Crist Goes Back to School

Posted by noah on May 15, 2009 under Preparing for Midterm Elections 2010 | 3 Comments to Read

The other day I heard that Charlie Crist was going to be speaking at our local middle school.  I “worked my contacts” to confirm this, and applied for media credentials.  Today, I went over there, with Bryant Moreno, one of my classmates, along with our TV Production teacher, Jay Salon, to cover the event.

We caught Crist on camera getting out of the car and entering the school. Then we videotaped his speech, which focused strictly on education.  One of the things that baffled me was how he claimed that Florida went from “31st in the nation to 10th in education.”

When I produced my documentary on education for the C-Span Student Cam competition, “Left Behind” (see my April 9, 2009 Post, “Making Education a Priority”) my research showed that we are 50th in funding for public education.  I wonder what statistic Crist was quoting?

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to ask him to clarify that (there is always
a next time) but I did get to ask him some questions as I pushed my way through the crowd of reporters.

Crist only would answer questions about education.  But the local reporters kept pushing him to answer other questions.  How about his RUN FOR U.S. SENATE?

Speaking of that…it’s still early, but lets not forget that Crist has a Republican contender in the race for the seat that Sen. Mel Martinez is vacating, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio. And on the Democratic side, U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek has placed his hat in the ring, as well as former Florida Senator Dan Gelber. I will try to interview all of these candidates as the race unfolds. Stay tuned…