Patrick Delaney

POS 2041
October 30th, 2014
Public Opinion and Style in the Rick Scott vs. Charlie Crist Fan Debate
Public opinion and style are two of the four informal powers a president has. Public
opinion is how the public views the president based on his actions. Style is how the president
carries himself; the best example of style is how JFK dressed himself, young and comfortable.
These are two important powers a president needs to keep a handle of, but every candidate
running for any position should keep these two powers with them as well. This includes Floridas
candidates running for governor this year in 2014, Rick Scott and Charlie Crist. These two
candidates should not only be concerned with their knowledge on various subjects and plans for
the future, but their public opinion and style.(Connor, p.148)
On Wednesday October 15th 2014 there was a debate to be held between the republican
Rick Scott and democratic Charlie Crist. This debate would have had several topics in it
including jobs, minimum wages, environment, and several other topics but there was a single
surprising topic that came in from nowhere: fans. It turns out that Charlie Crist was using a small
electronic fan under his lectern to help him keep cool for the debate, and Rick Scott would not
participate in the debate until it was removed because it was stated that no fans were allowed in
the rules. In the live recording of the debate, immediately following the moderators words of:
Somehow there is a fan there, and for that reason, ladies and gentlemen, I am being told that
governor Rick Scott will not join us for the debate.(CBS) you could hear not only laughter, but
booing from the crowd. This reaction was towards Rick Scott for not coming out to debate over
something so small and petty. Then Charlie Crist responds to the situation by saying: thats the

ultimate pleading the fifth that I have ever heard in my life. in reference to Rick Scotts pleading
the fifth to dodge answers in his hospital scandal. Shortly after that, Rick Scott comes to the
stage and greets Charlie Christ and the moderators to make sure there is no further damage to his
public opinion or style.
From here Rick Scott looks childish and immature, for being so stuck up about a small
electronic fan. Also Charlie Crist takes this advantage to remind the public and attendees about
Rick Scotts scandal, making his shadiness and evasiveness resurface in their thoughts. This was
a major victory for Charlie Christ because the next day several news stations, radio stations and
newspapers were covering this scene. The following day was full of bashing Rick Scott for
looking so childish in an official debate.(Smith) This was a backfire for Rick Scott, because it
went against his original plan. Rick Scott was originally trying to make a dent in Charlie Crists
appearance in front of a live audience by making him sweat in front of all of the people and
cameras. Without the fan, Charlie Christ would not be able to keep his cool and would sweated
under the pressure and make him seem unqualified and nervous.(Reilly)
Public opinion and style can affect a candidates status greatly. If a candidate is not
careful about these two informal powers, then he is subject to getting fewer votes for seeming
unprofessional or ill-prepared. In the live video the public was laughing and booing Rick Scott
for being so childish. Also several news stations such as 102.5 did a small segment talking about
how Rick Scott was acting very immature. This was a blow to Rick Scotts public opinion and
style, and he learned from his mistake because in the third and final debate he did not seem too
concerned for fans and actually joked about it, regaining some positive laughter from the
audience.

Works Cited
Connor, Karen, Larry Sabato, and Alixandra B. Yanus. Essentials of American government:
roots and reform. 2009 ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print.
Reilly, Mollie. "Rick Scott Almost Refused To Debate Charlie Crist Over A Fan." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/15/rick-scott-debate-fan_n_5993412.html>.
Smith, Adam. "Fangate overshadows sharp debate between Gov. Rick Scott and Charlie Crist."
Tampa Bay Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/gov-rick-scott-wont-debatebecause-of-charlie-crists-fan/2202288>.
Florida's second gubernatorial debate, CBS. CBS. 15 Oct. 2014. Television.