CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove expressed frustration Monday over Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist's decision not to appear with President Bush at a rally in Pensacola.

"Let's see how many people show up in Palm Beach on 24 hrs notice versus 8 or 9,000 people in Pensacola," Rove told CNN referring to a Crist rally quickly organized by the campaign after the GOP gubernatorial candidate canceled his appearance with the President.

Roves comments came even as even as other Senior White House administration officials tried to downplay the cancellation, noting Crist is campaigning in more moderate regions of the state as he tries to pick up independent voters on the final day of his campaign.

"We were invited by Crist and had been working with them on this, but his campaign made a late decision that they had opportunities in more contested areas of the state," a Senior White House official told CNN Monday."

But Crist isn't canceling appearances with all national Republicans. He was joined by Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, the maverick senator who often finds himself at odds with the White House, at a rally in Jacksonville Monday afternoon.