Kim Strassel asks the question of the day in WSJ.com’s Political Diary:

The question is whether Mr. Crist cares. Mr. Rubio is now beating him by double digits in the polls for the GOP primary and has raised three times as much money as Mr. Crist in the first quarter. A recent Quinnipiac poll suggested Mr. Crist had a better shot running as an independent in the general election against Mr. Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meeks. Many therefore viewed yesterday’s veto as little more than an opportunistic way for Mr. Crist to break with his party, with an eye to an outside run.
Less certain is whether that veto actually helps him as an independent. The governor’s office made a big deal out of the number of comments that had poured in, and claimed the vast majority were opposed to the bill. Then again, the teachers unions had mobilized most of that response. The Florida electorate as a whole has been generally supportive of reform, one reason Mr. Bush was a popular governor. The perception that Mr. Crist’s veto was nothing but political maneuvering, combined with a possible party switch, can’t sit well with an electorate looking for strong leadership. We may be watching a political career go down in flames.