Placing third in the polls, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race, is going after Gov. Charlie Crist who is running without party affiliation. Meek and former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the Republican candidate in the race, have both been hammering Crist for being inconsistent since the primary elections last Tuesday. Meek released a radio ad on Wednesday, hoping to bring Democrats who are thinking of backing Crist back to his column.

Minutes after President Barack Obama declared the end of combat operations in Iraq, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race, cheered the president for bringing the war to an end.

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate election, weighed in minutes after President Barack Obama declared the American military mission in Iraq over.

The withdrawal of American combat brigades from Iraq marks an important milestone in a struggle that has eliminated security threats and helped democracy take root there, said Rubio. Because of Americas commitment and sacrifices in Iraq, the Iraqi people, the region and the world are all safer today.

Closing his Oval Office address on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama called for a post 9/11 version of the GI Bill to honor veterans who served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and a way to jump-start the American Dream and the economy.

Our most urgent task is to restore our economy, said Obama who added that a trillion had been spent on military operations in the last decades, leading to record debts and deficits.

Noting that the war in Afghanistan was approaching its 10th year, President Barack Obama called on Tuesday night for renewed focus on military operations there.

We will disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida, pledged Obama. He said that the end of combat operations in Iraq would free up resources in Afghanistan -- and that he would send more troops to that troubled nation. Obama compared his plans to the surge in Iraq.

Obama called for more operations in Afghanistan during the 2008 presidential campaign.

For only the second time in his term, President Barack Obama addressed the American people from the Oval Office Tuesday night, this time to talk about the end of combat operations in Iraq. He then turned to the war in Afghanistan and the economy.

While it was not as dramatic as Douglas MacArthur accepting the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri, Obama declared the war in Iraq over.

Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, offered his take on the Florida Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday that three proposed amendments forwarded by the Legislature to the November ballot would be removed.

I am both disappointed and stunned by the decision of the Florida Supreme Court regarding Amendments 3, 7 and 9, said Haridopolos. It is a sad day when more than 60 percent of the elected representatives of the people of the state of Florida cant get ballot measures approved by the court, but special interest groups can.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled against a proposed amendment on redistricting that passed the Legislature earlier in the year to counter a measure backed by Fair Districts Florida -- leading to two different reactions from leaders of both parties in the House.

Numerous sources are reporting that independent gubernatorial candidate Bud Chiles is planning to pull the plug on his campaign with an announcement expected on Thursday. Chiles, the son of Florida political legend Lawton Chiles, lagged in the polls behind Democratic nominee and state CFO Alex Sink and Republican candidate Rick Scott. However, he was pulling inteenpercentages in most polls.

Republicans are dreaming of picking up more U.S. House seats -- and Florida is in the front lines of their effort to take the gavel from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

On Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) named sixRepublican candidates across the nation, with three of those hailing from the Sunshine State, as part of their Young Guns program of outsiders looking to pick up congressional seats. The Young Guns are the candidates considered most likely to win in November.