Media forum for candidates draws out political fireworks

SARASOTA -- Eager to rev up his suddenly troubled campaign, Bill McCollum on Thurday vowed as governor to mandate that all local governments freeze property taxes for at least two years.

``A [tax rate] freeze is going to make local governments make the same tough choices I'm going to make at the state level,'' the Republican attorney general told news editors at a Florida Press Association and Florida Society of Newspaper Editors convention in Sarasota.

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Rick Scott missed the event, but it was still the largest single gathering of major statewide candidates to date in this hectic political year. It produced some striking moments:

• Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio, who has been hazy on his immigration position, for the first time said he would not support Florida pursuing a tough anti-illegal immigration law like the one passed recently in Arizona: ``I think it should be solved at the federal level.''

• Gov. Charlie Crist, running as an independent for U.S. Senate, said he no longer supports Florida's ban against gay couples adopting children: ``A better way and approach would be to let judges make that decision on a case-by-case basis.''

• McCollum professed to be unaware of the activities of two stealth political committees attacking front-runner Rick Scott on TV -- even though McCollum's campaign advisors are directing the committees' spending and he has been urging supporters to contribute to one of them.

• Not exactly pandering to the assembled media, McCollum waxed about the limits of open government in the state legislature: ``I'm not sure the Legislature is the place for open government,'' he said. ``I was a legislator and you can't negotiate and do deals in the Legislature and get business done in 60 days or 90 days or whatever your session may be with open government.''

• Little-known Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Alex Snitker of Pasco County crashed the candidate forum, snatching a microphone and demanding speaking time.

``Let me speak! Come on, media!,'' shouted Snitker, who is among more than a dozen candidates who have qualified to be on the ballot for Senate.

A moderator explained that only candidates who have received at least 10 percent support in a credible poll were invited. He let Snitker vent for several minutes before the candidate stormed out.

``You are stopping the freedom of speech of someone who spent eight years defending your right to do it,'' Snitker, a former Marine, shouted at the uncomfortable media executives.

Also speaking were Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, the Miami congressman, and Democratic challenger Jeff Greene, a Palm Beach real estate magnate and billionaire political newcomer who is spending millions on TV.

Highlighting how rough that primary is becoming, Meek derided Greene as a carpetbagger who made hundreds of millions betting on the housing market collapse.

``Not one Florida homeowner lost a penny because of the investments I made,'' said Greene.

Greene said that unlike Meek he at least understood what was happening with the economy. He also alluded to an ongoing scandal in which a developer for whom Meek sought federal funds paid Meek's mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, for consulting work and bought her a Cadillac.

Referring to his own elderly mother, Greene said, ``She won't be doing any consulting She won't be getting an Escalade.''

Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@ sptimes.com.

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Scott makes play for Hispanic votes

Visiting Cuban-American senior citizens and Radio Mambí in Miami, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott introduced himself Monday to one of the few communities across Florida that hasn't seen his $16 million media blitz.

`` Buenos días. Mi nombre es Rick Scott ,'' the Naples multimillionaire in a navy suit told about 200 people waiting for a hot lunch at the Armando Badia Senior Center.

Scott, who visited the famed Versailles restaurant in Little Havana earlier this month, has not yet put his money behind Hispanic outreach.

``We will be,'' he said, when asked about airing ads on Spanish-language television and radio. ``It's clearly something that's very important to us.''

The son of a truck driver, Scott told the seniors that his ``humble background'' allowed him to appreciate their financial struggles. A campaign staffer drew attention to the foam cup of Cuban coffee in his hand; another aide described his Spanish-speaking ability as not as good as the skills of former Gov. Jeb Bush but better than former President George W. Bush.

Scott's halting Spanish and brief remarks in English failed to whip up the crowd, though they appreciated that he came bearing two dozen gifts for the raffle: hand soaps for the ladies and Cuban coffee for the gents.

``I think he wants to help,'' 77-year-old Alicia Perez said in Spanish, waving her hand and shouting when Scott called out the number on her raffle ticket.

Perez said she was unaware of Scott's past as chief executive of Columbia/HCA, which paid a record-setting $1.7 billion fine for bilking Medicare and has been at the center of attacks from his chief Republican rival in the governor's race, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.

`I'VE BEEN UPFRONT'

``I've been very upfront with voters,'' said Scott, though he has repeatedly declined to answer detailed questions about the fraud case. ``People make mistakes, and when you're the CEO of the company you take responsibility.''

Radio Mambí host Ninoska Perez, who conducted Scott's first interview on Spanish-language radio on Monday, said she was concerned about Columbia/HCA's record.

``I think there's a lot more that people need to know before they make up their minds,'' she said. ``This is a very important issue for Floridians . . . Rick Scott has risen so quickly, and nobody knew who he was just a few months ago.''

IMMIGRATION ISSUE

Scott, in his first run for office, surpassed McCollum in the polls by bankrolling an unprecedented advertising spree criticizing McCollum as a career politician and touting Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration. Scott suggested he would not run the immigration spot in Spanish, though he didn't rule it out.

``We run ads that are important to that community, and what's important to this community is jobs,'' Scott said.

After Scott was forced to leave Columbia/HCA, he cofounded a chain of walk-in urgent-care centers, Solantic. A former regional medical director, David Yarian, accused him of encouraging ``mainstream'' hires when faced with a Hispanic job candidate.

``That's absolutely untrue,'' Scott said. ``We had a high percentage of minorities . . . I care about Hispanics. I care about African Americans. I care about people.''

Campaign spokeswoman Jeb Baker dismissed Yarian as a disgruntled employee and pointed to figures that show that 53 percent of Solantic's employees are white, 20 percent black and 17 percent Hispanic.

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Town takes center stage in fight over oil policies

SEASIDE -- This award-winning Gulf Coast community known for its boardwalks and cupolas, artsy shops and quaint cottages is ground zero Saturday for the next debate over the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Here, Dave Rauschkolb, the founder of Hands Across the Sand, will join with others on the town's emerald beaches as communities in 50 states and 33 countries from Greenland to Turkey do the same. Their message: ``No to offshore oil drilling. Yes to clean energy.''

Their goal is a show of force to politicians and corporations that it's time for policies that wean the world off its dependence on fossil fuels and increase the demand for alternative energy.

``They are paying a lot of lip service to clean energy,'' Rauschkolb says. ``The only way we are going to get off our dependence on oil is to create the economic opportunity for these industries to get a foothold in America.''

It's not what Rauschkolb expected to be doing when he organized his first Hands Across the Sand event on Feb. 13 this year. Back then, his goal was to tell Florida legislators to stop the talk of drilling in Florida waters as a way to solve the state's budget gap.

It worked. Legislators backed down from pursuing legislation -- for this year. But the chief proponent, Rep. Dean Cannon, a Winter Park Republican, made plans to bring it up again when he becomes House speaker in 2011.

Two days after Cannon released his proposed bill for drilling six miles off Florida's shores, the Deepwater Horizon exploded.

``It's our worst nightmare,'' Rauschkolb said. ``The very idea we feared had come to our doorstep.''

Then one day, as Rauschkolb was feeding his then 5-month-old daughter, he decided he had to organize another protest. ``I said to myself, now has got to be the time to see if we can create this national movement,'' he said. ``We have to do this not only for ourselves, but for our future.''

Rauschkolb, a surfer, started Bud and Alley's restaurant in 1986, when Seaside was wowing urban planners with its novel narrow streets, pastel-colored homes and urban-village theme on the coast. Now, when he thinks about the damage the oil is doing to the powdery white sands and the community he has grown to love, he is moved to tears.

``My daughter may never know what I've cherished and what we all cherish on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico,'' he said. ``It's not fair. They very well might not be able to stop this leak and what's going to happen to the coastal economies of five states? How can you even keep track of the emotional toll that's going to be taken on people whose lives are going to be scattered to the wind?''

Within days of his decision to revive another Hands Across the Sand demonstration, he flew to Washington, D.C., and met with top officials at the Sierra Club, who agreed to help him spread the word.

Last time, thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined what became the largest anti-oil-drilling gathering in state history. This time, the idea has gone viral. Events are planned in 820 locations, every coastal state and in hundreds of ``solidarity events'' in interior cities.

Rauschkolb's website, handsacrossthesand.com, allows individuals to print templates of posters, T-shirts and newspaper ads to promote the events. ``It's a self-perpetuating opportunity for change,'' he said.

The talk has already shifted in the state Legislature. Cannon has declared the pursuit of drilling in Florida waters dead, at least for his term. His counterpart in the Senate, incoming President Mike Haridopolos of Indialantic, who had also endorsed the oil drilling bill, is now organizing a clean energy summit for July 8.

``I always believe in trust but verify, and we did that with oil, which had a 40-year record of no spills, and that part of the equation failed,'' Haridopolos said.

Although the Legislature has rejected renewable energy proposals for the last three years, Haridopolos believes there is new support for it -- from biomass to solar. He is even open to calling a legislative session this summer, as long as the goal is to pursue incentives to renewable energy.

So will the message of demonstrators work?

On Wednesday night, as a rock band gave a free concert on the Seaside village green, the town was teeming with visitors. Cars with tags from Texas to New York packed the streets and people were buzzing about oil, which had arrived on Pensacola Beach that morning.

``We're lucky, we're going to be one of the last groups to enjoy it,'' said Ethel LaBranch, who was visiting nearby Santa Rosa Beach with her family from Dallas.

