Gov. Rick Scott stopped by MSNBC’s Morning Joe to talk about the GOP presidential race and Florida today. During the interview, he told the panel he is skeptical of President Obama’s jobs bill and wants Florida to be a “model for the country.”

Via Talking Points Memo:

After talking national politics, Scott moved onto Florida issues, including drug screening suspicion-less welfare applicants and going after “job-killing” regulations, a move the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled took the executive office’s authority a step too far.

Scott attributes his low approval rating to a “tough” race. “They’re pretty mean-spirited races,” he said.

On top of that, Scott said he’s just willing to make tough choices, saying, “I want to make sure Florida’s the model for the country.”

Yesterday it was reported by the U.S. Census Bureau that Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured citizens in the country. The state is one of five refusing to create state health care insurance exchanges through the Affordable Care Act. Florida has also suffered through one of the most austere budget cuts this year, which economists say are putting the country at risk of another recession.

Scott also talked about the President Obama’s jobs bill. He told Morning Joe he is worried about whether “strings are attached” to the grants.

This is an argument Scott and the Florida state Legislature have used in defense of sending back federal funds awarded to the state.

“This is our money,” he told Morning Joe. “We send it up there. Florida has never gotten back what we send up.”