Rubio's Rubicon?

Marco Rubio's had a charmed few months. Even w/out doing any real campaigning, his poll numbers and nat'l profile have soared. But this is the week where he may learn it'll take more than just momentum to beat Charlie Crist.

-- After letting Rubio define this contest for months, Crist is getting into the game. Yesterday, he was attacking Rubio's chummy relationship w/controversial ex-FL Speaker Sansom. Today, Crist jumped on reports that Rubio ran up lots of personal charges - including $133 on an "upscale barber shop" - on the state GOP's AmEx. Hoping to wipe the Tea Party outsider patina off his rival, Crist has even found a new nickname for Rubio "lobbyist/politician."

-- Does Rubio have a solid right hook or a glass jaw? We'll soon find out. One sign that he may be unprepared for the pushback: He defended his decision to have the FL GOP pick up the tab for his wife's airline tix b/c she was "first lady" of the FL House. Hmmm, that doesn't sound very Tea Party-ish to us.

-- It may be too late for Crist to recover his once golden image. But every attack he makes on Rubio has the opportunity to boomerang back at him. After all, the guy at the center of the AmEx scandal (disgraced ex-FL GOP chair Jim Greer) was a key Crist ally. This has always been Crist's tough balancing act: How does he attack Rubio's record in Tallahassee when as gov. he supported lots of those actions himself?

-- In the end, it seems, Crist wins not by making himself look better, but by making Rubio look worse.