Talk:Charlie Crist/GA1

GA Review

Article (edit | visual edit | history) · Article talk (edit | history) · Watch

There's a lot to like in this article, but it is not yet of GA standard. The prose falls short, though not so far short that it can't be repaired during this process. The biggest issue is the state of the article's referencing, which is at best average. I'm placing this on hold to allow for the concerns below to be addressed. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it well-written?

Fixed problems

It's not terrible, but it certainly needs some work to get to GA standard, especially in some sections (the 2008 presidential election section being probably the most seriously in need of TLC). Specific points: The lead is too short - per WP:LEAD, an article of this size should have a lead of two or three paragraphs. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Besides being too short, the lead does not adequately summarize all aspects of the article. For example, the "Personal life", "2006 gubernatorial campaign", and "Political activity" sections are not covered at all in the lead, and the "Early political career" is barely touched upon. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:47, 2 July 2009 (UTC) The lead contains material not covered in the rest of the article, including the full name, birth date, distinction as the first cabinet official to be elected governor in 95 years, his record's resemblance to Jeb Bush's, and his eligibility to seek re-election. Ideally, all material in the lead should also be found elsewhere in the article; if you're going to deviate from this (limited deviation is permissible) you need to cite the information that isn't found elsewhere in the article. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:47, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Crist's name is overused throughout the article. Replace many occurrences of it with pronouns. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) There is inconsistency on the capitalization of positions (governor, attorney general, vice president, etc.) throughout the article. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "As governor, Crist has echoed his predecessor..." I'm not sure "to echo" is the right verb here. "Emulated"? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...generally conservative positions on a broad range of social issues..." Too many words. How about either "generally conservative positions on social issues" or "conservative positions on a broad range of social issues"? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...on fiscal management and environmental policy." How about just "fiscal and environmental policy."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "He has been described as fostering better relationships with minority communities..." How about "He has been credited with..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Though eligible under Florida law to seek a consecutive term as governor in the 2010 election cycle..." I don't think that a single thing can be "consecutive", and there are too many words in any event. I'd prefer "Though eligible to seek a second term in 2010..." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "He is the second eldest child;" How about "He is the second of four children"? Just saying he's the second eldest child doesn't really provide any context. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "he has three sisters, Margaret Crist Wood, Dr. Elizabeth Crist Hyden, Catherine Crist Kennedy." I don't think the comma after "sisters" is the right punctuation there. Colon would work, as would a spaced endash or unspaced emdash. Also, you need an "and" in there. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) All of the children's names -- Charles, Margaret, Elizabeth, Catherine -- are classically Scot-Irish Presbyterian names. Seems like the Florida Crists like being Presbyterians in the deep South rather than Greeks -- but there is a big Greek enclave in, I believe, Tarpon Springs (?), just N of St Pete. WmMBoyce (talk) 08:16, 23 July 2009 (UTC) "Gay rights groups protested the passage of Amendment 2 gay marriage ban..." "...the Amendment 2 gay marriage ban..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "In 1981, after graduating law school..." If "after graduating law school" is going to be used as a parenthetical, which seems to be the intent, it needs to be enclosed in two commas. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "... who he would in the future describe as his political mentor." "in the future" seems redundant. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) Florida Senate should probably be wikilinked somewhere. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "He established a reputation in the Senate as a law and order senator..." He was a senator in the Senate? Wouldn't have guessed. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...legislation to require..." "...requiring..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...serve at least 85% of their sentence..." sentences. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...created a license plate to raise funds for the Everglades." Not really clear what is meant here. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...then governor..." I think this should be hyphenated. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Chiles later..." Later than what? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) It's not clear what is meant by "scare calls". Can this be wikilinked or explained? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...but stood for and was elected..." Seems redundant. Could he have been elected without standing? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...a position he held until 2003." Dangling modifier. Maybe reword to "...and held the position until 2003."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Beginning in 2003...the position of commissioner is filled by political appointment." Given the use of the present tense, this seems a little awkward to me. Maybe "As of 2003..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) Center for Missing and Exploited Children should probably be wikilinked. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...he ended further official attempts..." "Further" should probably go. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys could use wikilinks. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...currently serving a 25 year sentence..." I'd remove "currently"; time-specific terms should be avoided when possible, and this one doesn't seem to add anything. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...during the term of prior attorney general Bob Buttersworth." Suggest rewording this. "...under Crist's predecessor, Bob Buttersworth." maybe? I'm not sure what would be best. As well, I'd suggest wikilinking Bob Buttersworth, even if he doesn't have an article yet, unless you think it unlikely that one will ever be created. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Her successer in the position..." Remove "in the position" as redundant. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "During his gubernatorial campaign, Crist's campaign manager..." This reads as though this was during the gubernatorial campaign of Crist's campaign manager (a possessive can't be an antecedent). Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...while the Ukrainian official's fee was paid by another guest." Unclear what this means. Was the fee originally supposed to have been paid by Crist? That seems counter-productive, given that it was a Crist fundraiser. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Further controversy set in, however, when ethics complaints were filed against Crist..." A couple of things: first, I don't think "however" adds anything to this sentence. Second, while the passive voice is normally loved by me, here it might be better to say who filed these complaints, if it can be said succinctly. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)  Done to here. Nathan T 00:51, 8 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist's platform as a gubernatorial candidate included a "pro-life and pro-family" approach to abortion.[30][31];" The punctuation here is screwed up. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...both for his approach to fiscal policy and state spending." Aren't those pretty much the same thing? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "In January 2009, when the state was facing the repercussions of the nationwide recession," There's an opportunity for a wikilink here. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...while Republican governors in some other states were rejecting portions of the federal stimulus package Crist spoke in favor of it and for Florida receiving its full measure." A comma is desirable after "package", I think, and I'm not sure that "measure" is the best word. "Share" or "portion", maybe? See what you think. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist and his fiancee made a 12 day trip to Europe that ultimately cost taxpayers..." "ultimately"? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "While the deal had been shepherded in part by the firms American attorney..." Apostrophe needed. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist has supported separate efforts to ban gay marriage in Florida, and later signed a bill to that effect, and has also endorsed a prior (and in some respects unique to Florida[54]) ban on adoption by prospective gay parents - arguing that a "traditional family provides the best environment for children."" This is an extremely convoluted sentence (and I should know - I could easily have written it). Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "At the same time, he has appointed the majority of the members of the Florida Supreme Court..." It seems to me that "At the same time" implies some kind of contrast, which I don't see here. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "On other issues, Crist has departed from traditional Republican policy positions - particularly on environmental policy, an important issue in Florida." Hyphen should be a dash. