With U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the South Florida congresswoman who serves as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, appearing at the South Florida Summit for Israel on Sunday night, an old foe took aim at her -- Karen Harrington, the restaurant owner who was the Republican nominee against her in 2010 and who hopes to take her on again in 2012.

With Rick Perry leading in Iowa and Mitt Romney in control in New Hampshire, the tie breaker could be South Carolina. When Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans differ from each other in presidential contests (1988, 1996, 2000, 2008), South Carolina always picks whoever goes on to win the GOP nod.

Carlos Sierra is mad about the fact that his boss, former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana, is being left out of the debates among the Republican presidential candidates.

Sierra, Roemers campaign manager, sent out an e-mail on Thursday, and -- much like Tom Harkin and Fred Harris did when they ran for the Democratic presidential nominations --used a rather vulgar term for cow droppings.

A Sachs/Mason-Dixon poll released on Friday found that Florida Republicans remain undecided on who they want to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. While Nelson was beating the various Republican hopefuls, he failed to crack 50 percent against any of them despite his decades on Floridas political stage.

CNN is reporting that former Gov. George Pataki of New York will not enter the Republican presidential contest. Pataki is heading out to Iowa on Saturday and the buzz was that he was entering the GOP field. This is not the first time that the former governor kicked over running for the presidency before deciding not to -- he did much the same thing in the 2000 and 2008 presidential races.

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.

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.