Gov Charlie gets engaged. That means...
That's right, our confirmed bachelor, Gov. Charlie, is engaged.
TALLAHASSEE - The private courtship of Florida’s most public official culminated in an engagement Thursday morning after Gov. Charlie Crist proposed to Carole Rome, his girlfriend since late last year.
It will be the second marriage for Crist who turns 52 on July 24. Rome, 38, is divorced and has two daughters who are nine and 11.
I say "confirmed bachelor" even though Gov Charlie was married once before.
Crist was married for six months in 1979 to Amanda Morrow, a fellow student at Florida State University. His bachelor status, combined with his austere life as a man who has never owned a home, has been a consistent source of rumors and gossip.
But please, don't think this engagement has anything to do with his political ambitions. That would be so unlike Gov Charlie. Well, except maybe:
He dated Katie Pemble, a St. Petersburg bank executive, during his 2006 gubernatorial campaign and she frequently joined him in public appearances.
Katie who? Who knows...that relationship didn't seem to survive. So based on past experience, we can reasonably think that our Charlie thinks he has a good shot as McCain's VP choice, but he has to "butch up" again.
And no, I don't think Gov Charlie is gay. Or even if he was, that it matters. Florida Republican voters decided that in 2006. And Republicans decided even if he was, that he was an acceptable candidate for governor. Remember that the next time you're told that Republicans are homophobes. We elected Gov Charlie because he was the better choice, especially when running against a Democrat.
But I do think that Charlie Crist is opportunistic. He ran as a conservative even though all the evidence was against that. So he'll run for VP as a family man who can commit to a longterm relationship with a women because that is what is required.
‘‘This constant rumor mongering is sickening,’’ said Larry Sabato, political scientist and author of Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism and American Politics. ‘‘Yes, the marriage may help him politically but I don’t think that’s why he’s doing it. It just seems to me to be such an extreme possibility. I got more calls about his sexual orientation during the 2006 campaign than any of his policies put together. After a while, it just becomes too much. If he wanted to benefit politically, why wouldn’t he have gotten married when he was running for governor?
"’It probably does help to a certain degree, particularly among Republican voters and family values voters,‘‘ Sabato said. ’’I can’t imagine anyone getting married for that reason. I may be naive, everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt at a happy moment like that."
Now, Sabato is a smart man who knows politics. But that doesn't mean he knows anything more than I do.
And even though I'm sure that this is another opportunistic political ploy by Gov Charlie, I do wish him the best. Marriage is a good thing between a man and a woman and a politician.
TALLAHASSEE - The private courtship of Florida’s most public official culminated in an engagement Thursday morning after Gov. Charlie Crist proposed to Carole Rome, his girlfriend since late last year.
It will be the second marriage for Crist who turns 52 on July 24. Rome, 38, is divorced and has two daughters who are nine and 11.
I say "confirmed bachelor" even though Gov Charlie was married once before.
Crist was married for six months in 1979 to Amanda Morrow, a fellow student at Florida State University. His bachelor status, combined with his austere life as a man who has never owned a home, has been a consistent source of rumors and gossip.
But please, don't think this engagement has anything to do with his political ambitions. That would be so unlike Gov Charlie. Well, except maybe:
He dated Katie Pemble, a St. Petersburg bank executive, during his 2006 gubernatorial campaign and she frequently joined him in public appearances.
Katie who? Who knows...that relationship didn't seem to survive. So based on past experience, we can reasonably think that our Charlie thinks he has a good shot as McCain's VP choice, but he has to "butch up" again.
And no, I don't think Gov Charlie is gay. Or even if he was, that it matters. Florida Republican voters decided that in 2006. And Republicans decided even if he was, that he was an acceptable candidate for governor. Remember that the next time you're told that Republicans are homophobes. We elected Gov Charlie because he was the better choice, especially when running against a Democrat.
But I do think that Charlie Crist is opportunistic. He ran as a conservative even though all the evidence was against that. So he'll run for VP as a family man who can commit to a longterm relationship with a women because that is what is required.
‘‘This constant rumor mongering is sickening,’’ said Larry Sabato, political scientist and author of Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism and American Politics. ‘‘Yes, the marriage may help him politically but I don’t think that’s why he’s doing it. It just seems to me to be such an extreme possibility. I got more calls about his sexual orientation during the 2006 campaign than any of his policies put together. After a while, it just becomes too much. If he wanted to benefit politically, why wouldn’t he have gotten married when he was running for governor?
"’It probably does help to a certain degree, particularly among Republican voters and family values voters,‘‘ Sabato said. ’’I can’t imagine anyone getting married for that reason. I may be naive, everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt at a happy moment like that."
Now, Sabato is a smart man who knows politics. But that doesn't mean he knows anything more than I do.
And even though I'm sure that this is another opportunistic political ploy by Gov Charlie, I do wish him the best. Marriage is a good thing between a man and a woman and a politician.
posted by RightinFlorida | 9:03 AM
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