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist's orders would set new emissions targets for power companies, automobiles and trucks, toughen conservation goals for state agencies, and require state-owned vehicles to use alternative fuels." Faulty parallelism. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist opposed offshore oil drilling a position he shared with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger." Some punctuation needed (comma, dash or parentheses). Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Later that month, in June 2008..." Saying "later that month" and then spelling out the month seems a little odd. If the previous comments were made in June 2008, which I presume they were, maybe move "in June 2008" to that sentence and just leave "Later that month" here. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist hosted his first climate change summit in Florida." Is this the same summit as the one dealt with later in the paragraph? If so, it should probably be moved so the subject is dealt with in one place. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...and he stated:" How about just "...stating:"? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "in June 2008 Crist proposed that the State of Florida buy 187,000 acres of land for conservation," Seems unnecessarily wordy to me. Maybe just "...proposed buying..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...as the states' "first black governor."" Apostrophe needs relocating. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...tackled the states' regulation..." Here too. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...stemming from criticisms from those who believed votes were being undercounted..." How about just "...criticisms that votes..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...the health insurance reform efforts have been well received - standing next to former football star Dan Marino..." I'd change the hyphen to a period (and if you don't, it needs to be changed to a dash). As well, I'm sort of puzzled by Marino's involvement - does he have an autistic kid, or something? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Senator John McCain played a major role in Crist's 2006 campaign for governor - McCain endorsed Crist and traveled the state of Florida campaigning with him." Hyphen should be a dash, and there are some redundant words in there: I'd remove "2006" and "the state of". Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "The day before the Florida general election, Crist chose to hold a campaign event with McCain in Jacksonville, Florida rather than attend a Pensacola, Florida rally with President George W. Bush." I'd suggest the removal of all three occurrences of "Florida" here. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "...were held in St. Petersburg, Florida..." This one too; I doubt the reader is going to think that the debates were held in Russia. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist physically embraced McCain and was observed as offering..." How about just "...and offered..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "...visiting Crist's hometown for the debate." I'd delete this. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "...in demanding that their state's delegates be seated at each party's convention." The apostrophe needs to move if this is saying what I think it's saying. I would also remove "...at each party's convention", which doesn't seem to add anything. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "...Crist publicly endorsed Senator John McCain in the Republican primary race" Since he's already been mentioned this section, I'd suggest reducing "Senator John McCain" to either "John McCain" or "McCain". I'd also suggest removing the word "race", which doesn't add much. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...gave McCain a leg up..." This strikes me as a touch colloquial for a Wikipedia article. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...along with Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney..." No comma needed. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...a Memorial Day weekend at Senator John McCain's Sedona, Arizona home." Here it should definitely just be "McCain's". As well, can you attend a weekend? "...spent Memorial Day weekend...", maybe? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...for the presidential general election held on November 4, 2008." Shorten to "for the presidential election" or similar, and possibly add wikilink. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "The Governor did go on to participate in several campaign rallies several days later." You're hitting on one of my pet peeves here, the use of titles instead of pronouns. I think it makes you sound like a political aide (if you know any such people, you know that they constantly refer to "the candidate" or "the Minister" or what have you). I'd strongly suggest replacing with either "He" or "Crist", as appropriate. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...rather than animosity specifically between Crist and McCain." Maybe "...though not of animosity specifically between..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Florida is a state that offers early voting to its constituents." By this point, the reader knows that Florida is a state. Accordingly, "...is a state that..." should probably go. "...to its constituents." should probably also go, since who else would it offer early voting to? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...record turnout of voters..." "...record voter turnout..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Some election officials in certain counties..." As distinct from uncertain counties? Does this have something to do with quantum physics? How about just "Election officials in some counties..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...while other election officials..." We're already talking about election officials, so this can be tightened to "...while others..." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Other journalists and photo-journalists..." "Photo-journalist" is a subset of journalist, so this reads oddly. I'd suggest rewording to "Journalists..." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...that the race was tightening in Florida." When I read this I asked myself "which race?" While it's arguably clear from context (it is in the section about the 2008 presidential race, after all), my preference would still be to add the word "presidential". Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "On October 31, 2008 Crist appeared in a McCain-Palin web ad..." The style elsewhere in this article has been to put a comma after 2008. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...endorsing the senator." What else would he have been doing appearing in their ad, denouncing them? I'd suggest eliminating this. And if you don't, see my earlier wrath towards referring to people by their titles. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist abruptly left a poorly-attended McCain rally in Tampa on the last day of the race and Crist was a no show at..." Since Crist is already the subject of the sentence, just delete the second occurrence of his name. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "On November 12-14, 2008 Crist hosted..." Comma after 2008. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...in Miami, FL." I don't think that identification of the state is necessary, and if it is it should be spelled out. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "After the resounding Democratic Party win of the 2008 election, where the presidency, along with several house and senate seats were won by Democrats..." Far too wordy. I would prefer simply "After the Democratic Party's resounding win in the 2008 election..." but if you feel the need to specify race, how about "After the Democratic Party's resounding win in the 2008 presidential, House, and Senate elections..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "She offered her first press conference since joining the McCain ticket at the post-election RGA meeting..." Wordy. Tighten to something like "This was her first press conference since joining the McCain ticket, and she received..." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...and they openly discussed the split in the Republican Party (GOP)..." How about replacing "and" with "in which"? As well, I would remove both "openly" (things discussed in media interviews are obviously being discussed openly) and "(GOP)". Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...over the issue of where to direct the party's next efforts to gain more voters." Wordy. "...over where to direct its efforts to increase its voter base." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "In April 2009, Crist became one of the subjects in Kirby Dick's documentary Outrage..." "Crist was one of the subjects of Kirby Dick's April 2009 documentary, Outrage..." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "This led many in the press to speculate about the veracity of the claims in the documentary and also publicly debate Crist's right to privacy." Oh my. "This led to a public debate about Crist's sexual orientation and right to privacy."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Political analysts also debated what the appropriate tactical response from Crist should be..." The word "tactical" was just in the previous sentence. How about "Political analysits also debated Crist's best response..."? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist announced May 12, 2009 that he will not run for re-election as governor in 2010, and instead will run for the US Senate in 2010." Too many occurrences of "2010"; I'd delete one. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Some opponents in the senate race include fellow Republican Marco Rubio [147][148] and Democrat Kendrick Meek" This needs a period. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Significant problems

