Tallahassee Democrat columnist Bill Cotterell is calling Crist "Spend It Now Charlie":

"I am directing all state agencies to aggressively move forward with projects that will create jobs and make the Sunshine State even brighter," Crist said. "Every agency will move up the approval for funded construction and capital-outlay projects. They will move quickly and aggressively for the people of Florida. ... These projects will boost the economy by creating literally thousands of jobs. They will also improve the water supply, the roads we travel and the schools our children attend."

Crist talked about $11 billion being available this year, including $4.2 billion in transportation construction, $5 billion in schools and colleges, $772 million for environmental protection and $430 million in the prisons. He said the Legislature also put up $20 million for aerospace development and $12 million for marketing by Enterprise Florida.

Crist's "Accelerate Florida" program, described above, is essentially New Deal lite. However, Crist is once again proving to be a skilled, slimy politician, with his ear to the ground and his eyes on the polls.

Crist is doing what a responsible leader should do in a time of economic recession: invest in public works to stabilize the economy in the short-run. Don't be fooled though, Crist is doing all of this without doing anything to raise taxes to pay for any kind of sustained spending. It looks like Crist wants to push the economy in a better direction in time for the 2008 election, not because he's a closeted 21st century new dealer.

Of course, if the economy begins to improve next year, Crist will of course try to take credit for it via Accelerate Florida. The Florida press corps, already heavily weakened by layoffs, probably will barely notice. Ah, politics.

In reality, if the economy does improve, it will more likely be due to a change in the market regulation regime in Washington coupled with stronger federal investments in the growing new energy economy.