You may have noticed that now that we're in March, the political commentariat has picked up its game in terms of talking up who the Republican party will decide will be their candidate to face Barack Obama next year.
Actually, as political campaigns even for U.S. Senate seem to begin earlier than ever, it's sort of refreshing that only now the political press is getting more rambunctious in anointing a front-runner for the nomination, with the default level shifting towards Mitt Romney – even though the candidate from Central Casting has a host of flaws from a conservative's point of view that may doom him yet.
In any event, the former Massachusetts Governor rolls through Tallahassee today, making a ceremonial visit to Rick Scott's lair, following in the footsteps last week of another serious contender, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
Florida Republicans dig that big shots like the aforementioned candidates are paying their respects to the Sunshine State, a critical battleground every four years at election time, but just as interesting is the battle about whether the state will move back its primary election date in 2012, currently scheduled to take place on January 31 of next year.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2011.