Dan Ruth makes his St. Pete Times debut: "...And true to the Kabuki dance traditions of the hustings, Florida's junior senator dutifully insisted that even though his political career had about as much of a future as Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's, why there was no question if he had decided to pursue another term — tut, tut and a harrumph for good measure — he would have prevailed.

"A cynic might well wonder if Mel Martinez was sitting on a 60 percent-plus lovefest from the body politic might he still be insisting he can't wait to retire from the public arena to make funny orange peel faces for the grand tots like the retired Don Corleone in The Godfather. "