THE AD: In this first TV spot by an attorney general candidate, Crist presents himself as a consumer champion who advocated stiffer prison terms and safer schools. He's seen tackling the law books, walking with police and sitting before a roomful of elementary school students. A woman and man take turns narrating.

"As a young lawyer, Charlie Crist sued to protect consumers against Florida Power and won," the ad says. "He sponsored STOP, requiring criminals to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, and brought back chain gangs, earning the nickname "Chain Gang Charlie.' To protect our environment, he led the net ban, saving our sea life. As education commissioner, he started "Safe Passage,' the first step in school safety. Today, Charlie Crist runs for attorney general with the experience and agenda to make Florida safer."

ANALYSIS: This ad underscores Crist's instinct for populist causes sure to create publicity. The Florida Power case is a revealing example. Crist filed a 1997 lawsuit to block a rate increase, a rare brush with the statutes for a nonpracticing lawyer who wants to run the state's most important law firm. The firm dropped the rate hike in an out-of-court settlement, so state regulators and the public counsel can claim equal credit. This ad makes it sound as though Crist won the case in court; he didn't. And while Crist did sponsor a bill requiring inmates to serve 85 percent of their sentences, many others were on that bandwagon, including rival Locke Burt.

Crist's signature issue, chain gangs, is a myth. (When was the last time you saw one?) The state employs a few "restricted labor squads" of inmates in leg irons who work on prison grounds. Cool Hand Luke would find the concept laughably lame. Still, the nickname has stuck.

The net ban? More Crist populism. By the time he announced in 1993 that he'd file a bill to ban commercial net fishing in Florida waters, many people had signed petitions in favor of the amendment.

The bottom line: Crist is the only candidate with enough money to advertise on TV six weeks before the primary. He knows his rivals' attacks are coming -- perhaps reminding voters that Crist twice flunked the Bar exam -- and he wants to create a TV image of himself before they do.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk