Scribbles in my notebook as Rick Scott’s six-day bus tour of Florida comes to an end.

1. EXCLUSIVE – Former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, was spotted boarding Scott’s campaign bus late Sunday night for a private meeting with the upstart Republican outsider.

2. The secret meeting is significant because Bense is one of the important fundraisers for Scott’s gubernatorial rival, Attorney General Bill McCollum. The two have had a long relationship, with McCollum recently turning to Bense to take over state party finances as the Jim Greer fiasco exploded.

3. The Scott bus was parked outside the Shrimp Boat restaurant in Panama City, where about 100 Republicans showed up to meet Scott. Yes, it’s the same Shrimp Boat restaurant where Bense helped organize a fundraiser for McCollum a few days prior.

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Scribbles from the road after Day Four of Rick Scott’s six-day, statewide bus tour.

1. Let’s start with a detail about Scott’s jobs plan. After all, it is the reason the Republican gubernatorial candidate is hauling three family members, a dozen staffers and consultants, several news reporters, a van, an SUV and a bus with a giant picture of his head some 1,100 miles crisscrossing the state three times (see the map) in the middle of a scorching Florida summer.

2. Scott’s promise to create 700,000 jobs is in all of his campaign materials, from the wrapping on the bus, to the made-for-tv backdrops, to a glossy flyer that could be arriving in your mailbox any day.

But add up the numbers on that mailer and you’ll see it’s really 665,000 jobs. Ask the campaign for their consultant’s version of the plan and the actual number is 661,914 new jobs.

3. We asked about the discrepancy and Scott says he rounded up. His reason: It sounds better to say he has “seven steps for 700,000 jobs in seven years.”

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Scribbles in my notebook while waiting for state lawmakers to arrive in Tallahassee.

1.) We know at least one thing Larry Cretul’s House will do on Tuesday: They’ll lay out a plan for the coming months so they can return for another special session in September to respond to the effects of the BP oil spill.

2.) What Cretul’s inner circle of House Republicans doesn’t want to do is vote to put on the November ballot Gov. Charlie Crist’s constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling in state waters. Too many Republicans, including incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, would have to explain why they voted last year to lift the ban.

3.) Crist’s amendment in the House (HJR 37C) is sponsored by Rep. Juan Zapata, R-Miami.

Zapata, who is term limited, tells us that he wouldn’t have carried the bill if he was returning in 2010. “I would want at least one of my bills to be heard next year,” he said. “Unfortunately, there is a lot of retribution in this legislature.”

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Crist and Rubio take questions after they spoke to the Christian Family Coalition in Miami. Bender/Post

1. No, Gov. Charlie Crist is not giving up his Republican registration. But it’s pretty clear now that he’s decided to promote the independent streak that won him national attention as he built a bipartisan image his first year in office.

2. Speaking of Crist’s first year: With his final State of the State coming on Tuesday, here’s a timely look-back at our coverage of his 2007 speech, when he called for more environmental preservation and a voting paper trail and included a quote from Robert Kennedy:

“For him to get up there and do what he did today, he said: ‘I’m my own man,’ that was a strong message,” said Sen. Victor Crist, R-Temple Terrace, who is not related to the governor. “When he gave his final quote from Robert Kennedy, that was bold, and I watched Speaker Rubio’s face, and I turned to the two House members on either side of me, and I said, ‘Oh-oh.’ “

House Speaker Marco Rubio said Crist’s style has helped improve the tone in Tallahassee. “By far the most optimistic first day of session in the eight I’ve been a part of,” said Rubio, R-West Miami. “I think there is a general tone of cooperation.”

3. By portraying himself as an independent Republican (someone who loves guns, hates taxes and can work across the aisle), Crist is hoping to steal some of the sizzle of Rubio’s image as the anti-establishment candidate. In Broward County, Crist tried to use Rubio’s campaign against him:

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