Crist told a group of real estate agents Friday that he's had prayer notes placed in the Western Wall in Jerusalem each year and no major storms have hit Florida.

Crist noted that just before his election in 2006, Florida had been affected by a total of eight hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.

"Do you know the last time it was we had a hurricane in Florida? It's been awhile. In 2007, I took my first trade mission. Do you know where I went?" asked Crist, a Methodist.

He then told of going to the Western Wall and inserting a note with a prayer. He said it read, "Dear God, please protect our Florida from storms and other difficulties. Charlie."

He went on to say that no, it he should take no credit. It was God, after all, who made the final decision. Crist did not mention, however, whether God was responsible for the hurricanes in other locations during that time, nor why he prayed only for the state of Florida. I suppose God prefers specifics. 

What really got me was the similarity to another high-profile figure who placed a note in the Western Wall. He never announced the contents of his note (which was removed by a resident student) to the public because, well, you really are not supposed to do that:

A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.

The paper's decision to make the note public drew fire. The rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitz, said publishing the note intruded in Obama's relationship with God.

"The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them," he told Army Radio. The publication "damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves," he said.

Now, Obama does get points for specifics here, what with just the family and all. But then Obama didn't run around telling people that he and his family are healthy because of a private note he put in the Western Wall.

I am not an overly religious person. I do identify as Jewish, even though I have never formally converted. That said, maybe Obama used a photo-op at the Western Wall to curry political favor with the Jewish vote. Distasteful? Maybe.

But Crist took it to another level, basically telling the Jews of Florida that he, with his pipleine to God via the Western Wall, is keeping them safe from hurricanes..with a photo of the note and recent weather patterns as proof.

If Crist really believes this, and it seems he does, I would encourage him to take the next step and convert. It's obvious that our God has taken favor with him. Perhaps if Crist converts he can eliminate all of Florida's ills, real or percieved. He must ask himself, What Would Yahweh Do?