John Avalon and the "Phony Centrist"

Perhaps the best known "centrist" out there these days is John Avalon, a former aide to Rudy Giuliani and author of the book Independent Nation: How the Vital Center is Changing American Politics.

You might think that he of all people would support Charlie Crist's declaration of Independence. Nope:

As an independent and a centrist, I should be a textbook supporter of Charlie Crist’s newly announced independent candidacy for U.S. Senate.

But I’m not—because Charlie Crist confirms the worst stereotypes of a centrist. Instead of being principled in his differences with his party, he is opportunistic.

Read the rest. Avalon gives a good reason why Crist is just not the real deal.