Marco Rubio Memoir Out Tuesday

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's memoir An American Son will be released Tuesday, as speculation continues about whether the Florida politician is on the short list to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate in his GOP bid for the presidency.

The Associated Press received an advance copy of the book, which reveals Rubio was close to dropping out of the 2010 Senate race.

Jonathan Martin in the Wall Street Journal writes that the book does not "drop any political bombshells or even offer much in the way of news about a man regularly included on lists of Mitt Romney's potential running mates. The preferred euphemism among GOP insiders when it comes to Mr. Rubio's vice-presidential prospects is that his stock lately has been diminished by unspecified 'baggage.' "

Gov. Scott Is Tampa International's New Official Greeter

After prompting a debate about political publicity and gifts, Gov. Rick Scott will be able to provide recorded greetings that travelers will hear when they ride shuttle buses at Tampa International Airport, a state ethics panel decided Friday, reports Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida.

 The Florida Commission on Ethics approved an advisory opinion that said such messages would not violate bans on gifts or expenditures by lobbyists. Scott's acting general counsel asked for an opinion last month, in part because the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which includes the airport, has a lobbyist registered to work on executive-branch issues.

Is Mitt Snubbing Rick Scott? 

The Florida Democratic Party released a new strategy memo on Friday. In it, the FDP claims Mitt Romney has visited Florida 53 times and not met with Gov. Scott. That kind of stat is just begging for a PolitiFact.

Political Race in South Pinellas

Reps. Jeff Brandes and Jim Frishe both want to be the new senator from District 22, which takes in South Pinellas and a chunk of Tampa, writes Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times. Brandes got a big head start in a way that Frishe calls "unethical" and "gaming the system." Brandes says he is following the law that applies equally to everybody.

On June 1, Brandes withdrew as a House candidate and closed his fundraising account and one minute later became a Senate candidate instead.

Brandes could have transferred all of his unspent House campaign money to his new Senate fund, but that would have required offering all donors pro-rated refunds, a time-consuming burden in the midst of a 10-week sprint to the Aug. 14 primary.

Sunburn is edited and published by Peter Schorsch of SaintPetersBlog.com. You can reach Peter at saintpeter4@gmail.com. Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this email.