The Rubio campaign points out that today is the one-year anniversary of Arlen Specter’s defection from the GOP.
If I was advising Crist, I would say: “Governor, you tried. Now it’s time to bow out gracefully. Endorse Rubio, help elect him to the Senate, and finish your term as a loyal member of the party you have served well. Make a little money in the private sector–something you’ve never had much chance to do, because you’ve been an officeholder for so long–and see what political opportunities surface in 2012 or 2014.”
Unfortunately, paid campaign consultants, who want to stay employed through November, are probably encouraging him to stick it out as an independent–not because it’s in Crist’s interests, but because it’s in theirs.