Here's the latest example of the axiom that politicians need to keep their friends close and their enemies closer:

For the second time in five days, a Republican hopeful for a major 2010 Senate race had to scramble to deflate a rumor that he is dropping out.

The latest incident, which erupted Wednesday, put Florida's Marco Rubio into damage control mode. National Journal's CongressDaily in Washington, D.C., wrote that Rubio appeared to be preparing to quit the 2010 Republican Senate primary contest, in which he is the leading conservative opponent to front-running centrist Gov. Charlie Crist.