“Good riddance!” was Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's well-publicized rejoinder to State Farm's January declaration that it wants to stop writing property insurance here. “They probably charge the highest rates in the state anyway,” he added. “Floridians will be much better off without them.”

The insurance industry is the one dark corner in Crist's perennially optimistic mindscape. He just doesn't seem to like us very much. “Profit-hungry parasites” was one of his more disturbing descriptions during his campaign for the governor's seat. After his election, a dust-up over the expansion of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. prompted him to declare that the industry “will come up out of every crack and crevice they can contemplate to rip more money from the pockets of our people.”

Compare the governor's rancorous remarks to the measured comments and expressions of concern recently voiced by other elected officials.