Barack Obama continues to fade in Florida, with a new poll showing Mitt Romney holding a 51-43 lead over the president and Obama in a dead heat with Rick Perry. Unlike 2008, if the election were held today, President Obama would face a stiffer headwind to hold on to Florida and its 29 electoral votes against a top-tier Republican challenger -- and that could cost him re-election, said Sachs Communications president Ron Sachs, citing the Sachs/Mason-Dixon Poll taken Aug. 18-22.

On Thursday, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas -- who is leading the field of Republican presidential candidates in three national polls released this week -- announced that he would be heading to Tampa for the CNN/Tampa Tea Party Express Debate which will be held on Sept. 12.

On Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott named Charles Corley to head up the states Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA). Corley, a veteran of the state government including 15 years at the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and other state health agencies, was appointed as an interim to lead the department by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in June 2010.

In yet another warning sign to Barack Obama, two national opinion polls show deep public skepticism about the Left's big-government agenda. A new Rasmussen survey reported that 50 percent of Americans believe the federal government has too much influence over the states, with just 11 percent saying Washington doesn't wield enough clout.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has made the importance of religion in the public square one of the cornerstones of his bid for the Republican presidential nomination -- so it comes as no surprise that he ripped into New York City Mayor Michael Bloombergs decision not to include clergy in a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) pointed to a Magellan poll released earlier in the week that showed both President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson are upside down in the Sunshine State and in serious jeopardy of losing Florida in 2012.

According to three polls released this week, there is a new front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination: Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. A poll taken by YouGov for the Economist found Perry taking 23 percent of voters surveyed. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who had been the leading candidate in the race until the Texas governor jumped in earlier in the month, was in second with 15 percent. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas took third with 11 percent.

With Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson speaking in West Palm Beach, former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, who is running in a crowded Republican primary to take him on in 2012, took off the gloves and ripped into the senator on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, announced that he was backing Gov. Rick Perry of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination. President Obamas big-government, Washington experiment has cost our nation more than 2.3 million jobs, said Cannon in a statement. Meanwhile, since just June 2009, Rick Perrys Texas is responsible for approximately 40 percent of the net new jobs in America.

Seems Mitt Romney doesn't like spending any more time below the Mason-Dixon Line than he has to -- unless, of course, there's money to be raised. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the GOP presidential hopeful will skip a Labor Day candidate forum in South Carolina hosted by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, said he wants to spend more time campaigning in New Hampshire.

A conservative group is marshaling forces against a National Labor Relations Board proposal to "streamline" rules for holding union representation elections. The Americans for Prosperity Foundation says the new rules would force "ambush" elections on employers in as little as 10 days.

Reversing the usual flow of hurricane aid, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday it was preparing to move resources northward to cope with the expected effects of Hurricane Irene. "In Atlanta, for instance, FEMA has more than 2 million liters of water, more than 1.3 million meals, and more than 16,000 cots and 56,000 blankets," the agency announced. "These resources may be moved to incident-support bases, which are distribution centers located closer to the impacted areas, as needed and requested by state partners."

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who won the Iowa Republican straw poll earlier in the month, took off the gloves on Wednesday and tore into President Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., increasingly touted as vice presidential timber, calls the GOP presidential contenders "an underrated field." Speaking on Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night, the freshman senator said, "I am confident that when the primaries are over, we're going to have a nominee on the Republican side that is going to lead our country in the right direction.And the truth be told, I think any of them would be better than who we have there right now. Rubio also spoke on subjects ranging from Libya to the tea party to Maxine Waters.

Craig Miller, the former CEO of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse who is running in the Republican primary to see who will take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, is holding the second of his Miller on Main Street events next week in Mount Dora. On Monday, Miller will be working at the A.W. Peterson Gun Shop which is owned by former state Sen. Carey Baker.