Billionaire Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene isn't flying high in the polls -- just yet. Like his Democratic rival Kendrick Meek, he finishes a distant third behind Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist in three-way matchups. But he's flying high above Florida in his $23 million Gulfstream V private jet equipped with "polished wood paneling, bed, sofa, and kitchenette."
He makes no effort to hide his private wealth in a lengthy profile published in the Washington Post. While aboard the plane, he points out his Palm Beach mansion to the journalist.
"See the one with the swimming pool right on the water, with the tennis court behind it? That's our house!"
He apparently hopes it drives home the point that his expansive wallet, stuffed during the financial collapse by betting against the housing bubble, means he won't be beholden to special interests.
Money, as a very wise woman once warbled through Auto-Tune, can't buy you class, and Greene bashes not only his Senate rivals but also the Koran and Ron Howard in the profile.
- On Muslims: "'I'm not an expert on Muslims,' Greene said. But he added that anyone who knows anything about the Koran knows that it contains 'all kinds of this crazy stuff. And unfortunately that's motivating a lot of these extremists.'"
- On Marco Rubio: "an opportunist taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of these Tea Party people."
- On Meek (as paraphrased): a career politician who didn't understand how finance worked.
- On Crist (also paraphrased): stewarded the state into economic ruin.
- On director Ron Howard, with whom he had a real estate squabble in California: "He screwed me."
