What's Up With Crist?

Earlier today I mentioned that Charlie Crist is not going out of his way to campaign for John McCain in Florida. What I didn't know was that he is totally distancing himself from McCain campaign statements like "Obama is for socialism", he is downplaying concerns about ACORN and voter fraud, and he had this to say about Sarah Palin:

I asked Crist if he thought Palin was going to lure undecided voters to the ticket.

"I think we both know the answer to that," he said.

Wow. Is this just bitterness for not having been selected to be on the ticket, or is there something more here? Crist is arguably the most popular Republican in the country at this point, and maybe he just wants to keep it that way:

"We have nearly 20 million people here, 12 million voters," he said. "When things aren't going well, voters tend to blame the political party in charge, and there's no mistaking it: Republicans run Florida."

Seems to me like he's going out of his way to rip the top of the ticket. The Republican Party of Florida is holding back money for the election and saving it for future cycles. That ought to tell you something.