The Wall Street Journal‘s conservative editorial page says federal educrats appear to be “aggrandizing” President Obama with the curriculum they’ve suggested to accompany Obama’s Tuesday address to the nation’s school children. But even the right-tilted WSJ editorial board says Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer was “overwrought” in his criticism of the speech.

Read the whole thing here.

Meanwhile, our Laura Green reports that Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie county schools will all allow students to hear the Obama speech. Palm Beach County Schools Supe Art Johnson says parents can send a written request to excuse their students from the broadcast.

The partisan dustup over President Obama’s planned nationwide address to schoolchildren next week has inspired some speculation about what would happen if the shoe were on the other foot:

What if this were a Republican president, perhaps one named Bush, trying to drum up support for one of his programs? Would liberal school administrators even allow the kids to watch it? Would Democratic parents pull their children from the classroom that day?

Well, maybe we don’t have to guess. It turns out that then-President George H.W. Bush made a nationally televised speech to students on Oct. 1, 1991, from Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington, D.C., urging them to “make it your mission to get a good education” and to “block out the kids who think it’s not cool to be smart.” (The president’s sound bite of the day was apparently, “I can’t understand for the life of me what’s so great about being stupid.”)

Update: As a Palm Beach Post reader has helpfully pointed out, then-President Ronald Reagan spoke live to students nationwide in May 1986. And it seems that the first President Bush also made a 15-minute televised speech in 1989 urging students not to use drugs.

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In the latest installment of intrigue at the Public Service Commission, chairman Matthew Carter issued an indignant press release today saying he takes “great offense” at reports that utility regulators are too cozy with Florida Power & Light Co. executives.

The PSC is in the midst of a FPL rate hearing in which the company is seeking a $1.3 billion rate hike implemented over two years.

The opening of the hearing was delayed after it was revealed that a PSC lobbyist and government liaison attended a party at the Palm Beach Gardens home of FPL VP Ed Tancer. Ryder Rudd, director of the commission’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Governmental Affairs, oversees staff working on two pending FPL cases – the current rate hike and a proposed $1.5 billion natural gas pipeline from the Panhandle to Palm Beach County.

An internal investigation released yesterday found that Rudd may not have broken the law by attending the party but may have violated rules of conduct prohibiting PSC staff from accepting gifts from those whose cases are under review.

Commissioner Nathan Skop, who exposed Rudd’s attendance at the party, demanded that Rudd be fired immediately. Rudd has been taken off any dockets involving FPL.

Carter weighed in today with the press release denying that commissioners and their staff are “too cozy with regulated industries, FPL in particular.”

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Having America’s youth listen to a speech by President Obama and then, at the suggestion of the federal Department of Education, write letters to themselves about “what they can do to help the president” sent many conservatives and Republicans into rhetorical orbit this week.

Our Laura Green reports that Palm Beach County school district officials haven’t decided whether to air Obama’s remarks to students on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education appears to be backing away from its “help the president” language, instead suggesting that students should write letters about “how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.”

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Gov. Charlie Crist performed as the Sunshine State’s chief pitch-man, blowing off Florida’s historic population loss and touting the fine weather in a CNBC interview this morning.

Florida saw a drop of 58,000 residents last year, the first population decrease since military residents left the state after World War II.

“It’s not that big a deal, to be honest with you,” Crist shrugged off the decline on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” show today.

The governor then launched into a Sunshine State sales pitch, touting declines in property taxes and property insurance rates and the weather.

“And it’s Florida. It’s a beautiful place. It’s a gorgeous day today down here in South Florida. You just can’t beat the Sunshine State,” said Crist, who is in Miami. Florida I really think is on the rise and it’s a great deal for an awful lot of people, too.”

Although Florida’s unemployment rate is nearly 11 percent, Crist was upbeat about the job market and pointed to Palm Beach County as a shining example.

Palm Beach County’s unemployment rate was 11.7 percent in July, one percentage point above the state average.

“Even in the Palm Beach County area where Scripps and Torrey Pines and some of these other scientific institutes have located, Max Planck…it’s been great for that area of the state,” Crist said. “We’re very pleased with the direction things are going. We wish they were better, don’t misunderstand me. But we’re not sitting still. We’re on the move. And I continue to be optimistic and encouraged about where we’re going.”

Crist, who drew the wrath of fellow Republicans by urging Congress to pass President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, reversed that position on the health care reforms now being considered in Washington.

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As a demonstration of grass-roots support for health care reform by “Floridians from all walks of life,” Washington, D.C.-based Organizing For America, the post-election version of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, announced that it will deliver declarations of support for reform this morning in Fort Myers to “U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson.”

Ben Nelson is a Democratic U.S. Senator from Nebraska.

Florida’s Democratic U.S. Senator is Bill Nelson.

A copy of the press release is after the jump….

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Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, already controversial with his rank-and-file for actions including his preemptive endorsement of Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate, has now stirred a national ruckus by criticizing President Obama’s plans to speak to the nation’s schoolchildren in a televised address Sept. 8.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the president will:

… speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

Sound like the makings of a Norman Rockwell-meets-Horatio Alger, made-for-the-Hallmark-Channel moment? Not to Greer, who issued a news release accusing Obama of carrying out a much different agenda — one that starts with “social-” and ends with “-ism”: (more…)

By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Attorneys for former state House Speaker Ray Sansom tried today to dismiss charges that the Destin Republican broke the law when he steered millions of dollars to Northwest Florida State College and appeared to benefit from the process.

