Ten years ago, that was the editorial boards' knock against Crist: There wasn't a whole lot of depth or substance. He was always quick to take big swings at the fat, populist melons - remember "Chain Gang" Charlie? And as Florida's attorney general, no AG touted himself more as Mr. Consumer Advocate than did Crist (although current AG Bill McCollum is certainly trying).The one thing conservatives and business people thought they could count on with Crist as governor, however, was that he understood the three most fundamental things about government and taxes: Government doesn't create wealth; government should be strictly limited; and government should let taxpayers keep as much of their money as possible.We thought he got that. After all, he had a great conservative mentor. In the late 1980s, he served as U.S. Sen. Connie Mack's state director. And for the past eight years, he had another role model, his predecessor, Gov. Jeb Bush.But Gov. Crist apparently has forgotten all of Mack and Bush's limited-government lessons.
