Florida's 2002 gubernatorial campaign already is generating national attention, even though it hasn't really started yet. Meanwhile, another crucial state election -- the one to choose a new attorney general -- is being virtually ignored. The position is too important to be treated casually. It requires an experienced and independent-minded lawyer capable of serving as the state's top law enforcement official. It shouldn't be treated as a convenient landing spot for a loyal party operative.

Current Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who can't run again because of term limits, has lived up to the demands of the job. His office has aggressively defended Floridians' interests on such difficult issues as the states' $245-billion settlement with the tobacco industry and the crackdown on deceptive sweepstakes operations. Although Democrat Butterworth, like Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris, erred by taking on a formal partisan role in the 2000 presidential campaign, he generally has carried out his responsibilities in a professional manner untainted by political influence.

Floridians should expect no less from Butterworth's successor.

Education Commissioner Charlie Crist already has raised $750,000 for his campaign for attorney general, but not even the Republican operatives urging Crist along would claim with a straight face that he has the legal expertise the office demands. They see him as a candidate with the name recognition and self-promotional skills needed to win an election, and one who would reliably follow his political superiors' orders once in office. They couldn't have been surprised or troubled by Crist's revelation that he needed three tries to pass the bar exam; they never were under any illusions about his legal scholarship.

The credentials of the two other candidates who entered the race early, Republican state Sen. Locke Burt and Democratic state Sen. Buddy Dyer, also are more political than professional, although both have a more intimate familiarity with the law than Crist does. Republican former state Rep. Tom Warner, who entered the race this week, now serves under Butterworth as Florida's first solicitor general, arguing constitutional cases on the state's behalf. Warner has gained practical experience the other announced candidates lack, but he may not have the political base needed to overcome his relatively late start.

Some other potential candidates do have the legal expertise and political clout to alter the dynamics of the attorney general race in a positive way. For example, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride was the longtime managing partner of Holland & Knight, the state's largest law firm, before taking a leave of absence earlier this year. His stature in the legal community, along with his established commitment to the legal rights of poor Floridians, would diminish some of the other attorney general candidates if he were to switch races.

Both parties have other potential candidates capable of maintaining the standards Butterworth has established. The party leaders who see the attorney general as just one more political plum do a disservice to the office, and to the millions of Floridians who depend on its professionalism.

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