She was aware of the Hands Across the Sand event, but had doubts whether the protest movement that began there will change behavior.

``Everyone thinks its a good idea to get away from oil, but how long will it take to transfer our focus? I think it's a long way away,'' she said.

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Bill McCollum pushes proposed abortion bill

Attorney General Bill McCollum sent a letter Friday urging Gov. Charlie Crist to sign into law legislation requiring women to be given a chance to view an ultrasound of their fetus before obtaining an abortion.

McCollum, who is spearheading a lawsuit for 20 states fighting the federal healthcare overhaul as an unconstitutional mandate, wants Crist to approve the measure, HB 1143, imposing the new requirement on women.

``It is important to note that viewing the ultrasound is optional for women,'' McCollum wrote.

``They can simply decline to view the ultrasound and sign a form. Ensuring that patients are fully informed prior to making a critical healthcare decision should be a policy we all support.''

McCollum, a Republican candidate for governor, also pointed out that other provisions of the wide-ranging healthcare bill also prohibit state government from requiring Floridians to have health insurance, except as a condition of employment or enrollment in a state university. It also prohibits taxpayer funded abortions.

The measure would become law July 1.

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, has not yet sent the legislation to Crist for action.

Although the measure was approved 35 days ago, the House is expected to wait until as late as June 15 to send it to the governor, who has said he is leaning toward vetoing the measure.

Crist would have 15 days to act on the legislation.

Meanwhile, lawmakers supporting the measure are hoping pressure will build on Crist to sign it.

Through Tuesday, the governor's office reported it had received 20,732 phone calls, letters and e-mails in support of the legislation and 14,427 opposed.

To e-mail Gov. Crist in support or opposition to HB 1143, you can e-mail him at the following address: Char lie.Crist@MyFlorida.com.

Measure requiring ultrasounds passes‘Restrepo’: The War That Won’t End, By Kurt Loder

Bud Chiles pressured to drop out of Florida governor's race

TALLAHASSEE -- Lawton ``Bud'' Chiles III has been an independent candidate for governor for only a few weeks, but some longtime friends and associates already are trying to persuade him to drop out.

The subtle pressure comes mostly from Democrats who fear Chiles can't win and will siphon votes away from likely Democratic nominee Alex Sink.

``His only role in this campaign, if he continues it, would be to spoil the chances of another candidate,'' said Roy Miller, president of the Children's Campaign. ``I don't see any possible way that Bud Chiles is going to win this race.''

Some Florida Democrats compare Chiles to Ralph Nader, who in 2000 garnered 2.7 percent of the vote as a Green Party presidential candidate, effectively handing the election to George Bush over Democrat Al Gore.

A DISMISSAL

Chiles dismisses the grumbling and said Democrats can't force him to drop his campaign.

``I've seen some comments by people that are insiders,'' Chiles said Tuesday, noting that most calls came before his June 3 campaign kickoff. ``That's inside party baseball. A lot of people are looking for an alternative to this existing order that we have set up.''

He added: ``I'm trying to act on my convictions. If people can't respect that, there's much that I can do about it.''

Chiles' father, former Gov. Lawton Chiles, served two terms as governor in the '90s after three terms as a U.S. senator. The elder Chiles died in 1998, three weeks before his final term ended.

Child advocate Jack Levine noted that Chiles' father also was a late entrant in the 1990 governor's race -- but that was after 30 years of high-profile public service.

``What level of experience and expertise, other than your name, gives you the feeling that this is an office that you should aspire to?'' Levine observed when asked about Bud Chiles. ``If his name was `Larry Charles' instead of Lawton Chiles, we simply wouldn't be having this conversation.''

The younger Chiles has built his campaign on the idea of cleaning up a corrupt political structure laden with special-interest cash. In an irony lost on few political observers, Chiles might prove his point this election by raising little money and garnering only a few votes.

Public relations consultant Ron Sachs, a good friend of Bud Chiles, made that point last week in an opinion column published in the Tallahassee Democrat. Sachs, a former communications director for the late Gov. Chiles, said the campaign would be a ``sad new chapter'' in the Chiles legacy if it leads to a Republican victory in November.

``Bud Chiles is better positioned to become the Democratic Party's pariah,'' Sachs wrote.

PAPERWORK IN

Chiles has already qualified to be on the November ballot by submitting paperwork to the Division of Elections, along with a $5,200 check.

He has a few months, until early September, before his name appears on printed ballots. County election supervisors must begin sending absentee ballots to overseas military personnel by Sept. 18.

``If it looks like the only thing he's going to do is cost the Democrats a chance at the governor's seat, then there might be more contact around that time,'' said Rep. Ron Saunders, a Key West Democrat and longtime friend who served in the Legislature when Chiles' father was governor.

Staying in the race for the next few months, Saunders said, ``gives him a chance to get out there and talk about things he wants to talk about.''

Asked to speculate about why Chiles is going through with his campaign, Tallahassee lobbyist Sam Bell had one word: Ego. A former Democratic lawmaker who is married to 2004 U.S. Senate candidate Betty Castor, Bell said Chiles' father likely would disapprove of his son's campaign.

``He would tell him to get out of the race, absolutely,'' Bell said. ``Lawton was a good Democrat.''

Lee Logan can be reached at llogan @sptimes.com.

Son of late Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles may run against Sink

Records show attorney general hired George Rekers despite warnings

TALLAHASSEE -- Disgraced psychologist George Rekers was labeled a ``right-wing, religious-based'' expert witness and rejected for months by state attorneys defending Florida's gay adoption ban.

But when they couldn't find anyone else to replace him on the witness stand, Attorney General Bill McCollum overruled his trial attorneys, quickly hired Rekers, and paid him twice his agreed upon contract with no questions asked, according to documents released this week by McCollum's office.

Rekers, a psychiatry professor at the University of South Carolina, has been stripped of his credibility after reports surfaced that he hired a gay male escort to give him nude ``sexual'' massages and accompany him on a recent European vacation.

The adoption ban case, in which the state paid Rekers more than $120,000 to testify on the ``negative effects'' of gay parenting, has been ruled unconstitutional and the state is appealing.

The Rekers fee was almost a third of what the state has spent on the gay adoption ban lawsuit to date -- $383,000. Half the cost has gone to attorneys fees; the rest to general expenses, including $120,000 to Rekers.

Meanwhile, records obtained by The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times, show that despite repeated objections from the Department of Children and Families, the attorney general agreed to advance Rekers $60,900 to get him to take the case and another $59,700 a year later as the case dragged on.

The payments included $9,000 for 30 hours of searching journal articles and books, $27,000 to ``read the relevant publications since Sept. 2004 and evaluate and critique the methodological quality.'' A year later, he charged for nearly 30 hours for reading the same materials again.

Rekers was paid to meet with the attorney general's staff to prepare for depositions and to be deposed by lawyers for the adoptive parents.

McCollum said he wouldn't hire Rekers again knowing what he knows today -- but he defends the expense.

``If you look at the record, you will see he actually earned it,'' McCollum said this week. ``He definitely put the hours and the time in. This is not a case where we overpaid him.''

DCF asked the attorney general's office to handle the case in February 2007 because then-Secretary Bob Butterworth was focused on turning around the agency beset by repeated troubles.

``We basically had to,'' Butterworth said last week, noting that failing to defend the ban against a lawsuit would have been like picking a fight with the Republican-controlled Legislature.

``The only problem we had was the expert, and the amount of money and the credibility of the expert,'' he said.

`SIMPLE AS THAT'

Documents show that instead of raising questions about the bill submitted by Rekers, McCollum's staff asked for the first check to be expedited because they feared losing him before their deadline to submit the list of expert witnesses.

``When you get an expert in a case and the deadline for disclosure is passed, you don't just drop an expert because he says I need more money,'' Deputy Attorney General Bob Hannah said. ``You just keep going and make arrangements to pay the expert. It's as simple as that.''

Hannah said Rekers asked for the money up front so that his fees would not be contested, as had happened in previous cases in which he testified.

But the attorney general had to find a creative way to get the money to him. ``Our finance folks said the only way to do that is through a purChase order,'' Hannah said. The hiring of Rekers and other expert witnesses became a top priority of the attorney general's office shortly after they took over the case.

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4 candidates for Florida governor present contrasting views

FORT MYERS -- All four candidates for governor took turns over the weekend promoting themselves and fine-tuning their themes at a gathering of business and civic leaders, with each displaying different strengths and none outshining any other.

The four -- Republicans Bill McCollum and Rick Scott, Democrat Alex Sink and independent Lawton ``Bud'' Chiles -- spoke to Leadership Florida, a networking organization that invited them to its annual meeting in Fort Myers. It was the first time all four had appeared before the same organization.

They avoided discussing each other, but their philosophical differences were on stark display: McCollum and Scott called for tax cuts, while Sink described a ``crisis of leadership'' in Tallahassee and urged more investment in programs for children. Chiles, the son of a former governor and senator, decried a political system polluted by money and partisanship.

Much of the buzz centered on Scott, the wealthy former hospital executive whose $16 million advertising campaign has catapulted him to front-runner status in the GOP race, but about whom little is known. ``Hopefully, you've seen a few of the ads,'' Scott said as the crowd of about 200 broke into laughter. ``I can't go out to dinner anymore . . . I get recognized everywhere, which is good and bad.''

Scott recounted his humble origin as a truck driver's son who went on to become a lawyer and wealthy businessman -- ``the most blessed person in the world,'' he said.

Not once did he mention his involvement with Columbia/HCA and its $1.7 billion fine for Medicare fraud that could become his political albatross.

Scott said taxes and regulation need to be reduced and that it is time for an outsider to take over from the career politicians who have run Florida -- none of whom, he said, have taken responsibility for the record unemployment.

``We have to change the kind of people we are electing,'' he said.

Jobs, education and healthcare were themes in all four speeches. McCollum and Sink showed a better grasp of public policy than Scott or Chiles.

McCollum, the state's attorney general, called for ``dramatic improvement'' in Florida schools, but he at times came across as more of a technocrat than a visionary.

The lawyer from suburban Orlando stressed his deep experience in government and cited a need for stronger tourism and agriculture industries and litigation reform to cut down on nuisance lawsuits.

He called for a cut in the corporate income tax and other tax cuts to encourage businesses to create high-paying jobs in biotechnology, high-tech industries and aerospace.

``I think the job of the next governor is going to be to wear a second hat and be the chief economic development officer of this state,'' McCollum said.

Sink, the state's chief financial officer and a former chairwoman of Leadership Florida, received a resounding ovation Saturday. She cited the need to create jobs, diversify the economy, improve schools and reform how government operates.

``I will be the first governor in 12 years whose own children graduated from Florida public schools,'' Sink said.

She did not call for higher taxes, but said ``efficiencies'' can create hundreds of millions of dollars in savings that can be redirected to education and economic incentives.

She said Florida should be No. 1 in solar and renewable energy, and she called it ``criminal' that 800,000 Florida kids remain uninsured despite the work by her and others to expand a state-run health insurance program. And she said Florida spends less on pre-kindergarten education for 4-year-olds than do most states.

McCollum and Scott defended the state's ban on same-sex couples adopting children. Sink supports lifting the ban and allowing judges to decide.

Chiles, the last to speak, gave a somber speech about a system he said has been hijacked by overly partisan politicians beholden to special interests instead of the people. It was the same message his father delivered as he walked to victory as a U.S. senate candidate 40 years ago.

The younger Chiles said tax dollars would best be spent by local communities, not by Tallahassee bureaucrats.

``Political parties that used to be about ideals are now about power and control, and people are sick and tired of the head-pounding,'' he said. ``This partisan fighting that's going on in Tallahassee is not adding one job.''

Chiles drew his loudest applause when he criticized a state policy of locking up youthful drug and alcohol offenders in a ``revolving door'' prison system that has a high rate of repeat offenders. ``It's the most expensive social program we have,'' he said.

McCollum and Scott will face off for the Republican nomination Aug. 24, with the victor facing Sink and Chiles in November.

Chiles and Scott are running for office for the first time. Sink was elected chief financial officer in 2006, and McCollum has been in public office for 24 years, including 20 as a member of Congress and the past four as attorney general.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet @sptimes.com.

Son of late Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles may run against Sink

For many in Haiti, there's nowhere to call home

CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti -- Brazilian peacekeepers operating oversized bulldozers and tractors cleared a barren lot of overgrown weeds and debris, prepping it for its newest residents.

But after days of digging 50 feet for water, the 25-acre site in the shadow of Haiti's central mountain range was abruptly abandoned.

``There was no fresh water. The water underneath is salty,'' said Charles Clermont, the Haitian businessman assigned to help the quake-devastated nation figure out how to shelter more than 1.2 million displaced people.

With the looming rainy season and housing proposals coming to disaster-prone Haiti, both government officials and relief workers are in a race against nature to relocate hundreds of thousands of quake victims living in squalid camps prone to flooding. But in their fervent pursuit of rain-resistant shelter, they are finding an old problem quickly becoming a new one: lack of suitable land.

``We have the stocks to shelter a lot of people. We do not have the land to put them on. I cannot invent land,' Gregg McDonald, lead coordinator for the U.N. shelter cluster said. ``There are lots of discussions going on around land, and land issues. Nothing is resolved.''

As the top U.S. commander in Haiti toured the Champs de Mars encampment in front of the presidential palace this week, he said solving the land issue is critical to recovery.

``The government really has to wrestle the land issue,'' Lt. Gen. Ken Keen said, pointing to a heap of rubble behind him in Turgeau, not far from the Champs de Mars.

``This is a good example of the challenges that it will face: a private piece of land that's going to be cleared of rubble here that could be made available for families to come back in here. But the issue of property rights and the government working with them has to be dealt with very quickly.''

In addition to finding land, officials are trying to determine the safety of homes that were damaged in the quake, chasing residents into campsites.

Over the last couple of weeks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has structurally assessed 1,500 houses in Turgeau, home to 77 percent of residents living on the Champs de Mars, according to a recent survey by the International Organization for Migration. About 40 percent of the houses have been tagged green, suitable for residents to return, engineers say.

Meanwhile, Clermont has sent a list of 13 properties with their GPS coordinates to international partners of both state and privately-owned land outside of Port-au-Prince. Private owners have also offered their properties to relocate people, and this week Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive authorized the commission to negotiate with land owners for 1,800 acres to move those from camps most at risk of flooding. The capital has no public land available to set up temporary housing.

But even if land is secured, convincing camp dwellers who have developed a sense of comfort in their post-quake tents to relocate, especially outside of the city, will be difficult. In recent weeks, a some residents camping on school grounds and other private properties have refused to move even after authorities explained they had secured other sites.

``You need to have a notion or vision for the future: what you want for the city, do you want to densify the city, or do you want to decongest the city?'' said Erick Vittrup Christensen, senior human settlements officer for U.N. Habitat.

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Palin speaks tonight at California State University, Stanislaus

Sarah Palin stepped into the national spotlight in August 2008, when Republican presidential candidate John McCain chose her as his running mate.

Until then, few people outside of Alaska had heard of that state's first-term governor. She became a figure both popular and reviled, taking the stage in a thunderous appearance at the Republican National Convention but then seeming unable to name any newspapers she read.

Since the election, Palin resigned from office, wrote a biography, began a national speaking tour, signed on as a commentator for Fox News, became popular with the tea party movement and is about to embark on a reality show highlighting Alaska.

She remains the most polarizing figure in American politics: While she is hailed for her blunt talk about government reform, she is lambasted for her inexperience and missteps.

And she's coming to Turlock.

Palin's appearance at tonight's 50th anniversary gala at California State University, Stanislaus, will bring supporters, protesters and the curious to town.

Read the complete story at modbee.com

Consistent theme lacking in primaries

Charlie Crist looks to Democrats for campaign dollars

TALLAHASSEE -- By bolting from the Republican Party, Gov. Charlie Crist has one place left to raise big money in his race for the U.S. Senate: Democrats.

A governor who once courted conservatives by calling himself a ``Jeb Bush Republican'' is getting help from liberal trial lawyers, union activists and even elected Democrats, who are shunning their party's Senate hopefuls, wealthy Palm Beach businessman Jeff Greene and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami.

Crist is now an independent, with no party to pay campaign overhead or raise money.

Many Republicans had already given Crist the maximum $4,800 to help amass his $10-million campaign fund before he abandoned the GOP ship in April when polls showed him getting swamped by Marco Rubio in a Republican primary.

In Tallahassee two weeks ago, civil trial lawyer Lance Block hosted a Crist fundraiser at his home that prominent Republicans also attended.

``We need more people like Charlie Crist in Washington to set aside the partisan bickering,'' said Block, a delegate to three Democratic presidential conventions who played a key role in helping Al Gore during the 2000 Florida vote recount.

Block's host committee included such Democratic stalwarts as former Florida State University president and ex-House Speaker T.K. Wetherell, teacher union lobbyist and lawyer Ron Meyer and Dexter Douglass, a top advisor to former Gov. Lawton Chiles.

``He has always been attuned to what he feels the people need,'' said Douglass, who donated the $4,800 maximum to Crist's campaign.

Adam Corey, a Republican oil and real estate executive from Fort Lauderdale, described Crist as fiscally conservative and socially moderate, and said he was pleased to see the governor's cross-party appeal.

In Orlando Tuesday, high-profile trial attorney John Morgan, known for his ``for the people'' billboards, hosted a Crist fund-raiser along with Jim Pugh, a Winter Park businessman who has been a long-time Democratic fund-raiser.

In Siesta Key Monday, Rep. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg was among the Democrats at a Crist fund-raiser at the home of chiropractor Gary Kompothecras, a long-time Crist supporter. Rouson says he has known Crist and his family much longer thanhe has known either Democratic Senate candidate.

``We're trying,'' Crist says, poor-mouthing his fund-raising, and calling it challenging and difficult, perhaps in hopes that the number he reports in mid-July will exceed expectations.

The $1.2-million Crist raised in the first quarter was a third of what Rubio raised in the same period.

Democrat Mark K. Logan, a Tallahassee lawyer and former lobbyist, said Crist will be able to compete financially with Rubio and Meek or Greene by reaching out to supporters across the aisle.

``He has to to win,'' said Logan, who was once Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's son-in-law.

Asked why he supports Crist, he said: ``He is a lifelong friend. I have known Charlie for 30 years. I think our best leaders from Florida have led from the middle, and Charlie has shown he can do that.''

Crist has become persona non grata with many rank-and-file Republicans since he fled the GOP. In an interview, he sought to reassure independent and moderate Republican voters who might be troubled bya candidate getting significant Democratic support.

``There's no need to be concerned,'' Crist said. ``In fund-raising, people support you because they want to. It means more about them supporting my philosophy rather than me theirs. In this candidacy, they see somebody who's willing to listen.''

Crist also has shifted to the left on some issues in ways that appeal to Democrats, but his financial support from Democrats also suggests a lack of enthusiasm for Greene and Meek.

``There is certainly a `Can Kendrick win?' or `Can Jeff win?' factor,'' said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, ``but I think most of it is personal loyalty'' to Crist.

Recent polls show Greene and Meek trailing Crist and Rubio, but a Meek spokesman, Adam Sharon, downplayed Democratic support for Crist.

``A name here and a name there may carry some cachet, but almost 250 elected Democrats statewide are with Kendrick,'' Sharon said. ``The governor will always be a lifelong conservative and Kendrick is a lifelong Democrat. The governor's history doesn't get erased.

In Fort Lauderdale next week, two well-known elected Broward Democrats, Property Appraiser Lori Parrish and Rep. Ari Porth of Coral Springs, will co-host a Crist fund-raiser.

Porth called Crist ``extremely gracious'' and said he admires the governor for vetoing a controversial merit-pay bill opposed by teachers and an ultrasound bill opposed by abortion rights supporters.

``I'm very comfortable with his leadership style,'' Porth said. ``It's OK to listen to what the electorate is telling you. In fact, I think it's preferred.''

Herald/Times staff writers Lee Logan and Cristina Silva and researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

Poll: Charlie Crist holds lead in U.S. Senate race — for now

Nikki Haley's next challenge: Locking down GOP moderates

State Republicans turned toward November on Wednesday, gathering to pledge their support a day after settling a rough-and-tumble gubernatorial primary.

But with the nomination of state Rep. Nikki Haley, a protege of Gov. Mark Sanford, the question is will moderate Republicans get on board or abandon ship for Democratic nominee state Sen. Vincent Sheheen?

Standing with the employees of Columbia printing and promotional firm R.L. Bryan Co., Sheheen's message was not subtle: Business is standing behind him. Robert Royall, who served as commerce secretary for Republican Gov. David Beasley, said he would help raise money for Sheheen. The S.C. Chamber of Commerce endorsed the Democrat in the primary and said Tuesday it would back him this fall.

But Republicans are already closing ranks, and the addition of former gubernatorial rival and Attorney General Henry McMaster to Haley's campaign is intended to reach out to moderates and independents concerned Haley might continue the acrimony between the Legislature and executive branch begun by Sanford.

"Through my years at the port and Commerce and working as a banker for many years, I look at the race through economic eyes," Royall said. "Right now, we've got to have a unifier, a leader who understands government, how it functions. Vincent is that person. He is a very smart, young, energetic legislator. The state needs a moderate-type leader like him right now."

Royall, who was an early Sheheen contributor, did not criticize Haley, saying he does not know much about her.

"I've known the Sheheen family for 50 years. They've all been strong public servants. Vincent clearly has that quality, too," Royall said.

Haley has struggled to raise money so far, and according to the most recent campaign finance reports, raised a little more than $867,000 while Sheheen raised $1.36 million. U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett outraised Haley during the two-week runoff, according to figures supplied by the campaigns, even though Haley was an overwhelming favorite to win the nomination after the June 8 primary. Campaign manager Tim Pearson said Haley would hire a professional fundraiser for the general election.

But observers said that while creating a "Republicans for Sheheen" campaign is Politics 101, the effort will require leadership and sustained fundraising to have an impact. Trey Walker, McMaster's campaign director and former S.C. GOP executive director, said 1998's crossover effort against Beasley was successful only because of the involvement of video poker money and scorned, experienced former Beasley staffers.

"There are going to be people in both parties who are unhappy with the results," Walker said. "But in this economy, with what's going on, I don't believe there is that kind of funding."

Read more of this story at TheState.com

Consistent theme lacking in primaries

Elections in Haiti

With Haiti still reeling from last January's earthquake, its leaders should be pulling together in the country's best interests. Unfortunately, the expiration of parliament's mandate last week has prompted another predictable but tiresome round of political bickering.

Haiti's parliament went out of business last Monday because the earthquake forced the cancellation of legislative elections in February. That has left President René Préval as the sole effective constitutional authority in the country, with no preparations undertaken so far to hold new elections.

The situation is tailor-made for political mischief, and some of Mr. Préval's rivals have eagerly sought to exploit the vacuum of power. Longtime opposition leader Evans Paul has been among the voices calling for the president to step down so he can be replaced by an interim government that can organize new elections. That is a terrible idea.

Leaders must unite

An interim government would create greater uncertainty about the future and touch off a mad scramble for power as politicians jockey for position. Instead of fighting with each other and holding public protests against Mr. Préval, Haiti's leaders need to unite in the common interest of organizing transparently free and fair elections in the shortest time frame possible.

Credible elections are always a daunting task in Haiti, more so now than ever before. The electoral registry hasn't been updated since 2005. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of young people have turned 18 and the earthquake may have killed or displaced nearly a million people.

The electoral calendar is complicated by the expiration of Mr. Préval's own term next year. He has agreed to stay in office until May 14, 2011 -- five years from the date he assumed power -- should an election for his successor not have been held by Feb. 7, when the inauguration is supposed to take place.

Work for credible vote

That makes it all the more urgent for the president and Haiti's three dozen or so opposition parties to agree on a firm date for elections, preferably in November, when the original voting for president was supposed to take place. That's only six months away, and there is much work to be done between now and then to create conditions for a credible vote.

Haiti will be able to call on outside help for financial and technical assistance and logistical support, but the country's leaders must first agree on a timetable and an effective electoral apparatus.

After a meeting of the International Task Force on Haiti last week, Ambassador Albert Ramdin of the OAS said it's up to Haitian authorities to ``make the relevant political decisions and do so in a timely manner so as to ensure that there is a peaceful transfer of power when the time comes.''

Elections are a priority for Haiti, the only way for its people to get a new, legitimate and stable government that can lead them through the enormously difficult period that lies ahead. This is the time for the country's political leaders to show that they can put the country's interests above their own.

Obama given some credit for Lebanon vote’s moderate turn

Rick Scott spending lavishly in GOP race

Pity Bill McCollum. Only weeks ago, he was skating effortlessly to the Republican gubernatorial nomination and comfortably leading Democrat Alex Sink in the polls.

Then, faster than you can say multimillionaire, the attorney general's aura of inevitability was shattered by a political neophyte who started spending money like Florida has never seen. By the end of next week, controversial businessman Rick Scott of Naples will have spent about $11 million on TV and radio ads over six weeks -- more than Charlie Crist spent overall in his lavishly funded 2006 primary against Tom Gallagher. Scott is on pace to spend $30 million by the Aug. 24 primary, ensuring at the very least that McCollum will come out of the primary strapped for money and bruised.

``A lot of people are definitely starting to get interested in Rick Scott. People who were saying, `I'm 100 percent with McCollum,' are now becoming undecided,'' said Adam D. Smith, a 34-year-old Tampa accountant and Republican activist who likes Scott's outsider message. ``The support for Bill McCollum is pretty much on the surface.''

As a four-time candidate for statewide office, McCollum is the clear front-runner. The last two polls showed him leading by anywhere from 14 to 22 points.

But Scott is cutting into McCollum's support and making a lot of his supporters nervous and resentful.

``The irony of this situation is that without a $300 million bank account Rick Scott would be laughed out of the Republican executive committee meeting,'' said Republican consultant Rick Wilson.

Scott, former CEO of the Columbia/HCA health care company, was ousted amid a federal investigation that resulted in the company paying a record $1.7 billion in fines as part of a settlement over fraudulent healthcare billing. He has acknowledged he made mistakes and learned from them, but says he personally knew of no wrongdoing.

Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein, a McCollum supporter, predicted Scott ultimately can't overcome the taint of Medicare fraud.

``This is Florida -- we're the Medicare state,'' Dinerstein said. ``I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: Rick Scott will never be governor of Florida. If he wins the primary, Alex Sink will be the next governor. She ought to be sending him money, not that he needs it.''

McCollum tried to ignore Scott for several weeks, before it became clear he posed a serious threat. ``That's the Charlie Crist lesson on Marco Rubio,'' noted Republican consultant John Wehrung. ``Crist waited too long on Rubio and I think McCollum waited too long on Scott, but they're still within the window. It's not too late.''

As of March 31, McCollum had less than $4 million to spend, and since May 21 has spent about $800,000 on TV ads featuring Jeb Bush. Sink's campaign has spent no money on TV advertising.

A shadowy political group tied to McCollum's campaign, Alliance for America's Future, has spent more than $900,000 attacking Scott's Columbia/HCA tenure. The McCollum campaign declined to discuss whether the attorney general will push for disclosure of the Alliance for America's Future funders.

Ironically, Scott's unprecedented spending on TV ads could wind up giving McCollum some help. Under Florida's public campaign system, McCollum is eligible to receive matching money from the state for every dollar Scott spends above $24.9 million. If Scott spends $30 million in the primary, McCollum would receive about $5 million from the state.

Times/Herald staff writer Marc Caputo contributed to this report. Reach Adam C. Smith at asmith@sptimes.com.

