After a week of white-hot controversy that cable news bookers have thoroughly enjoyed, President Obama announced on Friday that his administration was offering a compromise (which critics call an accommodation) on offering employees of Catholic hospitals, universities and service agencies contraceptive coverage in their health insurance plans, saying the insurance companies, and not the institutions, would pay for that coverage.

But Friday night the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops rejected the compromise, as did every Republican who graced the airwaves on Sunday morning public affairs programming.

And now there's legislation sponsored by Missouri Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt that permits any employer to deny birth control coverage in its health insurance plan, a move that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supports.

"If we end up having to try to overcome the president’s opposition by legislation, of course I’d be happy to support it, and intend to support it,” McConnell said Sunday on CBS's Face The Nation. “We’ll be voting on that in the Senate and you can anticipate that that would happen as soon as possible.”

Since she opted not to run for the Republican nomination for president, Sarah Palin's contributions to the 2012 campaign have been limited to her commentaries on Fox News.

Though she has yet to endorse a candidate, she has steadfastly maintained that the GOP should avoid coalescing around a single candidate this early in the primary season. She repeated her stance that competition is healthy for the race for president during her 36-minute address to close out CPAC in Washington D.C. Saturday afternoon, but not before warning candidates and their campaigns not to do the work of the "far left and their media allies" by tearing each other apart and dividing the party.

Two years ago at CPAC, Palin's signature line was "How's that hopey, changey thing workin' out for ya?" This address also included some carefully crafted putdowns of President Obama, such as when she said his presidency was a failure of leadership: "We know how to change that, oh yes we do, oh yes-we-can. Hope and change, yeah. You gotta hope things change!"

She also parodied Obama's classic line from his 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention: "We're not Red Americans, we're not Blue Americans, we're Red White and Blue, and President Obama, we are through with you!"

Speaking on Tampa radio station 1470 AM-WMGG with Republican political consultant and blogger Chris Ingram, Sharpe said he would not end his campaign to run for the District 11 seat currently held by Democrat Kathy Castor, but instead suspend it. He said he might re-enter the race after the courts decide on the newly drawn legislative and congressional districts voted on yesterday by the Florida Senate (the Democrats have already filed suit, and a number of other groups say they will file litigation when and if Governor Rick Scott signs the legislation).

"My hope was that the redistricting effort would create a competitive map where I could run a race that would be worthy of the district..where I could raise money and spend it wisely, and a race where we would have a chance of winning," he told Ingram.

"The way the map has been gerrymandered, it still makes it nearly impossible to have a good competitive race."

The Hillsborough County Commissioner announced last August in a much covered press conference at Tampa's Buddy Brew coffee shop that in fact he would enter the race for the Republican race for Congress in District 11, where he hoped to take on Castor this fall.

Are you not ready for some football?

Yes, it's February people, football is history. But there is the Grammy Awards and CPAC for your viewing pleasure this weekend.

Later today Mark Sharpe will make his much anticipated announcement about his political future. Rumors abound that the Hillsborough County Commissioner will opt to drop out of the race to challenge Kathy Castor for Congress. Whatever he decides, check back here later today for an update. UPDATE: Sharpe announced Friday morning he was suspending his congressional campaign. Read more here.)

Sharpe's former colleague on the BOCC, Tom Scott, tells CL he's seriously considering running for the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office this year.

We saw another Scott at the opening day of the Florida State Fair on Thursday - Governor Rick Scott, who presided over the annual Governor's Day Luncheon there because, well, he is the Governor.

In Tallahassee, the Florida Democratic Party is already in court trying to block the new redistricting maps passed in the Florida Legislature, and a host of other groups say they'll do so as well once Scott signs the bill. The groups contend the districts violate Amendment 5 and 6, and disproportionately favor Republicans.

And a Tampa Tribune staffer leaving his job lets his colleagues know what he thinks at the place he's toiled for so many years.

On a 32-5 vote, the Florida Senate passed the new congressional maps, with seven of the 12 Senate Democrats supporting it. Lakeland's Paula Dockery was the only Republican who opposed. The legislators then followed on a 31-7 vote to approve the legislative maps, with Dockery joined by Mike Fasano as the lone Republicans to oppose the plan.

Florida Democrats immediately filed a lawsuit. Party Chair Rod Smith said, "Republicans have undertaken the sort of incumbent protection and partisan gerrymandering that 63-percent of Florida voters overwhelmingly demanded must stop,"

We've hung out with some of those former longtime staffers on occasion over the years, and, perhaps not surprisingly for people who have devoted their whole professional careers to an institution, they care deeply about what's happening at Mother Trib, and they're not pleased.

In December, Media General fired 165 staffers at the Tribune and some of its smaller publications. Rumors continue to abound about the tenuous future of the publication. And some reporters there tell CL the morale hasn't been very good at Parker Street for a long time.