The paragraph on Crist's 2006 platform, in addition to raising some neutrality issues (see below), is inelegantly written as a single sentence. I'd suggest a complete rewrite. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist, one of the more popular Florida governors[34], has taken generally conservative positions on many social policy issues while also receiving criticism from time to time from Florida Republicans for his fiscal approach, for urging bipartisan cooperation - particularly with President Barack Obama, and for the rigor (or lack thereof) of his official schedule." Generally single sentence paragraphs are bad, and I don't think this is an exception; I'd suggest breaking up. Also, the hyphen needs to be either a spaced endash or an unspaced emdash, and there needs to be a second one after "Obama". Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC) "...and the Republican National Committee said it would strip 50% of all of the state's delegates." "Said" is an odd verb choice here. I'd suggest hiving this out into a separate sentence, and rewording it, or reworking the entire thing to something like "Both the Democratic and Republican national committees announced that they would strip Florida (and Michigan, which made a similar change) of half of its delegates. The Democratic National Committee also stripped Florida of all of its superdelegates." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) "Ultimately, the Democratic National Committee decided to seat all Florida and Michigan delegates while granting each delegate a half vote, and the Republican National Committee came to a similar conclusion." If the decisions were the same, why not deal with them in a single clause? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC) ...that he did not have a problem with the voter registration group known as ACORN as it operates in the state of Florida." Extremely wordy. Shorten to something like "...that he did not have a problem with ACORN's activities in Florida." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "Some members of the press directly asked Crist if he would be campaigning with McCain in Florida. On October 14, 2008, Crist indicated that his primary responsibilities lay with the people of Florida, saying, "When I have time to help out my friend [McCain] I'm eager and anxious to do so."" Also wordy. I'd suggest reducing to one sentence, possibly "In response to questions from the press, Crist indicated that, while he considered his primary responsibility to be discharging his duties as governor, "When I have time to help out my friend [McCain] I'm eager and anxious to do so."" Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...source who said "He just blew..." Not a big deal, but I'd suggest clarifying with "...source who said that Crist "just blew..." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...viewed the extension of hours as an infringement..." An infringement on/of what? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "...according to Ed Henry, reporter for CNN." Is this necessary? I'd assume by its presence that there was some debate over whether or not he left the rally and did not show up for previously scheduled interviews, and that that's why the source of the allegations needs to be identified; if that's not the case, this should go. If that is the case, the dispute should be made clear in the interests of NPOV. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) "during this same interview Crist also made reference to two recent mechanical problems and emergency landings that took place while he was aboard the airplane used to transport him around Florida for state business." This comes right out of left field, and appears to have nothing to do with the section in which it's found. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

