"The State Department is a fitting venue," declared Barack Obama at the beginning of his speech on the Middle East last Thursday.

As far as I'm concerned, there's a circle in hell reserved for late-term abortionists. But this is the Obama era, so Hollywood makes TV shows casting them as heroic figures. Such is the state of our popular culture.

UPDATED: He's worth that $14.5 million now, Florida. Just look at LeBron James when Miami needs him most. Does anybody think he isn't the star of the hottest rock band on the NBA's 2011 stage?

LeBron, called the Sunshine State's 6-foot-8, 250-pound "best import of 2010," staggered during the regular season, but at just the right time, during three of Miami's last four playoff wins, he's made a dramatic turnaround and taken charge.

A Democrat's upset victory in Jacksonville's mayoral election was trumpeted as a major blow to Republicans and a repudiation of Gov. Rick Scott in particular.

According to the story line touted by Democratic activists and amplified by Florida's mainstream media last week, Alvin Brown's election confirmed that Scott is the "kiss of death" to the GOP's electoral prospects.

In the wake of a surprising Democratic victory in Jacksonville's mayoral election last week, the contest for the top job in Miami-Dade is a Republican-only affair.

County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez and Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina are the clear leaders in the polls ahead of Tuesday's special election, and are expected to advance to a runoff.

Democrats are virtual nonentities in the 11-candidate field. In the race for campaign cash, the top four hopefuls are Hispanic Republicans. That's the way Florida's most populous county rolls in local elections.

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, who has already launched an exploratory bid, will formally kick off his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday.

Pawlenty will make the announcement in Des Moines, Iowa, the state that will host the first presidential caucus. After that, he will head to the Sunshine State, appearing in Coral Gables on Tuesday after holding a town hall event on Facebook.