We posted video from incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon earlier today.

We’re still waiting to talk with Senate President Jeff Atwater, whose opposition to offshore drilling has his fellow Republicans lawmakers making plans for 2011. But in the House, incoming Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, says he hopes President Obama’s announcement today will jar something loose in the other chamber.

Cannon introduced a measure last year that would have allowed drilling up to three miles of the coast. His bill this year could be introduced as soon as next week. “And then we’ll see how our partners in the Senate are doing and make a decision from there,” Cannon said.

Democratic state CFO Alex Sink, who hopes to be governor next year, said 125 miles would be fine, but… “I have long been opposed to the near-beach drilling proposal currently in the Florida legislature that puts our tourism economy at risk,” she said in a statement.

House and Senate Democratic leaders want the state auditor general to investigate Attorney General Bill McCollum after he filed a lawsuit challenging the federal health care reforms approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Democrats accuse McCollum, a Republican who is running for governor, of using his office as the state’s chief legal eagle to promote his candidacy for governor.

“When a state official can deploy not only the vast resources of his office, but hire outside counsel at taxpayer expense to try and block millions of Floridians from finally getting access to health care, it’s time to stop and demand some accountability,” Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, said at a press conference this afternoon. “When the same state official, who happens to be a Republican, leads the charge on a national Republican mission to use health care reform as a rally cry in the upcoming elections, it’s time this legislature stops and asks how much in taxpayer money is being diverted from critical issues to advance a political agenda.”

The Dems complained that McCollum should be protecting consumers by going after pill mills and mortgage foreclosures and instead is using state funds to appeal to conservative Republican voters with the lawsuit.

“This is…for the rank political ambitions of the candidate,” Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said. Gelber is running for attorney general in a Democratic primary against Sen. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres.

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Attorney General Bill McCollum’s lawsuit against Democrat-controlled Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration has sparked a political feud not only in the nation’s Capitol but in the state’s as well.

Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson took offense at Senate President Jeff Atwater’s congratulatory press release lauding McCollum’s legal disparaging of the president’s health care reform.

The president’s office issued an unusually partisan release entitled “Florida Senate Leaders Support AG McCollum’s Legal Challenge to Unprecedented and Unconstitutional Government Health Care Scheme.”

The GOP leaders are “like little boys who are playing marbles and the ones who lost went home,” Lawson, D-Tallahassee said.

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“Unfortunately, that gets a lot of attention.”

That quote from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio wasn’t about this embrace or this sign of affection, he was talking about this one.

Rubio said on CNN on Thursday that “the hug” between Gov. Charlie Crist and President Obama gets too much attention. Crist’s support of the stimulus plan was what was really important, he said.

It was the Rubio campaign, however, that called a picture of Obama and Crist the “MOST POWERFUL ONLINE FUNDRAISING SITE IN FLORIDA HISTORY” in November.

The site is no longer active, but the picture is on a fund-raising page on Rubio’s campaign Web site. A money bomb for Rubio features Crist and Obama embracing.

Today, Rubio is announcing that he’ll return to the site of the Fort Myers rally on Wednesday – the one-year anniversary of the Obama-Crist get-together.

The event, coordinated by FreedomWorks PAC, will feature former House Republican Leader Dick Armey.

From Rubio’s press release today:

“Every day, I am encouraged by the growing support I see for limited government principles throughout Florida and our nation,” said Rubio. “February 10 marks the first anniversary of Governor Crist’s embrace of a failed stimulus policy that has neither stimulated our economy, nor prevented the dramatic job losses that have taken a toll on over 1 million Floridians and families.”

President Obama used a campaign-style town hall meeting Thursday in this politically crucial city to reinforce the themes of his State of the Union address and deliver a high-speed rail grant that could bring thousands of jobs to Florida.

The $1.25 billion in stimulus money will put Floridians to work “building the infrastructure of the future,” Obama told the crowd of about 3,000 at the University of Tampa’s Bob Martinez Sports Center.

“I’m excited. I’m going to come back down here and ride it,” he said after Vice President Joe Biden announced the stimulus grant. “Y’all have a date. When that thing is all set up, we’ll come down and check it out.”

The Tampa town hall was the president’s only event to drive forward the messages of his first State of the Union on the day after that speech. Florida voters have played a key role in electing presidents for the past two decades, and Tampa has been a key indicator for the state’s political leanings.

Story here.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist was promising some tough talk this morning for Democratic President Obama, but he got just a moment. From the gaggle aboard Air Force One:

Q Is President Obama planning on hugging Charlie Crist? (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: I haven’t talked to him about the specific greeting, but we look forward to seeing all the Florida officials who will be there when we get on the ground.

From the White House pool report:

President Obama landed at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., at 12:00 p.m.

A few minutes later, he was greeted on the tarmac by a handful of Florida officials, including Gov. Charlie Crist. There was no ho hug this time, only a handshake, but it lingered about 27 seconds, according to your pool’s count. The president tightly gripped the governor’s hand and clutched his arm.

Vice President Biden gathered close for a tight photo of the three – in case Marco Rubio’s campaign is so inclined to use it.

More related Post on Politics posts:

• Crist gets 27 seconds with Obama
• Scribbles waiting for President Obama in Tampa

Read related Palm Beach Post article, Obama trip to Florida expected to bring $1 billion or more for high-speed rail

It’s 61 degrees and sunny in downtown Tampa as the crowd is filling Bob Martinez Sports Center at the picturesque University of Tampa, where President Obama and Vice President Biden are scheduled to hold a town hall meeting this morning.

Here’s what we’re watching for today:

1.) Gov. Charlie Crist: The Republican has caught heat for supporting Obama’s stimulus package. And he’s fallen in the polls largely due to his primary opponent repeatedly reminding the conservative faithful of this picture of the two men hugging at an event in Fort Myers last year. Crist says he’s going to meet Obama when Air Force One lands at 11:50 a.m. to give him a stern talking about the need to follow though on his promise of bipartisanship. How will the President of the United States react to a lecture from a one-term Republican governor?

2.) TRAIN!!: It’s a long shot, but I kind of hope Obama quotes Wil from “Stand By Me” in formally awarding the state’s $1.25 billion stimulus grant to start building a high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando. Florida is one of nine areas around the country to receive a total of $8 billion in high-speed rail grants.

3.) Q&A: It’s a nice peg for Obama to announce the high-speed rail grant, but this trip was planned to drive home the themes of his first State of the Union speech in a politically crucial city. The reactions to the speech from the political establishment fell along partisan lines. And while the town hall crowd should be pretty friendly, Obama’s team hasn’t screened questions before in Florida. Voters are as angry in Florida as they anywhere. Don’t be surprised if a barb or two thrown.

4.) I’m at the event, but don’t get a question. In fact, the questions are kind of expensive (free tickets were going for hundreds of dollars on Craigslist). But I could, I’d ask the president for specifics on where he thinks Congress can advance the health care bill. Last night, he asked lawmakers to take a second look at the proposal. Should lawmakers break the bill into pieces and vote on individual proposals?

What would you ask?

From President Obama’s State of the Union speech tonight: (more excerpts here)

Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it’s time for something new. Let’s try common sense. Let’s invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let’s meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here.

To do that, we have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust – deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we must take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; and to give our people the government they deserve.

That’s what I came to Washington to do. That’s why – for the first time in history – my Administration posts our White House visitors online. And that’s why we’ve excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions.

Gov. Charlie Crist, apparently recovered from the man-hug he shared with President Barack Obama last year, is trying to meet with the president tomorrow in Tampa.

Obama will be in Florida to announce the winners of about $8 billion in federal grants for high speed rail projects, and it is almost certain that at least part of the state’s $2.5 billion ask will be granted.

Crist, who is scheduled to be in Tampa tomorrow, said his staff is working on a get-together with the president.

“I would like to see him, yes. It looks like it’s possible, yes,” Crist said after a speech to editors and reporters at the Capitol this morning.

Crist said he has three things to discuss with Obama, including some advice on reaching out across the aisle, a practice that has landed Crist in hot water with his fellow Republicans.

“I hope that what he announceas in Tampa brings a lot of jobs to Florida in the form of high speed rail. Number two, I’d like to talk to him about a more bipartisan approach which means, you know, it’s a two-way street, you know, reaching out more to Republicans and have them involved in the important issues of the day.
And then finally, encourage him on Race to the Top and lobby him a little,” Crist said. Race to the Top is a federal education grant program that could bring about $1 billion to Florida.

GOP critics lambasted Crist, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, for cheerleading for Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package last year. Crist appeared with Obama in Florida last year and a photo of the two embracing was used by critics to embarrass Crist in his GOP primary campaign against former House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Crist later denied he supported the stimulus, saying he did not have the opportunity to vote for it in Congress.

Crist repeated his “let’s-all-get-along” emphasis when asked what he expected from the president’s state of the union address tonight.

“A common sense approach, more bipartisanship, and I hope he delivers,” he said.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist said he would be in the Tampa Bay area on Thursday and would attend President Obama’s town hall if the schedules worked out.

“If we can work it out logistically, I will be with him,” Crist said.

Crist said criticism from Republicans, like his U.S. Senate primary opponent Marco Rubio, wouldn’t factor in his decision. “That’s not my concern. My concern is fighting for jobs for the people of Florida.”

President Obama and Vice President Biden will hold a townhall meeting Thursday in Tampa, the White House announced today. The event will happen the day after the State of the Union speech.

The event will be at 12:30p.m. at the University of Tampa Bob Martinez Sports Center. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis on Wednesday 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the sports center.

The White House announced Thursday that President Obama will travel to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area on Thursday, the day after his first State of the Union speech.

One person who probably won’t be in the audience: Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been under fire for supporting Obama’s stimulus package.

“Right now there is not any plan for him to be with the president,” Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said.

(Meanwhile, the Crist campaign sent out this press release today saying that Obama has done nothing to help the state’s 11.8 percent unemployment rate.)

Crist is planning a road show over the next two weeks to roll out his state budget proposal. The tentative plan includes an education budget press conference in his hometown St. Petersburg on Monday and a full budget roll out in Tallahassee on Friday.

The following week, he’ll be on the road Tuesday and Thursday to highlight budget proposals, including his ideas for economic development. On Wednesday, Crist is in Tallahassee for an annual Associated Press editors meeting.

President Barack Obama is greeted by Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., as he arrived Monday in Miami. (AP)

Politico highlighted it as their photo of the day on Tuesday, and we’ve got a sneaking suspicion that it will show up again on literature from Kendrick Meek’s U.S. Senate campaign.

It’s not quite the big embrace that’s gotten Republican Gov. Charlie Crist in so much hot water, but as one insider joked, maybe that’s what these two were laughing about.

Supporters cheer as President Barack Obama speaks at a Democratic fundraiser in Miami on Monday. (AP)

From President Obama’s speech last night at the Democratic fundraiser in Miami Beach:

“Here’s the thing about the Recovery Act people don’t seem to remember. It wasn’t just the most progressive tax cut policy in American history. It wasn’t just emergency relief for states and individuals. It was also — people don’t realize this — the single largest federal investment in education in our history.

“It was the largest investment in clean energy in our history. It was the largest boost to medical research and basic research in our history. It was the single largest investment in infrastructure since Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System back in the 1950s. And that’s putting people back to work all across Florida and all across America.”

The full text of his speech after the jump.

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“First I’ve known of it,” Gov. Charlie Crist said this morning in response to a reporter’s question about why he didn’t join President Obama in Jacksonville.

Crist introduced the Democratic president at a Fort Myers event in February, when Obama’s approval rating exceeded 60 percent in the state. But with Obama under 50 percent in Florida and Republicans criticizing Crist’s support of the stimulus package, Crist is staying away.

But Crist isn’t giving any political reasons for his absence. He said he couldn’t make Obama’s event in DeSoto County today because of a Cabinet meeting. Asked why he canceled a Cabinet meeting in February when Obama was in the state, Crist said, “I don’t recall that. But I’ll check it for you.”

We checked it for him, and here’s the cancellation notice Crist’s office sent the day before the Cabinet meeting.

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A rock band made up of members of the U.S. Navy warms up the crowd at NAS-JAX. President Obama is scheduled to arrive this afternoon. (Bender | Post)

President Barack Obama will use the backdrop of a FPL solar energy plant in DeSoto County tomorrow to announce the nation’s largest investment of stimulus money so far in clean energy, a White House source said.

The money will be used to build a “smart grid” in Florida and across the country. The project will be pitched as a dependable way to deliver renewable, domestic power like the kind produced in DeSoto. The event will be packaged with an announcement from Vice President Biden, who will not be in Florida, about energy efficient automobiles.

Moments ago, Obama landed in Jacksonville where he’ll address about 3,000 men and women at Naval Air Station-Jacksonville. Read his prepared remarks here.

Later, he’ll travel to Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach, where he’ll host a fundraiser for Democratic Congressional candidates, including U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the frontrunner for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination.

It’s the second consecutive stimulus-related trip to Florida for Obama. He was last in the state in February, campaigning in Fort Myers for Congress to approve his $787 billion stimulus package.

Republican Gov. Charlie Crist appeared with Obama at the event, welcoming the money for the cash-strapped state. But Crist has been criticized by his fellow Republicans for supporting the stimulus money and will not join Obama in the state today or tomorrow. Crist is in Broward County today visiting the Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital and meeting with the United South & Eastern Tribes, Inc.

Incidentally, state CFO Alex Sink, the probable Democratic gubernatorial candidate, will not appear in Jacksonville with Obama, whose approval ratings have taken a beating in Florida. Sink will meet Obama in Miami and attend the fundraiser, a campaign spokesman said.

Obama, meanwhile, is not expected to make much news this afternoon. He is considering sending more troops to Afghanistan, but an election there mired in fraud accusations has delayed action from the White House.

There was news this morning of two separate helicopter crashes in Kabul that killed 14 Americans, making today one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in the Afghanistan war. Today will also be Obama’s first public appearance since 150 were killed and another 500 injured in bombings this weekend in Baghdad.

But the president’s trip today initially appeared to be little more than a stopover on the way to Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach tonight, where Obama will host a fundraiser for Democratic Congressional candidates. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the party’s expected nominee for the U.S. Senate race, will be traveling with Obama.

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FPL Group CEO Lew Hay lunched with President Barack Obama and a handful of other Fortune 500 executives at the White House today.

FPL Group’s subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Co., has been in the headlines lately because of a contentious hearing over a proposed $1.3 billion rate increase and a $1.5 billion natural gas pipeline nixed by state regulators earlier this week.

Today, the Juno Beach-based power company agreed to pay $20 million in fines to federal regulators and spend another $5 million on itself to improve reliability of its electric grid after a 2008 blackout that thousands of customers in the dark for hours.

Lew along with Amazon.com Jeff Bezos, Eastman Kodak Co.’s Antonio Perez and Kraft Foods Inc.’s Irene Rosenfeld ate with Obama in his private dining room.

“The Administration has continued to seek the input of a diverse group of business leaders in order to hear directly from the private sector about key issues including the health of the financial sector, health insurance reform, climate change policy and job creation,” a White House press release on the meeting said.

Hay boasted to the president about FPL Group’s environmental achievements and Florida Power & Light’s plans to open the nation’s largest solar power plant later this month in Arcadia, FPL spokesman Mark Bubriski said.

“Mr. Hay had a great conversation with the President and fellow business leaders,” Bubriski said. “He also discussed his belief that forward-looking, clean-energy policies are vital to America’s economic recovery and FPL Group’s strong support for legislation to combat global warming and strengthen America’s energy security.”

Hopefully Hay got a warmer reception from Obama, a Democrat, than the cold shoulder Republican Gov. Charlie Crist has been giving the state’s largest utility.

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Backers of President Barack Obama’s health care reforms unleashed a television ad in Orlando, Louisville and Washington pillorying Humana’s scare tactics targeting seniors and the plan’s impact on Medicare.

Americans United for Change, Obama’s campaign organization-turned unofficial presidential PR machine, is running the ad and also staging a protest at Humana headquarters in West Palm Beach today at noon.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched an investigation into Humana Inc.’s possible misuse of beneficiary information to send anti-health care mailers to its Medicare gap coverage enrollees. The Louisville-based insurer is one of the largest Medicare supplemental insurance providers.

Humana sent mailers to seniors in several states, including Florida, containing what could be misleading information about Obama’s plan, warning of cuts to benefits and increases in costs to the popular government-backed insurance plan for seniors.

According to the AARP’s web site, “None of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services.”