McCollum says he’ll use taxpayer funds to compete with Scott

Rick Scott's rise puts Bill McCollum in danger

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's once-certain path to the Republican nomination for governor is in trouble, with supporters for the first time voicing anxiety about his chances and questioning his strategy.

Trailing newcomer Rick Scott by 13 points in a recent statewide poll and unable to match the millions of dollars Scott has spent on television ads, McCollum looks vulnerable. It is a stunning shift for a seasoned politician who seemed to have a lock on the race just two months ago.

Supporters fault McCollum's TV message, his inability to connect with an angry electorate, fundraising shortcomings and a dated campaign style, emphasizing endorsements from establishment figures such as Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney at a time when voters feel alienated.

In an interview, McCollum acknowledged ``angst'' among his supporters but predicted he would triumph as the only ``battle-tested'' Republican running for governor.

``The person who has a record for everybody to see is going to be there,'' McCollum said. ``On the other hand, there's a fellow [Scott] that people don't know who he is, and when they find out who he is, it's not going to be a pretty picture.''

But McCollum has some convincing to do in his own camp.

``To put it in marketing terms, McCollum's brand is not well-identified despite a long career of service to Florida,'' said Greg Truax, a Tampa grass-roots volunteer who has donated to McCollum's campaign. ``Gen. McCollum needs to communicate the fundamental points of difference with Rick Scott.''

A potentially big threat is that some Republicans perceive Scott as more conservative, especially on immigration.

``That is a hot-button issue for Republican voters,'' Truax said. ``He's combined an effective message with a tremendous amount of money.''

Scott's TV ads, in which the candidate talks straight into the camera, appear sharper and more engaging than McCollum's, said Truax. The activist suggested McCollum move his campaign operation to Orlando to get away from the ``echo chamber'' of Tallahassee insiders.

McCollum and two committees with ties to his campaign are counter-punching with anti-Scott TV ads emphasizing the $1.7 billion Medicare-fraud fine stemming from Scott's tenure as CEO of Columbia/HCA.

At the same time, Scott is challenging McCollum to take part in four debates.

Another concern is fundraising. Scott's polling advantage could make it harder for McCollum to raise money at a key juncture in the campaign, with the Aug. 24 primary 10 weeks away.

If McCollum can't close that gap in a hurry, ``All of the traditional donors will have to start looking at what they have been doing,'' said Steve Madden, a lobbyist who serves on McCollum's statewide finance team. ``You have to start looking at who has the most potential viability to win. . . . The majority of voters want to be with the winner -- that's our core personality trait.''

McCollum, 65, raised almost $5 million through March. Scott has already spent an estimated $15 million of his personal fortune. If he exceeds $19.7 million, Florida's public campaign financing system will match for McCollum every dollar Scott spends over the cap.

``We're waiting, and have waited, to spend our resources, which are much more limited,'' McCollum said.

Lobbyist and strategist J.M. ``Mac'' Stipanovich, who helped mastermind Republican Bob Martinez's winning campaign for governor in 1986, marveled at the ``nerve'' of Scott to have ``scammed the taxpayers'' while in business and now ``taking that money and trying to scam them again.''

McCollum says he’ll use taxpayer funds to compete with Scott

Retiring SC congressman loses bid for local seat

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A retiring South Carolina congressman whose departure triggered a high-profile Republican primary race has lost his bid for a county office back home.

U.S. Rep. Henry Brown had hoped to unseat the incumbent supervisor of Berkeley County in a GOP primary runoff Tuesday. But he lost by 44 percent to 56 percent against Dan Davis after finishing just three votes behind Davis in the June 8 primary.

Brown's exit from Congress after five terms sent candidates clamoring for the seat. He decided to run for supervisor because he said he was tired of traveling, but not tired of public service.

Tim Scott won Tuesday's Republican runoff to replace Brown and could become the state's first black Republican congressman since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

Primaries from Calif. to SC measure voter anger

Crist vetoes millions from state budget

Gov. Charlie Crist announced Friday afternoon that he has vetoed $371 million from the state budget.

The biggest cut: A $160 million raid on the state Department of Transportation trust fund. The money was tied to K-12 spending in an effort to block Crist from making a veto or risk cutting education spending.

Crist did it anyway, all but daring the Republican-led Legislature or whomever else to sue him in order to cut money from road projects -- the only projects that conservatives across the board said represented true ``stimulus'' in the stimulus package that they maligned before gobbling up all that extra federal cash.

``We should not have to chose between jobs for Floridians or funding for our children's education,'' Crist said in his veto statement.

But since the money is tied to schools, Crist technically cut school spending by $160 million, unless he can find a way to plug money back into the classroom. Technically, legally, the Legislature is the only entity that can appropriate money. So it's unclear how Crist can avoid being forced to ``chose between jobs for Floridians or funding for our children's education.''

Crist has made legally questionable vetoes before, such as his decision to block a tuition increase in 2007 or his veto last year of a pay cut for state workers. Like this year's road-schools issue, those spending items were intertwined with other parts of the budget that should have suffered as a result of a veto.

Florida governor slammed for hospital-money veto

McCollum says he'll use taxpayer funds to compete with Scott

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum says Florida faces such severe budget shortfalls that everybody needs to cut back.

But even as the attorney general touts his plan to freeze tax rates for local governments, he won't forgo hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for his campaign.

``There's going to be a $6 billion shortfall -- or more with the oil spill -- in state government alone,'' McCollum said in a Tampa Bay area TV interview.

``I want to ask everybody to pull in that belt. Am I going to take some taxpayer-matching funds? Yes I am, because I've got an opponent now who's a multi, multimillionaire,'' McCollum said. ``He's spending unlimited wealth and I'm going to have maybe $6 or $7 million to spend.''

OVERTAKEN

A political newcomer with a controversial business background, Rick Scott has overtaken McCollum in the polls after spending $16 million on TV and radio ads. McCollum needs every possible dollar and is taking advantage of some politically awkward opportunities, including taxpayer financing and shadowy campaign committees tied to his campaign.

Under Florida's public financing system, candidates who abide by spending limits can receive up to $250 in matching money for each Floridian who contributes. In the 2006 gubernatorial contests, Charlie Crist received more than $3.3 million in matching funds, Republican rival Tom Gallagher $1.3 million, while Democrats Jim Davis and Rod Smith received $1.8 million and $945,000 respectively.

McCollum would receive additional state matching money if Scott spends more than the state-imposed cap of $24.9 million. Scott said this week that his campaign will not break that cap, but might skirt it by using a separate campaign committee to promote his candidacy.

POLITICAL WELFARE

The system was supposed to reign in massive campaign spending and level the playing field, but critics have long derided it as ``welfare for politicians.'' The Republican-controlled Legislature this year put a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot to kill it altogether, but McCollum says he opposes that.

``After 30 years on the government payroll, Bill McCollum cannot find enough Floridians who are enthusiastic about his candidacy, ideas and vision to finance a statewide campaign,'' said Jen Baker, spokeswoman for the Rick Scott campaign. ``Now he is asking taxpayers to bankroll his inept campaign out of some entitlement to hold onto power.''

SHADY COMMITTEES

McCollum is also taking heat for two semi-mysterious and supposedly independent political committees, the Alliance for America's Future and the Florida First Initiative, which have spent about $2 million on TV ads attacking Scott. Though McCollum has solicited contributions for their efforts, his campaign fundraiser is raising money for one of them, and his TV buyer is buying their TV time, McCollum says he does not know much about them.

``We don't run them, we don't maintain them, they're not my organizations,'' the attorney general said. ``We're not violating the law, and any way we can encourage compliance with it, it will be done.''

``Bill McCollum is either lying or has a split personality,'' Baker said, scoffing at his suggestion that his campaign is unaware of what Florida First Initiative is up to.

McCollum hit Scott over his tenure as CEO of Columbia/HCA, the healthcare chain that paid $1.7 billion in fines for Medicare fraud.

``Why would you want somebody to be the governor of Florida who has not been able to run a big company like that any better than that?'' he asked.

Poll shows plenty of undecided voters in Fla. governor’s race

White House defends Obama's fun time during crisis

WASHINGTON -- A White House spokesman says the whole country benefits when President Barack Obama takes time to go golfing and "clear his mind."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton on Monday defended Obama's leisure activities amid some Republican criticism that Obama should not be scheduling fun time during the Gulf oil spill crisis. The president went golfing on Saturday afternoon after attending a baseball game Friday night.

Burton said the people of the country stand by the notion that "their president ought to have a little time to clear his mind." He said Obama relaxed after a week in which he got help for victims of the oil spill and traveled to Ohio to speak on the economy, among other work. Burton said that having time to himself "probably does us all good."

Obama to address nation about Gulf oil spill

Kagan unscathed after revelations from past

WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of pages worth of documents from Elena Kagan's past have left President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee relatively unscathed and important details about her still a mystery heading into confirmation hearings for a lifetime job as a justice.

Documents from Kagan's service in the Clinton White House, including her own e-mails as a policy aide and lawyer, reinforce the portrait that's emerged in recent weeks: a politically savvy, sometimes hard-edged strategist whose views of the Constitution are at odds with those of conservatives.

In a 1997 e-mail about former Justice Thurgood Marshall, Kagan wrote admiringly of her legal mentor's view of the Constitution as a "living charter" and his concern as a justice for "the underdog."

