BLITZER: A picture can be worth a thousand words, as they say. Right now, one image is being used to spell out a whole story. It's being used against Florida's Republican governor, who now wants to become the next U.S. senator.

Governor Charlie Crist is joining us now from the capital, Tallahassee.

Gloria Borger, our senior political analyst, is joining me now in the questioning.

Governor, thanks for coming in.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: It's a pleasure, Wolf.

Always good to be with you.

And you, too, Gloria.

Thank you.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks.

BLITZER: All right, take a look at the picture. You know that you're familiar with the picture -- a picture of you and President Obama, when you supported the economic stimulus package. And the caption reads, "Get the Picture?" Marco Rubio has put that on his Web site. He's trying to embarrass you at a sensitive time.

CRIST: Well, I think it's important to understand where we were at that time. That was back in February, less than a month after the president was sworn into office, the first time he visits our state. And I was pragmatic, I think, about what we needed to do. Everybody knew the bill was going to pass. You know, I, like all other Republican governors, utilized that money for the benefit of the people in my state. And that's what a pragmatic conservative does -- a CEO, if you will, of a state does that.

And -- and I think it's important to understand that you need to fight for jobs, you need to fight for the economy, do what you think is right for the people.

Now, fast forward to today. We're in a whole different scenario...

BLITZER: But let me...

CRIST: ...and a different situation.

BLITZER: Let me just...

CRIST: And unfortunately...

BLITZER: Let me interrupt for a second, Governor. For a second, do you have any regrets about endorsing the economic stimulus package?

CRIST: Well, I didn't endorse it. I -- you know, I didn't even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians.

Let me give you just one example of the difference that made. We would have had to let go of over 20,000 schoolteachers in Florida if we hadn't had that support. And, frankly, I kind of look at it like Florida taxpayers' dollars coming back to the state to benefit them.

You know, I used to work for a great U.S. senator named Connie Mack, a true fiscal conservative, as am I. And he always, you know, would stress to us on the staff, let's make sure we get Florida's fear share.

BORGER: Governor...

CRIST: We've go to fight for Florida first. That's all we did here.

BORGER: Governor, you have the support of Senator John McCain in this race. And it's likely -- a lot of people say that former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, is going to come out and support your opponent in the primary.

Will Sarah Palin make any difference in the state of Florida? CRIST: Well, I think every person makes a difference. I mean that's the -- the beauty of America. Everybody has an opportunity to speak their voice and to try to make a difference that they think...

BORGER: But how influential...

CRIST: ...is best for...

BORGER: How...

CRIST: ...the future of our country.

BORGER: How influential will she be in a Republican primary in your state, if she opposes you?

CRIST: Well, it's hard to say. I mean nobody knows for sure. I mean, I hope that the endorsement of Senator Connie Mack, the endorsement of the former Republican Party chairman of our state, Al Cardenas, you know, the endorsement of people that really understand and -- and realize Charlie Crist is a true fiscal conservative.

You know, unfortunately, the president thinks that everything we need to do for every problem that comes along is spend more money and that's just wrong.

Frankly, enough is enough. And I know that the people understand that. And I understand it. And I understand it because I'm the grandson of a Greek immigrant who came to this country with nothing, really taught me the value of a dollar, because his first job in America, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was shining shoes for a living for $5 a month...

BLITZER: What was the lesson...

CRIST: ...now that teaches you what conservatism is about when it comes to the value of a dollar...

BLITZER: What was the...

CRIST: ...and spending money wisely.

BLITZER: What was the lesson, Governor, that you learned from the elections this week, in New Jersey and Virginia, but maybe even more so, what happened in Upstate New York?

CRIST: Well, I think it's -- listen, it's a -- it was a great night for Republicans. And -- and my wonderful congratulations go out, again, to governor-elect Christie, governor-elect McDonnell. These are great men who ran great races and represent what the people want. They understand that they want less spending, less taxing, less government, more freedom. And -- and pragmatic leadership that fights for the people every single day, just like we do here in the Sunshine State.

That's my job. I understand it and I get it. And I know who I work for. And the people want less government in their lives. BORGER: But -- but, Governor, in Upstate New York, which Wolf was referring to, the Republican Party got split right down the middle and handed the seat to a Democrat.

Could that happen in the state of Florida?

CRIST: Well, I certainly don't hope so.

BORGER: Well...

CRIST: As a Republican running for the U.S. Senate, I want to make sure that a Republican wins and I hope that it's me.

You know, I don't know if we can really tell exactly what that race meant. I mean that was kind of a funky situation, to put it mildly. And I think that, you know, it will take a little time to analyze what happened there. But what did happen there is, unfortunately, a Democrat won in a district that's been represented by a Republican for over 150 years.

BORGER: Right.

CRIST: The good news is, from last night, these two gubernatorial candidates ran great campaigns, articulated what the people want, what -- what is important to them. And it's jobs, jobs, jobs...

BLITZER: Here...

CRIST: ...making sure that we're fighting for a better economy and lower taxes.

BLITZER: You were with the president on the economic stimulus package.

What about health care reform?

CRIST: I'm not with him there, either.

Listen, why would we take over 18 percent of the economy and have government run it?

What has government run and run well?

Not very many things. So it's clear to me that what we need to do is have more private sector influence involved in this, make sure that the people have choices, that the consumer gets more power and authority. And that's what we've done here in Florida with the Cover Florida Health Care Plan.

BLITZER: Well, you said...

CRIST: No government mandates, no tax dollars.

BLITZER: But you say the government doesn't do anything well.

What about Medicare?

A lot of the seniors in Florida, they rely on Medicare. They seem to like it a lot.

CRIST: Well, there's no question that they do, Wolf. I mean I understand the population of my state and I'm in touch with them. But I also understand that people don't want government to continue to grow at the pace that the president wants it to, that Nancy Pelosi wants to. It's just wrong. They made that abundantly clear last night. And anybody who doesn't understand that wasn't watching.

BLITZER: Charlie Crist is the governor of Florida and he's running for the Senate.

Good luck, Governor.

Thanks very much for coming in.

BORGER: Thank you.

CRIST: Thank you, Wolf.

Thanks, Gloria.

BORGER: Sure.

CRIST: Good to be with you.