Crist sends friend to Washington

In choosing his longtime political confidante and former chief of staff George LeMieux to fill Mel Martinez' seat in the U.S. Senate, Gov. Charlie Crist did what he usually does: what's best for Charlie.

The governor now has a surrogate in the Senate to hold the post he hopes to win next year, someone he knows he can count on to do what he wants him to do.

To be fair to Crist, he could not have foreseen he would be in the position to appoint a senator. But when Martinez announced earlier this month he was bailing out of Washington 16 months short of fulfilling his six-year commitment to the people of Florida, the job of finding a successor fell to Crist.

The governor made quite a show of the appointment process, interviewing 10 people - lawyers, politicians, lobbyists - before settling on his friend. He said Friday he didn't make a final decision until Thursday night. He praised the other candidates for their willingness to serve.

Crist pronounced LeMieux a man of integrity and tremendous intellect with "a heart for the people." There's no reason to doubt the governor's characterization.

But neither Crist nor the soon-to-be senator should be surprised if Floridians question whether LeMieux's primary focus will be the governor whose ambition is to succeed him, not the people of Florida. With LeMieux in Washington, Crist has yet another leg up on Republican rival Marco Rubio

Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Karen Thurman reacted quickly, accusing the governor of cronyism. She has a point, but charging LeMieux with making millions by "selling access to Crist to the highest bidders" is nonsense.

For his part, LeMieux said he plans to work every day on the great challenges facing the country, pointing particularly to health care reform and the national debt. He said he would be guided by the principles of fiscal conservatism and smaller government. Those remarks should give some consolation to the more conservative members of the Republican Party.

Undoubtedly, other potential appointees had the experience to hit the ground running in Washington. We were disappointed Crist never interviewed former Tampa mayor and governor Bob Martinez. Many GOP members in this region favored the appointment of former Congressman Mike Bilirakis. But no one can say Crist didn't talk to well-qualified candidates, among them former Sen. Connie Mack and U.S. Rep. Bill Young of St. Petersburg, the senior Republican in the House.

LeMieux may not have held elected office, but he ran for a state House seat 11 years ago, and he has solid experience in government. He served as Crist's top deputy in the attorney general's office before resigning to run Crist's successful gubernatorial campaign. He then served as Crist's first chief of staff in the governor's office.

Since leaving state government he has led the Gunster Yoakley & Stewart law firm and is a consultant to the state Republican Party.

LeMieux obviously is a smart man and offers what is most important to Crist: loyalty.

While no outrage, the choice of a political operative is hardly inspiring. Still, we wish Florida's new senator good luck.