Apparently we are to assume that all minor instances of basic human interaction between Gov. Rick Scott and President Barack Obama are of the utmost importance. So what to make of the fact that this afternoon Scott was on hand to greet Obama before his appearance at Florida International University and gifted him a cap with the insignia of the Miami Marlins professional baseball team?
Lest you think this is a minor occurrence, let us not forget the historic importance of Obama's greetings by Florida governors.
Here's @FLGovScott posing with black @Marlins cap on MIA tarmac before he gave it to President Obama. pic.twitter.com/E8aRBGP916
— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) February 25, 2015
The first time Obama visited the Sunshine State as president, he was hugged by then-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. That simple gesture ended up changing Florida (and perhaps national) politics forever. That hug would go on to be used as all the confirmation Tea Party types needed that Crist was not a true conservative Republican and rather a dreaded RINO (Republican in name only). Clips of the hug would air seemingly on repeat in attack ads during Crist's eventual run for U.S. Senate as a Republican. He, of course, became so unpopular in his own party that he ditched it, and Marco Rubio ended up winning the Republican primary and Senate seat.
Plus, people on Twitter who don't have much else to tweet about besides political news are clearly taken with the story.
Marlins?!? Come on @FLGovScott. Should have given Dolphins or Heat RT@gbennettpost Obama in Miami: Rick Scott gives Marlins cap to president
— Eric Jotkoff (@Eric_Jotkoff) February 25, 2015
Bipartisan peace through licensed sports merchandise? #Marlins
http://t.co/E3zWVjyA12 pic.twitter.com/ajTd6erlSX
— George Bennett (@gbennettpost) February 25, 2015
So, what does the gift of the hat mean?
Conspiracy Theory #1: Scott is throwing shade at Obama's big-spending ways.
The Marlins, after all, represent the squandering of public tax dollars to build a stadium that very few people visit. Was this Scott's sly way of critiquing Obama's tax-spending habits? Of course, Obama prefers to dedicate spending for the needy, middle class, and public infrastructure.
Conspiracy Theory #2: The Marlins are incompetent losers, and Scott thinks Obama is an incompetent loser.
Scott has never had a single nice thing to say about any of Obama's policies, so why is he suddenly giving him baseball hats? Oh, right, the hat represents a team that's the perennial laughingstock of Major League Baseball and hasn't made the playoffs in 12 years.
Conspiracy Theory #3: Scott and Obama are secretly best friends, and Scott is a secret RINO.
Clearly, to hear the way some in the Republican Twittersphere tweet (#TCOT), anyone who dares to treat Obama with any respect whatsoever is a secret communist.
The "Official" Story:
Scott told a pool reporter on the tarmac that he was giving Obama the Marlins cap because the team had been announced earlier this month as the host of the 2017 MLB All-Star Game.
"I brought him a hat for the All-Star Game," Scott told Miami Herald reporter Patricia Mazzei.
Yeah, likely story. And Charlie Crist is just a big hugger.
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