The referencing in this article needs a great deal of work in both form and substance to reach GA standards. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Minor issues

References 9, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 153, and 154 are bare references, and should be templated for consistency. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC) References 68 is missing many parameters. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Quite a few of the references lack accessdate parameters. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Quite a few of the references to websites are dead links: [1] Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Reference 41 is just a duplicate of reference 40. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Reference 61 does not appear to support the material it's supposed to. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) I'd suggest simply eliminating references 83, 84, 93, 103, and 121, which are low quality references that are in there supporting material already supported by much higher quality references. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) Reference 121 appears to be a copyright violation. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) There are quite a few places in which multiple references are provided for statements that likely only need one. I'd suggest trimming these down, especially given how many of them are dead links anyway. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC) There are a fair number of primary sources, often affiliated with Crist himself. While this isn't strictly forbidden, it's certainly undesirable; if something is important enough to include in the Wikipedia article, why hasn't it received any media coverage? Examples: "Later that month, in June 2008, Crist gave a keynote address at the "Serve to Preserve" Global Climate Change Summit he hosted in Florida.", "Crist's speech at the RGA conference entitled "Listen to the Voters and Serve" included his sentiments on how the GOP should evolve." Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "Often mispronounced today as "Christ"..." This is not cited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "...his surname had originally been "Christodoulou"." The reference provided states that this was the original family name, but not that it was ever Charlie Crist's name. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:25, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "...to Dr. Charlie Crist Sr., an American physician of Greek Cypriot descent, and Nancy Lee, of Scotch-Irish American descent." Not cited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "...and graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 1974." This is supported by reference3, which should probably be moved to the end of the sentence. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "He attended Wake Forest University for two years, where he played quarterback for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team. Crist earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University where he was elected Vice President of the student body and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He received his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in Alabama." No apparent citations for any of this (I suspect it is supported by references, but footnotes need to be included so it's clear exactly which references are supporting which material). Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) References 5 and 6 appear to be identical. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:47, 2 July 2009 (UTC) In most cases, you have footnotes appearing after punctuation, but in some cases they appear before. Either is acceptable, but an article should be consistent in which style it uses. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC) Some of these are fixed, some are not. Formatting refs is a work in progress. The ref numbering referred to above changed pretty quickly, so I'll address the general problems but may miss some that were specifically noted. Regarding ref placement, I usually put the ref before a comma but after a period. Seems pretty consistent; a search for "]." returned nothing, and for ",[" also nothing. Nathan T 20:29, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Significant problems

