The Dance

Throughout this preliminary period of the 2010 election season, a number of candidates have danced about whether to enter the race. This "warm-up" period is quite common. Consider the "testing the waters" presidential campaigns waged by Senator Russ Feingold in 2006 and 2007. Candidates might be serious about entering the race, but don't forget that at heart politicians are, well, political. This means that they may be pushed by particular interests to run - or might simply be interested in raising their profile either for a separate purpose or simply because that is what politicians do. But once in a while, what looks like simply dipping a toe in the river is just the first step to taking the plunge. Former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio is now backing away from his earlier thoughts about vacating the field for Governor Crist. Many Republicans have been feeling as of late that Governor Crist has been vacating the Repubican field - and a primary challenge might be just the antidote to either (1) beat Charlie head-to-head, or (2) move the Governor back to the right to govern.