I haven’t read all the commentary about Charlie Crist’s decision to send his “junior partner” and political doppelganger to Washington, so maybe this has been pointed out or debunked already. But it seems to me this is great news for Rubio. As I understand it, 2010 will be a year for outsiders and crusaders, at least for conservatives. And yet, by putting in someone who will in effect be a proxy for Crist, Crist will seem even more like an incumbent (it also makes Crist look like a backroom-dealer). Any votes Crist Lite makes in Washington will be, for political purposes, Crist votes. I would think that Crist would want to avoid ownership of any senate votes coming in the next year. If Lemieux votes for cap-and-trade, Crist owns it. Ditto health-care reform and lord knows what else. Now George LeMieux (Crist’s mini-me) could end up distinguishing himself as a real conservative fighter and hero, which would create a challenge for Rubio, but presumably Crist doesn’t want anything but a caretaker in there. Running for the senate and being a senator are two different things, even more so if you have to run in a primary. It seems to me that Crist has made running as an outsider harder without actually gaining any of the benefits of incumbency.