blessed in this state."

But somebody in that Michigan audience who knew nothing about Bush could have left with the impression that Crist replaced a big government spender.

"We understood we needed to reign in spending. When I got elected governor our state budget was $73 billion. I cut it $8 billion in 2½ years. Now it's down to $66 billion," Crist told the crowd.

Crist did not mention that it was plummeting state revenue that forced him and the Legislature to cut expenses to balance the budget. Or that he campaigned for President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package to help avoid more serious cuts to the budget.

"In an effort to hide his own economic record, Charlie Crist even appears to have taken a page out of the Obama playbook by blaming a Bush for what he inherited," said Alex Burgos, spokesman for Marco Rubio, Crist's opponent for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. "Charlie Crist needs to own up to the fact that he inherited a state with 3.3 percent unemployment that has now soared to 10.7 percent on his watch."

Burgos said Crist is out of line touting his fiscal conservatism when he campaigned side-by-side with Obama to encourage Congress to pass the stimulus package; when he expanded Florida's government-run insurance program; and when he signed a budget that included $2.2 billion in new taxes and fees.

Bush has not taken sides in the race, but he was Rubio's mentor and has never been close to Crist. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that while speaking to an area Republican club recently, the former governor lavished praise on Rubio and said national party leaders were wrong to try to crown Crist as the certain nominee.

"He should be given a chance," Bush said of Rubio. "I think that the idea that the national party would pick a winner a year and a half before an election is the wrong way to go."

Bush declined to comment on Crist's speech in Michigan.

"Gov. Bush is proud of his eight-year record of reforming government and improving the state's economy, education system and quality of life,'' said spokeswoman Kristy Campbell.

That annual Mackinac Republican conference frequently draws future presidential candidates. Crist told the crowd he's confident Obama will be a one-term president and said Republicans across the country would do well to follow the "common sense" brand of politics practiced by Florida Republicans.

"When people run for office and they don't do what they say they were going to do when they ran, they break your heart. When they simply do what they say they're going to do, they make you heart sing,'' Crist said. "Don't let people down. Don't disappoint them. If you tell them you're going to cut taxes, do it. If you tell them you're going to improve education, do it."

Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@sptimes.com.