Luxe Talk Express

By Sasha Issenberg, Globe Staff

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- McCain has worked harder than his Republican rivals to win media endorsements -- and carries around a card with a long list of Florida newspapers backing him -- but his recent itinerary seems to have the editorial board of "The Robb Report" in mind.

McCain held has held policy roundtables at an Orlando jacuzzi manufacturer and a Jacksonville shipyard that specializes in, among other things, the restoration of cruise-ship interiors. This morning, McCain disembarked his “Straight Talk Express” bus in St. Petersburg before a horizon of yachts: the polling place his campaign had selected for a primary-morning photo op sat adjacent to a marina.

The precinct, in a theatre where later this week the Florida Orchestra will perform its “Vive La France!” program, is the home precinct of Charlie Crist, the magically tan governor who endorsed McCain on Saturday and lives in a tall condo building down the street.

Is this a typical Florida election precinct?

“Of course,” said Crist, wearing an “I Voted” sticker. “It’s the Sunshine State.”