Sansom, Okaloosa County developer Jay Odom and former college President Bob Richburg have been indicted on official misconduct charges. Sansom and Richburg each face an additional perjury charge for allegedly lying to a Leon County grand jury. They are scheduled to stand trial at the end of this month.

The case hinges on Sansom’s power as budget chairman in 2007-08 to steer millions of dollars to the college.
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A Public Service Commission staffer used “poor judgment” but an internal investigation did not conclude that he broke the law by attending a Kentucky Derby party at the home of a utility company executive.

But at least one PSC commissioner, Nathan Skop, demanded that PSC Office of Strategic Analysis and Government Affairs Ryder Rudd resign anyway.

Rudd went to a party at the Palm Beach Gardens home of Florida Power & Light Co. general counsel and VP Ed Tancer. Rudd oversees a staff of 28, some of whom are working on two FPL cases – a proposed rate hike and a natural gas pipeline.

The panel learned on the first day of the rate hearing last Monday of Rudd’s attendance at the party. Rudd had called several members of the panel over the weekend. He was removed from the FPL cases while the agency’s inspector general conducted an investigation, the results of which were released today.

Meanwhile, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials are looking into a complaint, spokeswoman Heather Smith said. But she said the agency was not conducting a formal investigation.
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Gary J. Lew, a college student and manager of a vitamin store at a holistic health center, filed as a Democrat back in January for the state House District 83 seat that’s up for grabs in 2010. He’s one of three candidates who have opened campaigns for the Democratic nomination to replace term-limited state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter.

But Lew is a registered Republican.

Lew said he signed up with the GOP when he registered to vote in 2006 because of an interest in libertarian-leaning U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex., who eventually sought the GOP nomination for president in 2008.

“Registration does not limit your ability to vote for a specific party in the general election here in Florida. I have never in my life voted Republican,” said Lew, who said he plans to switch his registration do Democrat.

“I feel like an independent. But in the eyes of the public, you have to choose a side. I feel like my politics coincide with the Democrats,” said Lew. He said he’s conservative in some areas, but “generally at heart I’m a liberal.”

Democratic Agriculture Commissioner candidate Scott Maddox’s campaign didn’t get off to a slow start although he didn’t begin collecting money until yesterday.

The former head of the state Democratic Party put off raising campaign cash until Sept. 1 – nearly two months after he jumped into the race – for a reason: that’s when matching public money kicks in.

“But today is not just the first day of our fundraising campaign, today also marks the first day that you can more than double your impact! If you contribute today, the State of Florida will match your donation on a 2 to 1 basis up to $250! If you give $50 dollars, the state will match with an additional $100. If you give $100, the State will match an additional $200, and if you give $250, the match will be an additional $500! Please help us take on this challenge and make a difference for Florida’s consumers…and watch your donation grow!” reads an e-mail Maddox sent to supporters yesterday.

Maddox is faces two other contenders in the Democratic primary. Former state Rep. Rick Minton, a Ft. Pierce realtor, and former Suwanee County Commissioner Randy Hatch both want the job. Audubon of Florida lobbyist Eric Draper dropped out of the race after Maddox stepped in.

Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, also a former state House member, from Bartow is the favorite in a GOP primary. Putnam was one of the youngest politicians elected to Congress in 2001 at the age of 26. Opponents in the primary include state Sen. Carey Baker, a gun shop owner from Eustis.

Current Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson is leaving office because of term limits.

The pre-Boomer doo-wop demographic still matters in Palm Beach County politics.

The county Democratic Party is hosting a doo-wop themed dinner-’n'-dance fundraiser on Sept. 12 at Ellie’s ’50s Diner in Delray Beach. A $65 advance ticket (or $70 at the door) buys an evening of entertainment headlined by Vinnie Cagno & the Doo Wop Kid, along with a deejay.

Eleven days later, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Boca Raton resident Dion DiMucci will sing at a Boca Raton Republican Club meeting featuring congressional candidate Allen West. DiMucci began as frontman for the doo-wopping Dion and the Belmonts and survived Buddy Holly’s ill-fated 1959 Winter Dance Party tour before conquering other genres. Tickets for the GOP event are $30 with dinner included or $5 to hear Dion and West without a meal.

More details after the jump…..

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Florida lost $250 million on a 2007 investment in a Manhattan apartment building, the head of the State Board of Administration told the panel overseeing the board this morning.

Peter Cooper Village in NYC is part of the state’s $99.6 billion portfolio that makes up the state’s pension plan.

The state invested $250 million in the apartment complex, where monthly rents range from $2,625 to $8,333, according to the development’s website.

Less than two years later, the value of the investment is zero, Williams told Gov. Charlie Crist, CFO Alex Sink and AG Bill McCollum, who oversee the SBA.

“We think we’re carrying that investment as a zero on our books,” Williams said.

This morning is the first of the quarterly meetings on the state’s investments requested by Sink that the SBA will give to the panel. (more…)