"There are no paintings of Charlie Crist standing in the bow of a boat crossing the Delaware River (or Tampa Bay).

And nobody has ever claimed that, as a boy, Charlie took a hatchet and chopped down his father's cherry (or orange) tree.

But historians will note that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and President George Washington shared one thing in common. Each stumbled into a thicket of trouble when he attempted, as a chief executive, to make Native American policy.

Florida legislators raised a stink when Crist emerged from secret negotiations with the Seminole Indian Tribe.

The governor cut a deal that would allow the Seminoles' seven Florida casinos to install Las Vegas-style slot machines and engage in blackjack and other card games. (The state government would get a cut of the profits.)

Of course, the stakes aren't nearly as large as those on the table -- the survival of Indian nations -- when George Washington and Andrew McGillivray stared eyeball to eyeball. But Crist, in fighting for executive power, can compare himself to George Washington."

Get the Story:
Larry Evans: A thicket of trouble for Crist (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune 12/16)