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It was certainly not the kind of week for which Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture had hoped. Coming off a statewide bus tour where Putnam touted his years of government service and his vision of putting Florida First as a rationale to elect him Governor, Adam Putnam fired his campaign manager after internal strife and rivalries got in the way of progress. Over the next few days, Putnam decided to test his policy chops where he was promptly mocked by experts who noted his abject absence on these issues when it mattered – during the legislative session.

If this were not enough to sour even the most optimistic Putnam supporters – the week ended with Putnam ordering a review of his agency’s cybersecurity policies as over 16,000 individual records were hacked, exposing the names and in some cases, social security numbers of Concealed Carry Permit holders. To top that off, Politico reported that a key fundraising “bundler” for President Obama, had become a major contributor to Putnam’s PAC. While he may welcome the money, Republican rivals quickly pounced on Putnam’s support from Obama’s fundraising machine. Apparently, it’s tough to be the darling of the establishment.

Firing campaign staff may be seen by some as negative, but credit Putnam for quickly deciding to keep his fledgling campaign from having bigger problems down the road. Or, perhaps, credit one staffer for being Machiavellian enough to destroy the opportunity of another, new rival, before the new staffer could establish themselves with the candidate/boss.

Putnam’s decision to weigh in on medical marijuana is perplexing. This paper has noted on many occasions how hypocritical the GOP has been on this issue as well as how Republican legislative and executive branch actions have routinely opposed and thwarted the will of the people. When Republicans have moved to implement this constitutional amendment, all they have done is reward their cronies at the expense of a practical, market-based, professionally or medically regulated solutions that could allow citizens the remedy of a drug many recognize as effective.

To be perfectly clear: Putnam has neither made a policy position public on medical marijuana nor, until now, advocated for the statutory implementation of the new constitutional law. Yet in classic “lead from behind” style, Putnam is willing to criticize the Legislature for failing to act. If this is the type of leadership or the bold vision of putting Florida First, put us down as unimpressed.