Meek: Dealmaking Crist "a Desperate Candidate"
Backroom Deal in Florida Senate Race Wasn't Sealed when Former Governor Trumpeted in on Airwaves; Everybody Stays In
In this Oct. 20, 2010, file photo, Fla. Democratic senate candidate Rep. Kendrick Meek listens to former President Bill Clinton address supporters during a campaign rally for Meek at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo)
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Meek: Clinton Didn't Induce Me to Drop Sen. Bid
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(CBS/AP) Updated 7:29 a.m. ET
Rep. Kendrick Meek said he trusts the counsel of longtime friend Bill Clinton, but insists the former president's advice never included dropping out of the Florida Senate race.
"We did not come to any kind of agreement that I would get out of a race," Meek said in appearance on CBS' "The Early Show" Friday. "The president [Clinton] did not push me to do so. I did not tell him that I wanted to do it. We talked about it and that's it.
He called the day-long controversy about his possible withdrawal "made up."
Polls indicate the congressman has little chance of winning on Tuesday, badly trailing Gov. Charlie Crist and front-running Republican Marco Rubio. The idea of Meek quitting so voters in his camp would kick their support to the more moderate Crist, instead of the conservative Rubio, has been swirling around the campaigns for some time.
Meek on Thursday said a report by Politico that was confirmed by a Clinton spokesman "was inaccurate at best" that the former president while campaigning in Florida last week persuaded him to withdraw.
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"President Clinton and I are good friends," Meek said during a hastily called news conference in front of screaming supporters Thursday night. "He's continuing to be a supporter of this campaign. Any rumor or any statement by anyone that says that I made a decision to get out of the race is inaccurate.
"We talk about issues all the time, but to say that he asked me is totally false."
CBS News has confirmed that Crist - the former Republican governor now running as an independent - approached Clinton's camp offering a deal: convince Meek to drop out of the race and if Cirst won, he would caucus with Democrats, not Republicans, in the Senate.
According to an account from CBS News' Mark Ambinder, who spoke to multiple sources close to the situation, Meek either agreed to a preliminary deal or was very close to do doing so. (Clinton also made sure that the White House, which generally likes Meek, didn't object, sources told Ambinder.)
But a final deal was never reached and instead of letting the diplomacy play out, Crist went on television to trumpet the story.
"Really, it looks like Crist was trying to force Meek out of the race by disclosing the didn't-get-done deal," Ambinder reported.
Meek had strong words about Crist's apparent maneuvering, telling "The Early Show, "Charlie Crist, being a very desperate candidate, feeling that his pathway to victory was me out of this race was calling the Clinton office. I didn't know that." But he said the attempt to squeeze him how was "neither here nor there."
Clinton acknowledged during an interview aired on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 that Meek wanted to discuss the possibility of withdrawing, so they did. He did not say he asked Meek to quit.
"I said in the end, you know, he would have to do what he thought was right. He'd have to do what he felt right about," Clinton said.
Meek: Clinton Didn't Induce Me to Drop Sen. Bid
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As for the specifics of the conversation, Clinton said that would have to stay between the two men, who have been friends for years.
Experts say Crist, who, when trailing in the polls to Rubio, bolted the Republican Party to run for the Senate as an independent, would need the Democrats backing Meek to have any shot at winning.
"Charlie Crist truly will say and do anything to get elected and hold on to power," Rubio senior strategist Todd Harris said in a statement. "Secret deals to trade away principles for power is already the problem in Washington, it's not the solution. This is simply politics as usual which is exactly what voters across the country are emphatically rejecting this election."
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Meek, meanwhile, said he's more confident in his chances than recent events - or recent polls - would seem to indicate.
"The bottom line is this whole 15 percent thing in the polls, enough of that. Because, I know bluntly that i will do a lot better than what that particular poll indicates," he said on "The Early Show." "I am looking forward to continuing to allow the people of the state of Florida to have a chance to vote for the candidate of their choice. That's the bottom line."
Clinton has been campaigning all over the country, trying to keep the U.S. House and Senate in Democrats' hands. Meek said Clinton has done 11 events for his campaign.
During primary season, the White House was embarrassed when it became known that it enlisted Clinton to try to ease Rep. Joe Sestak out of Pennsylvania's Senate primary with a job offer. The White House released a report describing the offer that was intended to clear a path for Sen. Arlen Specter to win the Democratic nomination.
Sestak beat Specter and Clinton was campaigning for him Thursday.
Republicans instantly sought to gain from the episode surrounding Meek.
"One can only imagine the response if Republican leadership tried to force out of the race - in the 11th hour - a qualified black candidate like Kendrick Meek," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement.
Clinton downplayed that, saying of course the Republicans want Rubio to win.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this month said that Meek cannot win the race and instead endorsed Crist. He called the Florida Senate race the most critical in the country and urged voters to combat what he calls the radical tea party movement by voting for Crist.
Crist's camp said the Politico report was accurate, and that Crist "is the one candidate who can defeat tea party extremist Marco Rubio and deliver bipartisan results for Florida in Washington."
Many Florida voters have already cast early and absentee ballots, so even if Meek dropped out it might have only a marginal effect. His name also would remain on the Election Day ballot.
Meek said he saw no advantage to withdrawing.
"There's no negotiation about me getting out of the race - that's the bottom line."
