Facing a serious challenge from billionaire investor Jeff Greene for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and trailing independent Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican candidate Marco Rubio in the polls, U.S. Rep.

President Obama is being hailed for toughness in his firing of Gen. McChrystal and brilliance in his replacing him as Afghan field commander with Gen. David Petraeus, who managed the George W. Bush "surge" in Iraq that saved this nation from an ignominious defeat.

Herewith, a dissent.

Calls for candidate Peg Dunmire to quit the 8th Congressional District race have unleashed a new round of tea party infighting that threatens to dilute the movement's political power across Florida.

Speculation continues that former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is planning a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 -- and his increasingly active profile in Florida politics only increases the buzz.

Congress will spend this final week beforeitbreaks for a week to celebrate our nations birthday spending more money, adding to our exploding debt and hoping to help small businesses expand and be able to borrow money. Well see how well they do when this writer submits the Friday column.

The probability that Florida will see $1 billion in extra federal Medicaid money is growing dimmer with U.S. Senate Republicans blocking the measure from advancing this week and drawing concern from Florida lawmakers who partially built the state budget around the likely delivery of those dollars.

Oh my God, that's devastating. That will kill this state, said Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, the chair of the Senate's Health and Human Services budget committee.

While Florida's real-estate market slumps, Disney is raising the stakes with a luxury vacation home project at its Orlando resort.