"Supporters of his candidacy included America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, who publicly filed Crist's gubernatorial candidacy paperwork, citing his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children." Uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist also led his opponents in fundraising throughout the campaign, but his activities were occasionally controversial. One of Crist's backers was real estate mogul Donald Trump, whose guests at a Crist fundraiser included a former Ukrainian official in the country illegally, as well as the owner of a company under investigation by Crist's office. Crist later returned the donations from the companies under investigation, while the Ukrainian official's fee was paid by another guest. Further controversy set in, however, when ethics complaints were filed against Crist and his chief of staff for failing to investigate a major donor, personnel firm Convergys, that has been plagued by lawsuits and prison sentences for its role in the inadequate protection of state employees' social security numbers." Uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "$3,000 subsidies to adoptive parents and $5,000 subsidies to foster parents; advocation of parent choice and strict, standardized testing in education; prescription drug tracking for assurance of safety and proper health care; less expensive homeowners insurance; report cards for insurance companies; abolition of Citizens Insurance; support for right to die including respect for living wills; legal protection in eminent domain cases; lawsuit reform through elimination of joint and several liability; property tax flexibility; support for Florida's Defense of Marriage Act;...efforts to stop the "clear pattern of growth" in hate crimes; support for closed borders with promotion of legal immigration; opposition to further statewide expansion of legal gambling; and support for environmental protections such as a ban on off shore oil drilling near Florida's coastline." Uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist was the first Republican governor to accept the state's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) invitation to a convention..." Uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "The day before the Florida general election, Crist chose to hold a campaign event with McCain in Jacksonville, Florida rather than attend a Pensacola, Florida rally with President George W. Bush." Uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:32, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had also campaigned for Crist during the gubernatorial election, had hoped to secure his endorsement to support a campaign strategy that relied on winning the Florida primary." Uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:32, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "In May 2008, Crist, along with Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, attended a Memorial Day weekend at Senator John McCain's Sedona, Arizona home. Although the McCain campaign denied the gathering was an opportunity to consider a vice presidential candidate, several press outlets reported that the invited guests were indeed being considered for the number two spot on the Republican ticket. Three months later, in August 2008, Alaska governor Sarah Palin was chosen by McCain for the position." This passage is followed by three references which, taken together, seem to support all of this material. However, two of the three references are about the meeting with the three hopefuls, while the third is about Palin's suggestion. I'd recommend that the first two footnotes be moved to the end of the penultimate sentence, for greater clarity of referencing. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:32, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "Various media outlets and observers speculated that Crist made the decision out of vindictiveness toward McCain for snubbing him for the vice presidential position, or to position himself for re-election in 2010." Appears to be unreferenced. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:32, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "Crist abruptly left a poorly-attended McCain rally in Tampa on the last day of the race..." Appears to be uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:32, 2 July 2009 (UTC) "...there was widespread speculation about the tone of the Republican Governors meeting." Appears uncited. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:32, 2 July 2009 (UTC) The "Electoral history" section needs a reference. Steve Smith (talk)

Is it broad in its coverage?