It's not surprising language coming from a Democratic president's nominee. It's also probably going to underscore the Republicans' line of argument that she will be a liberal activist from the bench.

From the records, there is scant evidence about what kind of justice Kagan would be. Supporters suggest she can serve as a consensus-builder among deeply divided conservatives and liberals on the nine-member court.

In addition, newly released records from the Defense Department that detail her dispute with the Pentagon on military recruiters' access to the campus of Harvard Law School, where she was dean, appear to contain little ammunition for GOP critics.

These documents show that long before Kagan decided to bar recruiters from the campus career services office because of the military's policy against openly gay soldiers, at least one Pentagon official said the approach gave recruiters access that matched that of other prospective employers at the law school.

"Thank you for providing our military recruiters a degree of access to students that is equal in quality and scope to that afforded to other employers," an Army judge advocate recruiter wrote in 1998 to Kagan's predecessor, who set the policy she would later use.

The Obama White House has worked to ensure that no revelation from the documents harms Kagan's chances. Working with former President Bill Clinton, officials shielded from public view most details about Kagan's work on the scandals that in many ways defined his tenure. That includes her role defending him from the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit that led to his impeachment.

In all, nearly 160,000 pages were unearthed, including 80,000 pages of e-mail - an unprecedented release for a Supreme Court nominee. They were dribbled out on Friday afternoons, the customary time in official Washington for releasing unfavorable information or material one hopes attracts little notice. The e-mails emerged late Friday afternoon; the Pentagon documents on Saturday.

Conservative activists say that's no accident.

The Clinton-era documents portray Kagan as a "political operative ... with disdain for the Second Amendment and the NRA (National Rifle Association), concern for currying favor with gay and lesbian groups, and support for judges who will decide cases by giving an edge to 'the underdog' and interpreting the Constitution as a 'living,' malleable document," said Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network.

The timing, she added, "represents the Obama administration's best political maneuver to hide any information revealed about the president's Supreme Court nominee in the Saturday papers."

Congress won’t try to keep Guantánamo detainees out of U.S. — for now

Sink gaining momentum in focus on Gulf oil spill

TALLAHASSEE -- Never mind the voice coaches who worked to get Alex Sink to soften her Southern twang, or the image-makers who urged her to be more aggressive, or the handlers who lined up free TV time.

The state chief financial officer and presumed Democratic nominee for governor may have found her campaign voice in the Gulf oil spill disaster that has consumed the coast of several states.

During the past two months, Sink has berated a BP executive whom she called to appear before the governor and Cabinet, criticized the Obama administration for failing to address troubles in BP's claims process, and worked to position herself as the spokeswoman for small businesses crippled by the oil catastrophe.

``She's the only one that has stepped forward and taken the bull by the horns,'' said Tommy Holmes, owner of Outcast Bait & Tackle, a Pensacola company he built 23 years ago now facing bankruptcy.

BP offered to pay him $17,300 to cover his first $73,000 of lost revenues but he rejected it. Now Sink, a former banking executive, has taken up his cause and considers Holmes the poster child for the failures of the claims process and the need for more disaster assistance.

She has assigned her consumer advocate to monitor how Holmes is treated by BP as he appeals their decision. She personally told Obama last week to take over the claims process and ``send BP the bill'' and told him he needs to tell bankers to negotiate more lenient terms for affected companies. And she has called on the state tax collectors to offer emergency exceptions for past-due tax payments.

Holmes, a Republican, now pledges to vote for Sink.

Sink is not the only statewide candidate to use the oil spotlight to bring attention to herself. Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican rival for governor, and U.S. Senate candidate Gov. Charlie Crist, have also made repeated trips to the Panhandle to respond to problems and demonstrate their concern.

But Sink's newfound focus marks a pivot for her -- away from a foundering campaign and a muddled message to an approach that attempts to highlight her experience in the business world.

For months, her campaign was criticized for losing momentum as she cautiously avoided taking a position on healthcare reform and other issues until McCollum started raising more money and opened a lead in the polls.

Now, although neck and neck in the polls with McCollum, she's trailing billionaire Republican upstart Rick Scott. But her supporters have stopped complaining.

``I absolutely can see her turning a corner,'' said state Sen. Nan Rich of Weston, a leading Democrat who criticized Sink's slow start earlier this year.

Rich said she noticed the difference at a recent Broward County event where Sink hit the partisan high notes to get a roar from the crowd. ``It was a tremendous difference,'' Rich added. ``I think the oil spill has been a terrific example of her coming out really strong.''

For months, Sink's campaign struggled to find a message as the candidate compounded problems with her risk-averse approach to contentious issues. The frustration from the ranks didn't manifest itself immediately -- a testament to her keen ability to raise money. But as complaints mounted, Sink upended the campaign team and made changes, aides said.

In April, she ousted campaign manager Paul Dunn and recruited a number of veteran political operatives and consultants, such as Steve Schale, the political director of Barack Obama's Florida victory, and Emily's List strategist Shellie Levin, who is now Sink's deputy campaign manager.

Son of late Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles may run against Sink

Son of governor Lawton following dad's footsteps

TAMPA -- Forty years after his little-known father used a pair of boots to launch himself into political folklore, Lawton ``Bud'' Chiles III hopes to emulate the strategy during his independent run for governor by walking across Florida and connecting with voters.

The signature Chiles campaign tactic hasn't changed much, but Florida's political environment has. Retail politics is less effective. The electorate is more fragmented. Statewide candidates need vast sums to get their message in several major TV markets.

As Chiles, 57, grows older, he looks more and more like his father. He's trying to sound like him, as well, by focusing on cleaning up money in politics. The lifelong Democrat said that's the main reason he is running an independent campaign.

NEW APPROACH

Politicians ``are so busy paying off campaign contributions that they're not taking care of the basic needs of families,'' Chiles said during a campaign stop Friday in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood. ``Communities are getting weaker as a result of this political system.''

Dressed in a light blue button-down shirt, khakis and brown hiking shoes, Chiles walked with his son Geoff for about 1.5 miles through largely empty streets in Ybor. He met with about a dozen people over an hour.

Even political rivals note the similarities between Chiles and his father.

``He's Lawton writ small in more ways than one,'' said J.M. ``Mac'' Stipanovich, a Republican lobbyist who worked for former Gov. Bob Martinez. ``You've got the name and the walking strategy and the resemblance, but there's no originality. There's no innovation.''

`WALKING LAWTON'

Bud Chiles was in high school when his father literally walked his way into the U.S. Senate in 1970. The younger Chiles volunteered on ``Walkin' Lawton's'' campaign.

The walk -- from Century, on the Florida-Alabama border to John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo -- took about three months. Chiles walked between eight to 15 miles each day and slept in a Ford camper that accompanied him from town to town. He reaped a windfall of free publicity that enabled him to neutralize his rivals' advantage in fundraising.

The walk was such a phenomenal success that what has gotten obscured over time is that it was a long-shot gamble by an unknown candidate who was not given much chance of victory. The obscure state senator from Lakeland defeated Farris Bryant, a former governor and wealthy insurance executive in a runoff for the Democratic nomination.

Lawton Chiles' campaigned on the theme that big money and powerful interests had hijacked Florida politics, and that the voice of the common man was ignored. What began as a gimmick became instead central to Chiles' identity as a politician.

``It made a pretty big impact on me, more than just the blisters,'' Bud Chiles said. ``It carried through his political career, that idea of staying true to average guys and representing their interests.''

FAMOUS LAST NAME

If one recent poll is any indication, Chiles can turn his famous last name into votes. In a Quinnipiac University poll released this week, Chiles garnered 19 percent in a three-way race with likely Democratic nominee Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum.

The poll showed both major candidates losing support when Chiles was included. But there are caveats. The poll had a relatively high margin of error and it also showed that nearly 80 percent of people did not know enough about Chiles to form an opinion of him.

Several major Democrats worry that any support Chiles receives -- even if it's only 4 or 5 percent -- will come from likely Sink voters.

``He could be a spoiler along the lines of Ralph Nader,'' said Congresswoman Kathy Castor, D-Tampa. ``He could hurt the interests that he cares about.''

Chiles said he will disseminate commercials through online social media to groups focused on issues such as the environment and education.

``We now have really powerful tools that my father didn't have 40 years ago,'' he said.

TOUGH ROAD

But many observers simply don't see a path for victory. Of the walking campaign, longtime Bud Chiles confidant and Sink supporter Steve Uhlfelder said, ``When TV wasn't as important in 1970, it worked. People got most of their political information from newspapers. These days are different.''

Uhlfelder, who's know Chiles since their days as volunteers on the Edmund Muskie presidential campaign, said he tried to talk him out of getting in the race. He noted that the elder Chiles had legislative experience and a group of lawmakers who canvassed the state for him.

Uhlfelder described Chiles as an optimistic, religious family man -- who would have a better impact in private life. ``Unless you're independently wealthy or a great fundraiser, you can't win a race in Florida now.''

Staff writers Steve Bousquet and Adam C. Smith contributed to this story. Lee Logan can be reached at llogan@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

Son of late Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles may run against Sink

Was candidate Rick Scott involved in U.S. healthcare scam?

Rick Scott's opponents for governor are telling reporters to essentially fluff off a new poll Thursday that shows the former Columbia/HCA hospital CEO beating both Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary for governor and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink in a hypothetical November match-up.

Focus on the fraud, they say. The fraud. The fraud.

