Elisabeth Meinecke has the top story at Human Events today.

Marco Rubio was pleased but not distracted with his 57% to 28% lead over Gov. Charlie Crist in this week’s Rasmussen Reports poll for the U.S. Senate GOP primary in Florida.

“We didn’t get too excited when we were behind, so we’re not going to get too excited that the one’s showing us ahead,” said Rubio aboard his Take a Stand bus, which he took across Florida this week as part of a campaign tour that had to be shortened at the last-minute after word came that Rubio’s father was diagnosed a second time with lung cancer.

“The challenge is like anything else is just to stay focused and remind ourselves what this campaign is about,” said Rubio, the former speaker of the Florida house. “It’s not about me, it’s not about him, it’s about the people of our state and who they want to elect.”

Rubio, who trailed Crist by 22 points last August, is becoming hard to ignore. At a tour stop in Ocala, Fla., the waitress serving some of Rubio’s staff and the press on the tour noticed the Rubio shirt worn by a staffer, and immediately asked for signs or bumper stickers so that she could show her support. Then there are congressional figures like Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Conservative Fund, who says the PAC is looking for Marco Rubios to endorse in 2010.