After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

Is the bloom off the rose for Gov. Charlie Crist? Rasmussen is reporting the results of a new poll taken on Sunday that indicates the governors bounce in the polls -- all from declaring his independency -- is over. The poll shows 39 percent of Floridians backing Republican Marco Rubio, 31 percent for Crist and 18 percent for Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek.

Colorado's Democratic governor is poised to sign an education reform bill similar to the one Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed. The Colorado Legislature last week passed a bill that links teacher pay to pupil performance. Colorado's plan goes further than Florida's Senate Bill 6 in that it strips tenure from deficient instructors. SB 6 only abolished tenure for new hires. As in Florida, Colorado's largest teacher union fought that state's measure. But resistance softened when Randi Weingarten, leader of the American Federation of Teachers, came out in support.

Attorney General Bill McCollum said at the Cabinet meeting earlier this week that it was the governments job to hold BPs feet to the fire -- and now he is getting support from a fellow Florida Repubican at the federal level. U.S. Senator George LeMieux has backed the Oil Spill Response and Assistance Act (ORSA) to raise the amount oil companies are liable for when there are spills like the recent one in the Gulf.

Republican Marco Rubio's campaign for the U.S. Senate seat was endorsed by the Catholic Families for America (CFA) PAC. "Among the several dozen candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate whom CFA plans to endorse, Marco Rubio is at the head of the class," said Dr. Kevin Roberts, who serves as executive director of the CFA. "His substantive, traditional values message, coupled with his upbeat approach, is a welcome tonic to our toxic public square right now." CFA backed Rubio due to his positions against abortion and gay marriage.