``Rick Scott has spent $15 million in half as many weeks to fund his public image repair squad's pricey and misleading paid media campaign,'' McCollum spokesman Kristy Campbell said Thursday. ``It's no surprise he has skyrocketed in the polls since Floridians are just beginning to learn about his questionable past. His lead will evaporate when Floridians learn Rick Scott oversaw the most massive Medicare fraud scheme in American history.''

Democrats added their own e-mail titled ``Fraud is not a mistake,'' along with a 2 minute 40 second Web video called Slick Rick .

``Rick Scott may think that his millions of dollars will allow him to avoid answering hard questions about his record as CEO of Columbia/HCA . . . but with your help we will make sure he is held accountable,'' said the Florida Democratic Party's Eric Jotkoff.

The fraud question is a natural for PolitiFact Florida.

Here we'll focus on whether Scott's old company, Columbia/HCA, committed fraud, and also explain Scott's role with the company, his part in a federal investigation and the outcomes of the federal probe. To borrow a line from Scott's television ads -- Let's get to work.

COMPANY HISTORY

Scott started what was first Columbia in the spring of 1987, purchasing two El Paso, Texas, hospitals. He quickly grew the company by purchasing more hospitals. A hospital network created efficiencies. Efficiencies created profits.

In 1994, Scott's Columbia purchased Tennessee-headquartered HCA and its 100 hospitals, and merged the companies. When Scott resigned as CEO in 1997, Columbia/HCA had grown to more than 340 hospitals, 135 surgery centers and 550 home health locations in 37 states and two foreign countries, Scott's campaign says. The company employed more than 285,000 people.

Now about Scott's departure in 1997. That year, federal agents went public with an investigation into the company, first seizing records from four El Paso-area hospitals and then expanding across the country. In time it became apparent that the investigation focused on whether Columbia/HCA bilked Medicare and Medicaid.

Scott resigned as CEO in July 1997, less than four months after the inquiry became public and before the depth of the investigation became clear. Company executives said that had Scott remained CEO, the entire chain could have been in jeopardy.

At issue, Scott says, is that he wanted to fight the federal government's accusations. The corporate board of the publicly traded company wanted to settle. And settle Columbia/HCA did.

In December 2000, the U.S. Justice Department announced what it called the largest government fraud settlement in U.S. history when Columbia/HCA agreed to pay $840 million in criminal fines and civil damages and penalties.

Among the revelations from the 2000 settlement, all of which apply to the time Scott was CEO:

• Columbia billed Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs for tests that were not necessary or ordered by physicians.

• The company attached false diagnosis codes to patient records to increase reimbursement to the hospitals.

Analysis: Rookie Rick Scott could shake up race for Florida governor

Obama to address nation about Gulf oil spill

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will address the nation at 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — from the Oval Office, his first televised address from that stately setting since he took office 17 months ago.

Aides to the president said Americans shouldn't read too much symbolism into his decision to speak from his formal work space at the White House, where his predecessors have spoken on matters as weighty as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Past presidents also have used the Oval Office for more routine addresses.

Nonetheless, the scheduling of the address — in prime time hours after Obama finishes a two-day visit to the Gulf Coast, and on the eve of his first meeting with top BP officials — reflects how all-consuming the spill has become for the president after nearly two months of unfolding disaster with no end in sight.

Polls show that the spill hasn't caused major damage to Obama's job approval ratings so far, but warning signs are emerging. A new McClatchy-Ipsos poll of 1,071 adults, conducted Thursday through Sunday and released Monday, found that a plurality of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the spill: Forty-one percent disapprove, compared with 33 percent who approve and 26 percent who are neutral or unsure. The poll had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said the president thought that a prime-time address was important because, "We know a lot more now than we knew a week ago or two weeks ago, and the president will lay out for the American people what has happened, what we've done to date and how this will play out going forward, including the steps the federal government will take to ensure the recovery and restoration of the region."

Presidential historian Robert Dallek said that Obama's stepped-up activity on the Gulf spill this week struck him as "not simply a manipulation of image and politics. I think there is a real substantive concern here they're trying to address."

However, Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California, said it was unclear whether Obama would have much of substance to offer Americans. "It's a big, gooey mess. We're all clear about that," Pitney said.

While the address was still being written Monday, Obama was expected to say that the government has the legal authority to force BP to establish an escrow fund totaling billions to pay businesses and individuals for their losses stemming from the spill if the company doesn't do so voluntarily.

He's also expected to talk about improving regulatory oversight of the industry and about BP's latest estimates on recapturing spilled oil. The government estimates that up to 40,000 barrels of oil are erupting from the blown well daily, and BP is capturing about 15,000 barrels a day.

One of Obama's major goals — prodding Congress to pass an energy bill that puts a price structure on carbon emissions and steers investment toward alternative energy — appears no closer to having the votes needed for passage than it did weeks ago.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Monday that the Oval Office address and the crisis underlying it were "no game changer" for energy and climate-control legislation.

Pew poll: Obama's public support is eroding

Lawyer Jim Lewis joins Florida's attorney general race as independent

Fort Lauderdale attorney Jim Lewis cut ties to the Republican Party on Tuesday and announced he would run as an independent in Florida's attorney general race, mirroring a similar backlash toward party affiliations across the state and country.

Lewis, 52, a trial lawyer and former assistant state attorney from Orlando, said he saw the switch as his best chance for winning a race in which he is among the lesser-known candidates.

``The extreme right isn't always right, and the far left leaves common sense left out,'' he said in a statement released by his campaign office in Fort Lauderdale.

He said that while he holds many conservative views, he opposes the death penalty and supports a woman's right to choose. He is also adamantly opposed to offshore oil drilling and long prison sentences for drug offenses.

``I won't run to the right to try to get the base of my party to support me,'' he said. ``A lot of folks came up to me at debates and said `we like you, but we can't vote for you in the primary because we're Democrats.' ''

In one of his better-known cases, Lewis, a trial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience, represented Lionel Tate, the 12-year-old found guilty of body-slamming his 6-year-old playmate to death in 1999. Prosecutors offered Tate a plea bargain that included three years of juvenile detention, but Lewis chose to take the case to trial, arguing that professional wrestling had influenced the boy. The case drew headlines nationwide.

As a candidate, Lewis touts his outsider credentials, noting he had never been elected to public office. However, he has run several times for various offices, including mayor of Fort Lauderdale and a Broward County commissioner.

Lewis faces an uphill political fight against a slate of candidates who have strong name recognition.

Among them are Democrats Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber, both of whom are state lawmakers with extensive political experience. And three Republicans: former state Rep. Holly Benson, former Hillsborough County prosecutor Pam Bondi and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp.

Gay adoption ban coming into play in race for attorney general

Florida governor slammed for hospital-money veto

Of all the times Gov. Charlie Crist has flip-flopped, few decisions stand out like his budget veto of nearly $10 million for Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Crist recommended the money in his proposed budget in January. He recommended similar funding in the previous three years and approved them in the budget.

Crist's veto of the money -- used to treat 18,000 uninsured Floridians -- also conflicts with his veto message that said he preserved budget items that ``served the most vulnerable.''

On Thursday, the governor defended his veto: ``The concern was more with the process of it, to be honest with you. And the lateness of it. I didn't want things that came late and didn't have the complete committee vetting opportunity.''

Critics say the only changes between the budget recommendation and his veto is that Crist left the Republican Party and had a war of words with House Speaker Larry Cretul, whose district includes Shands.

``I don't know if it's personal,'' Cretul said. ``Nobody knows that, other than the governor. If it is personal or retribution over disagreements we're having, the persons being hurt aren't Larry. It's the people at Shands and the people they serve.''

`ECONOMIC REALITY'

Crist said the veto was not political or personal. ``It's motivated by being an appropriate process (and) the economic reality that we're living in.''

Shands CEO Tim Goldfarb said the money Crist vetoed has been in Florida's budget for more than 20 years. Last year, the hospital treated 18,600 uninsured Floridians, half of whom live outside the Gainesville area.

Because of a shoestring budget, he said, the hospital will now make the ``tough'' decision to refuse uninsured patients from outside central Florida.

``I have no idea what led to the governor's veto,'' Goldfarb said. ``He obviously bears responsibility for any veto.''

Crist has had several high-profile changes of heart, including last year's veto of the Legislature's $6 million raid on a trust fund paid into by concealed weapon permit holders. Crist originally recommended taking $8 million out of the fund to use for other purposes.

After pressure from the NRA, Crist vetoed his own proposal, citing Second Amendment principles.

OTHER SWITCHES

In March, Crist said he had a ``generally favorable'' view of a controversial teacher pay bill -- only weeks before vetoing it. He also said in a GOP primary debate that he wouldn't leave the Republican Party, but announced an independent run for the U.S. Senate in late April.

When he signed this year's 70.2 billion budget, Crist canceled $46 million for a new Lakeland campus for the University of South Florida advocated by Senate budget chief JD Alexander. House budget writer David Rivera lost $64.5 million for his home county of Miami-Dade. Of that, more than $40 million was earmarked for Florida International University, Rivera's alma mater and an employer of Rivera's friend, Marco Rubio -- Crist's rival in the U.S. Senate race.

Crist's opponents for U.S. Senate have used this year's budget vetoes against him. They say the Shands veto fits with the vetoes of projects pushed by Alexander and Rivera.

