There’s been a lot of pearl-clutching recently over the White House’s involvement in Senate races, but they haven’t done anything illegal or out of the ordinary. And, I think people have been missing the real story, which involves Florida. The announcement that SKDKnickerbocker will be working on Governor Charlie Crist’s campaign means that the White House has already worked out a deal for Crist to caucus with the Democrats should he win his independent bid for the U.S. Senate. How do I know this? Because Anita Dunn just left the White House, where she served as a senior advisor, to head SKDKnickerbocker. So, unofficially, the White House is working against the Democrat in the race. I’d be mad about that except that Meek is so far showing nothing to make me believe he has a chance. I am not a particularly big fan of Meek, and even though I’d rather have him serve in the Senate than Charlie Crist, the White House is actually doing something smart here. Rather than alienating Crist by going all-in with a long-shot candidate, they’re working two sides of the aisle. Meek will still get the help of the DNC, the DSCC, Bill Clinton, and maybe even Obama. But, simultaneously, they’re helping Crist because they see him as the likely winner and they really want him to caucus with the Democrats. If he does, that will be a pickup for the Dems, and it will offset the certain loss of Byron Dorgan’s North Dakota seat. If the Dems can pick up the currently Republican-held Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, and New Hampshire seats, they’d be up five and the Republicans would be hard-pressed to even break even on election night. We’ve seen how important 60 votes are. So, I actually have to applaud this power move on the White House’s part.
FL Sen: White House Power Play
