Crist shamelessly politicizing oil spill disaster

From the Associated Press, running in today's New Orleans Times-Picayune:

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As Floridians see their white sand beaches getting fouled by the Gulf oil spill, many are angry at their Gulf Coast neighbors.

"They don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to crying about the oil," said Gregg Hall, a 48-year-old Pensacola Beach resident who walks the shore daily looking for signs of the spill's impact. "They contributed to it."

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"They?" I wonder what kind of car Mr. Hall drives. But anyway...

I'm sure he's having to look pretty hard for signs of the spill's impact, because the Florida Panhandle hasn't seen any oil on its beaches in weeks. In fact, Florida has gotten off quite lightly compared to places like Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island in Alabama and Grand Isle in Louisiana. The 75-mile coastline of Mississippi has also seen some heavy oiling, too. 

Florida's beaches have been so lightly affected that on July 12, Michelle Obama came down to Panama City Beach and declared the panhandle "oil free."

USAToday: Cedar Key is Oil Free (500 miles away)

So why is the Associated Press trying to color Florida's beaches oil brown?

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"I love Alabama and Mississippi and Louisiana, but it's Florida first for me," said Gov. Charlie Crist, who has ordered a special legislative session to consider a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide whether to permanently ban offshore drilling in state waters. "Here is the single loudest wake-up call ever as to why we've done that in Florida: Because it is not risk free."

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Aha!

Charlie Crist is trying to get himself elected Senator, running as an independent a Turncoat candidate, and finds himself trailing popular, young, energetic conservative Marco Rubio in the polls.  But Crist likes Obama, you see.  And so does the Associated Press (I wonder how many AP "correspondents" were members of JournoList).  So to drum up support for his ballot initiative, and help him with a little boost in the polls, we need a bit of a crisis.  Like angry Floridians complaining about oil that isn't there.

Gimme some feedback in the comments.