``Just about everything the governor does is a calculated political decision,'' said Kendrick Meek, the Democratic front-runner in the Senate race. ``He will stop at nothing to win the next election.''

Alex Burgos, a spokesman for Rubio, added: ``Florida's responsibilities to our people should not take a back-seat to politics as usual. Floridians deserve leaders who check their politics at the door when making important public policy decisions.''

`BAFFLED'

Legislators who help write the healthcare budget say they were ``baffled'' by the Shands veto.

``The governor made a mistake,'' said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. ``This is a governor who prides himself on representing the people. It's poor people without insurance we're talking about.''

Marc Caputo can be reached at mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com.

Florida voters send mixed message in poll

Jeweler accused of Ponzi scheme made political campaign donations

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina acknowledged he received campaign contributions and had a business relationship with Luis Felipe Perez, a Cuban jeweler accused of scamming dozens of Hispanic business owners in South Florida.

Robaina told El Nuevo Herald that he received donations from Perez for his campaigns ``just like other politicians did'' although he did not specify how much.

``I can't remember [the amount] exactly there were so many campaigns that I don't have the figure,'' Robaina said.

According to a complaint by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Perez, 39, swindled 35 investors out of at least $40 million while running a Ponzi scheme from 2006 until June 2009. The complaint also indicates that he made about $100,000 in campaign contributions to local politicians.

According to Hialeah city documents, Perez donated at least $18,500 to municipal campaigns. For the 2005 and 2009 elections, he gave $1,500 to Robaina. Councilman Carlos Hernandez received $1,250 for his campaigns in 2005 and 2009. Perez gave $950 to Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Muñoz in 2007. Neither council member responded to calls.

Miami-Dade County records show Perez also gave $10,000 to the political committee The Truth for Our Community/La Verdad para Nuestra Comunidad, which Julio Ponce oversaw. The group ran a campaign in 2008 to promote an amendment to eliminate term limits for the office of Hialeah mayor.

Ponce said that he knew Perez but he did not remember if he had received that donation.

``I know [Perez] from the Hialeah Chamber of Commerce [and Industries]. He always was a very upright person and it really surprised me when I started to hear that he was involved in this problem,'' Ponce said.

Perez, known in the Hispanic business world as Felipito, is the owner of the companies Lucky Star Diamonds and Luis Felipe Jewelry Designs Corp, through which he may have funneled some of his political donations.

Perez could not be reached for comment at his office in Hialeah. His attorney, Alvin Entin, was out of town, according to an assistant at his law office in Fort Lauderdale.

The SEC complaint alleges that in 2006 Perez started to offer his clients dividends of 18 to 36 percent, paid in monthy installments. Later in 2007 he told them that he would invest the money in pawn shops in New York where supposedly he could obtain monthly returns of 5 to 10 percent -- or 60 to 120 percent annually.

According to the SEC, Perez persuaded various friends to become clients and also bragged about his ties with local politicians.

With the money from investors, he started to turn over payments under his name and relatives for a total of $6 million -- in theory for salaries and commissions -- the complaint alleged. He bought a $3.2 million house and spent $1 million in jewelry.

He also rented luxury cars for $400,000 and spent $200,000 on vacations, $200,000 on clothes for his wife and $200,000 on dinners at fancy restaurants, where he would arrived accompanied by bodyguards, according to the complaint.

Among the victims: the president of the Hialeah Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Daniel Hernandez, allegedly swindled out of $2 million, according to El Nuevo sources.

Hernandez, owner of the Farmacia Ideal in Hialeah, could not be reached for comment. However, pharmacy staff confirmed he was one of the victims.

Ex-Florida GOP chief Jim Greer charged with siphoning cash

Consistent theme lacking in primaries

WASHINGTON -- Primary votes in 11 states this week helped set the table for November's general elections, but don't look for a theme menu with one cuisine from these results. It's more of a food court.

Outsiders winning? Many did, but veteran insiders won top races in Arkansas and Iowa.

From coast to coast, the latest round of primaries shows that the electorate remains ready to challenge the status quo and the establishment, but also that state and local issues and the quirks of individual candidates still can drive elections in any state. The results also serve to remind that voter turnout in summer party primaries tends to be small, where organization often counts more than trends in national opinion.

In California, Republicans nominated two conservative women from big business who vow to run against big government.

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman won the primary to be the Republican candidate for governor against former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. A billionaire, she spent $80 million to win the primary, most of it her own cash.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina won the GOP nomination to run for the U.S. Senate, and will challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Fiorina, too, spent heavily.

In Iowa, Republicans nominated former four-term Gov. Terry Branstad as their candidate to challenge Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.

Branstad received the endorsement of Sarah Palin at the last moment, a move that angered some Palin supporters, who complained that she bypassed more purist conservative candidates for a man more likely to win -- and thus be in a position to help her in the pivotal state should she run for president in 2012.

In Arkansas, two-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln won a close runoff primary against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter despite polls suggesting that she would be the third senator to lose this year, after Democrat Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Republican Robert Bennett in Utah.

Labor unions poured $10 million into the race to try to defeat Lincoln after she opposed adding a government-run insurance program to the recently enacted healthcare overhaul.

Labor's clout is limited in Arkansas, however, where just 4.2 percent of the work force is unionized, according to AFL-CIO figures.

In Nevada, Republicans nominated former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, a Tea Party favorite, as their candidate to oppose Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.

As the Senate majority leader, Reid is the face of the Democratic establishment in Washington. Angle champions small government, pushing to close the federal Departments of Education and Energy and phase out Social Security for younger Americans.

While polls have shown Reid to be weak against virtually any Republican, his backers had hoped that Angle would become his opponent so he could paint her as an extremist. They got their wish.

In South Carolina, allegations of extramarital affairs color a race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination that's now headed for a runoff between state Rep. Nikki Haley and U.S. Rep. J. Gresham Barrett.

Haley had to deny unsubstantiated allegations of infidelity that other Republicans threw at her, which may have helped hold her to 49 percent of the vote Tuesday.

Primaries from Calif. to SC measure voter anger

Justice Department case against him dropped, Doolittle says

WASHINGTON — A Justice Department corruption investigation that helped drive John Doolittle from office has now been closed without charges being filed, the former Sacramento-area congressman said Friday.

"I'm thrilled," Doolittle said in an interview. "They've dragged this thing out for six and a half years."

Doolittle's relief, though, is tinged with bitterness at how he believes the Justice Department has mistreated him. He says he accumulated $600,000 in attorneys fees, some of which he was able to pay with campaign funds. The lingering investigation hindered his ability to find work. In the beginning, he said, it proved "very devastating" to his high school-aged daughter.

Even now, Doolittle said, neither he nor his attorney have been able to secure complete, written documentation from the Justice Department.

"They have really hurt my family," Doolittle said, "and they have really hurt me."

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment Friday afternoon.

The now-closed Doolittle investigation was a byproduct of the scandal surrounding disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who entered federal prison four years ago. Abramoff pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts involving conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion relating to his work for Indian tribes.

Abramoff is now in a halfway house and is scheduled for release in December. Most of the other individuals charged in related cases have likewise finished their sentences.

Doolittle said he might never have learned of the development if he hadn't insisted that his attorney call the Justice Department shortly before the Memorial Day weekend. Doolittle said that though some people warned him against "waking the sleeping dog," he was anxious to find out the status of his case so he could help his employment prospects.

A consultant since leaving Congress in January 2009, Doolittle said Friday that he's been "in between jobs" for the past month and a half.

Doolittle said a Justice Department official called his attorney, Tom Mason, back last week.

"He said they have declined to take the case, and the case was closed," Doolittle said.

Doolittle added that he believes the phone call means no case will be brought against his wife, Julie, as well, though he said he's been frustrated in efforts to find out for sure.

An 18-year veteran of the House of Representatives, who previously served in the state Senate, Doolittle announced his retirement in January 2008. At the time, he was under considerable political pressure because of the unfolding Abramoff controversy. Abramoff was a contributor to Doolittle's campaigns and an employer of some close to the congressman.

In April 2007, the FBI raided his northern Virginia house. Doolittle said the investigators sought records associated with a business run by his wife.

"The Justice Department was leaking stuff to the press all the time," Doolittle said.

Doolittle's former legislative director, Kevin Ring, was ultimately implicated and is scheduled for a retrial next month.

Ring went to work as a lobbyist for Abramoff after he left Doolittle's staff. The original charges against Ring, issued last year, identified Doolittle and his wife as unindicted co-conspirators.

Prosecutors presented evidence including e-mails detailing how Abramoff's firm provided Washington Redskins and U2 rock band tickets for Doolittle's staff members, all while seeking legislative help. Prosecutors say that Abramoff also arranged for Julie Doolittle to be paid $5,000 a month for event planning work.

"Congressman Doolittle and his staff helped out again and again and again on lots of projects," federal prosecutor Nathaniel Edmonds told a jury last fall, the trial transcript shows. "Not for projects just in his district, not in California, but for Ring's clients thousands of miles away."

Ring's attorney, Andrew Todd Wise, retorted that Ring was merely a good lobbyist, who while on Doolittle's staff had been part of a "close-knit group of mainly late-twenties, early-thirties folks, that developed friendships that lasted after they left."

Ring's initial trial resulted in a hung jury.

"They had made up their minds that they were going to get me," Doolittle said Friday, "but there was no evidence against me."

Report says DOJ not fully prepared for WMD attack