Defeated freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, discussed his two years in Washington in an exit interview to National Public Radio’s Michel Martin.

“And always remember, Abraham Lincoln only served one term in Congress, too,” West said toward the end of the interview. Lincoln, elected as a Whig from Illinois in 1846, pledged to serve only one term and didn’t seek reelection in 1848.

Read the transcript of the NPR interview here.

It’s a fashion smorgasbord at the Republican National Convention, where party faithful are bespectacled in red, white and blue sequins, flags and a glittery cornucopia of patriotic accoutrements.

But perhaps the only top hat in the crowd is being sported by Abraham Lincoln look-alike George Engelbach, a delegate from Missouri who is running for the state House of Representatives whose campaign business cards have the words “Lincoln Admirer” beneath his name.

Engelbach caused a sensation in the Tampa Bay Times Forum where he lingered in the hallway during a slow floor session this afternoon. Fellow delegates frequently stopped him to have their picture snapped with the Republican from Hillsboro, Mo., who ran for the state House two years ago and lost.

Gov. Rick Scott will headline the Martin County GOP’s annual Lincoln Day dinner on March 5 at the Marriott on Hutchinson Island. Tickets are $125 a piece and go on sale Monday at the Martin County GOP website.

VERO BEACH — At the Indian River County GOP’s Lincoln Day dinner Thursday night, down-in-the-polls Gov. Charlie Crist offered this observation about proto-Republican Abraham Lincoln:

“You know, when he was running for reelection for president, nobody thought he’d win. He was down in the polls. That happens from time to time.”

Crist paused and got a few laughs, then continued: “But he pulled it out, because the people trusted him and they understood. And he said something at Gettysburg that we all should never forget…”

Crist was introduced by America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh, who is looking beyond Crist’s 2010 U.S. Senate race.

“We need Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate. I have a game plan for him. I want him to go right on the Senate Judiciary (Committee), with Patrick Leahy and Orrin Hatch, etc, etc. I want him to kick some ass up there on the Judiciary. He has 22 years of experience. He’s run everything you can on a state level and then I figure he’d be a very good candidate for United States president.”

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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