CRIST ADDRESSES SUPPORTERS, BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS ACROSS POLK

Attorney General Charlie Crist worked Polk County like it was his home area Tuesday, addressing a breakfast gathering then meeting with business and political leaders as the day progressed. He even referred to himself as a "happy warrior", a term originally made famous by the late Minnesota Democratic U.S. Senator and 1968 presidential candidate Hubert H. Humphrey.

Lakeland Ledger political columnist Bill Rufty reports that Crist ran slightly late beginning his address to the breakfast gathering, working every table and glad-handing attendees with questions about family, health, and rememberences of past meetings.

The attorney general talked about his issues: The tough-on-crime posture that got him the nickname "Chain Gang Charlie", continuing the education reforms started by Governor Jeb Bush, and keeping taxes low. He touted the incumbant as "the greatest governor in America", and while he called himself a strong adherent of the late President Ronald Reagan's "11th Commandment" ("Speak no ill of a fellow Republican."), he did manage to note that "There are people in this race running for them(selves). I am running for governor for you."

And so it goes...the Ledger story actually reads more of a fluff piece to me...