But Crist had political gold awaiting. The Tampa Bay Rays had invited the light-footed governor to throw out the first pitch in game two last night of the Major League Baseball playoffs. While Rubio and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek were off kissing babies or whatnot, Crist would have a national stage. And hell, the guy's a former college quarterback, so what could go wrong with a 60-foot toss?
The Tanned One took the mound, standing just in front of the rubber. There would
be no throwing from the grass for Crist. He picked up his left knee ever so slightly and reared back.
But
like his politics, like everything that has befallen him in this
election cycle, the ball took an inexplicable turn. A big, embarrassing
arc to the right. The catcher jumped from his crouch and still couldn't
catch Crist's sailing ball.
Crist threw up his hands in
exasperation. It looked for a second like he might toss his glove on the
fake turf. Sure, the pitch stank. But so do his poll numbers. So has
this whole election, with upstart Rubio forcing him into a new role as
an independent candidate. It all seemed to head in an unfathomable direction that nobody could grasp.
The crowd let out an "ooohhh"
that underlined Crist's embarrassment. In the world of political
theater, the fall from grace is everyone's favorite story line. And now
Crist's possible collapse went national.
At least the wild throw had
one benefit. From Crist's perspective, it sailed right. But from the
catcher's, it reared left. So an independent voter might still see Crist
as a moderate -- a moderate with a rubber arm.
