Glenn Beck says his presidential “dream team” would feature rookie U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, for president and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., as his running mate.

“I want to start a Draft Allen West movement,” Beck said on his radio show today.

West has a strong national following, but has rejected presidential speculation and criticized “leadership by cult of personality.” Bachmann is exploring a White House run.

Beck praised West for the 2003 incident in Iraq in which West fired a gun near the head of an Iraqi detainee to get him to divulge details of a suspected ambush. West, who was initially charged with assault, ended up being relieved of his command, paying a $5,000 fine and retiring as a lieutenant colonel with a full pension.

Said Beck of West (around the 4:00 mark on this therightscoop.com clip): “He’s not afraid to pull the trigger. He’s not afraid, and he takes responsibility. That’s what I love about him the most. The guy takes responsibility. He’s like ‘OK, yeah, I did it. I did it. Here’s my gun. Cuff me. Take me away, ’cause I’ll do it again.’ And he was right, but he was willing to take the consequences for what he did….I love that. That’s the kind of honor that we need….It is time to restore honor and I think Allen West, I think he’s the guy.”

Palm Beach County activist and charter school founder Joseph Bernadel says Glenn Beck had the right to hold Saturday’s massive Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial. He just objects to the “political theater” of holding it on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech at the same spot.

In that respect, Bernadel sounds a little like critics of the proposed Ground Zero mosque in New York. Foes of the project generally say they don’t question Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s right to build an Islamic center on private property, but they question the sensitivity of putting it near the site where Islamists killed 2,700 people at the World Trade Center.

Not everyone sees the parallel. Rev. Al Sharpton has defended the mosque, but protested Beck’s rally Saturday.

To read about some local reactions to the Beck event, click here.

Conservative radio/TV/book-writing personality Glenn Beck is making a campaign-style tour of Florida today and Saturday, hitting seven cities and promising to unveil policy prescriptions that he calls “The Plan” on Saturday afternoon in the Central Florida Republican bastion of The Villages.

Beck will be at the Books-A-Million at 6370 West Indiantown Road in Jupiter from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. today to sign copies of his newest book, Arguing With Idiots, for people who have advance tickets. Hundreds of the free tickets were distributed Thursday and, as of 12:40 p.m. today, a store employee said only “a very, very limited” number remained. The store’s phone number is 561-743-8094.

Beck was scheduled to be in Orlando and Melbourne before the Jupiter appearance, then do a signing in Fort Lauderdale later tonight. On Saturday, he’s slated to hit Fort Myers, Tampa and The Villages.

Most Democrats who represent congressional districts that went for Republican John McCain in 2008 voted no on the recent health care bill. Democrat Chris Craft hopes to win election in such a district in 2010, but he’s for the health care legislation.

Read about Craft’s position in this week’s Politics column, along with the latest on Irv Slosberg’s plans and the warning from not one but two local Dems about Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.