• Could the election results for Attorney General not also be included in the "Electoral history" section? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:47, 2 July 2009 (UTC)
• The "Record as governor" section seems somewhat sparse to me; being governor seems to be his primary claim to notability, but this section is shorter than the "Political activities" section, and not really that much longer than the section dealing with his election as governor. Are you sure that it covers all major aspects of his time as governor? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 08:47, 2 July 2009 (UTC)
• We're told that he was endorsed for attorney general based on his past work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, but to that point in the article we haven't heard anything about that work. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "A lawsuit stemming from the Ponzi scheme and investment scandal alleges that Crist and other state regulators failed to protect investors, and also cites campaign contributions." This could use some elaboration, among other reasons to address the current state of this lawsuit and whether Crist is personally named as a defendant. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 16:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "During the fall of 2006, Crist consistently led Democratic opponent Jim Davis in statewide opinion polling and so opted to skip a politically risky appearance with President George W. Bush. Crist had reasoned that the Pensacola area was already firmly in his camp..." Was this appearance scheduled to take place in Penascola? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "Further controversy set in, however, when ethics complaints were filed against Crist and his chief of staff for failing to investigate a major donor, personnel firm Convergys, that has been plagued by lawsuits and prison sentences for its role in the inadequate protection of state employees' social security numbers." What was the result of these complaints? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "Crist, one of the more popular Florida governors[34], has taken generally conservative positions on many social policy issues while also receiving criticism from time to time from Florida Republicans for his fiscal approach, for urging bipartisan cooperation - particularly with President Barack Obama, and for the rigor (or lack thereof) of his official schedule." Some of this needs some elaboration, specifically the bits about urging bipartisan cooperation and the lack of rigor in his schedule. This elaboration can either come here or later in the section. If any of these issues are not significant enough to be elaborated on, they're probably not significant enough to be mentioned. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• The bit on the extension of early voting hours needs to be reworked; it's not clear to me, as a reader, why this move was seen to hurt McCain, and that seems to be a critical part of it. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)
• "...their disapproval of how Palin's participation in the conference was handled." This needs elaboration. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it neutral?

Generally quite good (and I've read the recent discussions on the talk page). Minor qualms:

• I don't think that the treatment of his two failed bar exams. First of all, I'm not convinced that it's important to include. If it is, I'd suggest dedicating a sentence to it, rather than have what appears to be a snide parenthetical aside. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 05:08, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "...whose job-approval rating stood at 34 percent nationally and merely 29 percent within Florida." I'd suggest losing "merely"; the numbers speak for themselves, and there's no need for editorializing adverbs. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• The gubernatorial campaign section seems to me to give undue weight to Crist's ethics woes and the Dozier stuff - a single sentence about polling, nothing about the results, very little about Crist's interaction with his opponent...I think what's in there now is appropriate (i.e. no need to take anything out), but I think if you want that large a section on the campaign you need to add other information for balance (and of course if it gets too long, you can hive some of the information off to the election article itself, as long as you maintain balance when doing so). Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• The paragraph about Crist's 2006 platform reads as if it was lifted straight from his brochure. For example, "Pro-life and pro-family" is more rhetoric than a substantive statement of position, "...for assurance of safety and proper health care" doesn't really mean anything, and "parent choice" needs elaboration. I'd suggest a complete rewrite of that sentence. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "...particularly on environmental policy, an important issue in Florida." I think just stating that this issue is important without explaining why is somewhat POV (the implication is that it's more important for Florida than for other states, which I presume is because so much of Florida stands to be underwater if the icecaps melt, but this should be spelled out and cited). Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "Continuing in a role of environmental advocacy..." This seems fairly POV to me. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 22:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
• "A few short months later..." Who says these were short months? Were they all Februaries? Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 23:31, 4 July 2009 (UTC)
• "Crist emphatically stated..." The use of the adverb seems POV. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)
• "Crist abruptly left..." Here too. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 00:39, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it stable?

Yes - one little revert a few days ago, but the record of the article overall is clearly one of stability. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it illustrated, if possible, by images?

Both images are good choices and verifiably in the public domain. The only niggling issue is that the caption of the photo of Crist in Brazil ends with a period even though it is not a complete sentence, which is a no-no under WP:CAPTION#Wording. Steve Smith (talk) (formerly Sarcasticidealist) 07:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC)