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President Obama will return 5 percent of his salary to the U.S. Treasury when other federal workers are being furloughed as part of the mandatory budget cuts that took effect earlier this year, NBC News has confirmed.

The New York Times, which broke this story, adds:

The voluntary move would be retroactive to March 1 and apply through the rest of the calendar year, the official said. The White House came up with the 5 percent figure to approximate the level of automatic spending cuts to non-defense federal agencies that took effect that day.

“The president has decided that to share in the sacrifice being made by public servants across the federal government that are affected by the sequester, he will contribute a portion of his salary back to the Treasury,” [an administration] official said.

A White House aide tells NBC's Chuck Todd that the salary for the president, as with members of Congress, is set by law and cannot be changed. However, the president has decided that to share in the sacrifice being made by public servants across the federal government, he will contribute a portion of his salary back to the Treasury.  

Guidance on how this will work: The president will contribute 5 percent of his full annual salary by writing a check to the Treasury every month. This will be effective March 1, but the president will cut the first check this month.  

Democrats are relishing in a surprising opportunity to possibly pick up a House seat in a solidly Republican district in South Carolina, where Mark Sanford is hoping to stage a political comeback next month.

Sanford, the embattled former governor who left office in 2011 under a cloud of scandal following an extramarital affair that publicly wrecked his marriage, officially won the Republican nomination for the May 7 special election to fill the vacancy in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district. He beat rival Republican Curtis Bostic in a runoff election with about 57 percent of the vote.

Though Sanford represented this reliably GOP district for three terms in the 1990s, he faces a tougher-than-expected challenge from Democratic nominee Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, a Clemson University administrator and the sister of Comedy Central personality Stephen Colbert.

For Sanford, a onetime conservative rock star who had once flirted with the possibility of seeking the Republican presidential nomination, next month’s special election is a shot at redemption, both personal and political. His 2009 admission of an affair with an Argentinian woman, María Belén Chapur, and bizarre subsequent explanations of his absence to pursue that affair, nearly ruined his career and left a lasting negative impression with voters that could help Colbert-Busch score an unlikely victory.

An internal poll released by the Colbert-Busch campaign earlier this week showed the Democrat leading Sanford by three points – within the poll’s margin of error, but still noteworthy for its reflection of a competitive race in this district that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won last fall by 18 points.

Sanford, speaking Wednesday on “Morning Joe,” argued that Colbert-Busch’s ability to skate to the Democratic nomination as he endured a competitive Republican primary, helped explain those numbers.

“I think that when people really begin to digest those ideas – some real strong contrasts in terms of where she would be versus where I would be – that's going to substantially change a poll that, right now, simply defines name ID as people know it, not issue ID,” he said. “And ultimately, I think debates and campaigns are ultimately decided on issues.”

Colbert-Busch benefits, too, from her brother’s celebrity and heightened media interest in the campaign. It’s for that reason that Republicans in Washington said Wednesday that they are watching the race closely, and refuse to take for granted a seat that Democrats haven’t held since 1981.

Both Republicans and Democrats generally admit that the race might not be as close if not for Sanford, and the baggage associated with his affair. But GOP sources also contend that Colbert-Busch has managed to escape most scrutiny, and that the district’s Republican-leaning voters will end up with Sanford once his Democratic opponent’s views are fully litigated over the course of the next month.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which is tasked with electing GOP candidates to the House, for instance on Wednesday chided Colbert-Busch for campaigning while continuing to remain on-staff at Clemson.

Bruce Smith / AP

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford leaves the voting booth after voting at his precinct in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

“Why should South Carolina taxpayers have to foot the bill for Elizabeth Colbert Busch to campaign for Congress? We already knew Colbert Busch supported Obama and Pelosi’s big-spending policies, but now she’s taken her disregard for the taxpayers to a new low,” said NRCC spokeswoman Katie Prill.

(Clemson says the NRCC's characterization is incorrect, and that Colbert-Busch is not on the state payroll at the moment. Her annual leave, to which she is entitled, ended on March 26. "Elizabeth Colbert Busch is not on the state payroll in South Carolina. She took a leave of absence from her job at Clemson University the day she filed for office," said John Gouch, the school's assistant director of media relations.)

The ultimate test of both parties’ commitment might come in the form of a check cut by the NRCC or its Democratic counterpart, the DCCC. Both sides maintain that they have not yet decided whether to spend money on television ads in this coastal South Carolina district, which could help swing the race toward either candidate.

Meanwhile, Democrats are eager to have Sanford available as a public face of the GOP over the next month, if not more. South Carolina Democrats on Wednesday eagerly reminded reporters of the letter written by state Republican lawmakers (including now-U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R) to Sanford in 2009, which asked for his resignation (Sanford declined). The letter called Sanford’s actions during his affair an example of “poor decision making and questionable leadership.”

Sanford’s bid for a comeback also comes as Republicans nationally seek to overhaul their image, and broaden the GOP’s appeal among Hispanics, young voters and women – three groups among whom the party suffered during last fall’s election.

“The last thing they [Republicans] need is Mark Sanford to be their public face,” a Democratic campaign source said in anticipation of the bruising – and increasingly nationalized – campaign set to play out over the next few weeks.

This story was originally published on Wed Apr 3, 2013 1:34 PM EDT

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) is urging a federal appeals court to overturn a three-judge panel's decision to declare an anti-sodomy law unconstitutional.

The Washington Blade reports that Cuccinelli filed a formal "petition with the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond asking the full 15-judge court to reconsider a decision by a three-judge panel last month that overturned the state's sodomy law. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 on March 12 that a section of Virginia's 'Crimes Against Nature' statute that outlaws sodomy between consenting adults, gay or straight, is unconstitutional based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2003 known as Lawrence v. Texas."

Steve Helber / Steve Helber / AP file photo

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli speaks at a press conference Thursday, June 28, 2012.

Cuccinelli will be formally nominated as the Republican nominee in this year's governor's race by the state party at its convention May 18.

The move could potentially have repercussions for his gubernatorial bid in a state Barack Obama won in both 2008 and 2012. It also comes just as the U.S. Supreme Court is considering two cases dealing with gay rights, after the national party has urged Republicans to accept gays and lesbians, and as Senate Republicans like Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois have announced their support for same-sex marriage.

Cuccinelli will be running against likely Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and major Bill and Hillary Clinton fundraiser, in what is sure to be one of the most closely watched races this year.

More background from the Blade:

"The March 12 ruling of the appeals court's three-judge panel overturned a lower court decision upholding the conviction of a 37-year-old man charged in 2005 with soliciting a 17-year-old woman to engage in oral sex. The Attorney General's office argued that the Supreme Court's Lawrence decision didn't apply to cases involving minors. But 4th Circuit Appeals Court Judge Robert King, who wrote the majority opinion, said the Lawrence decision rendered the Virginia sodomy statue 'facially' or completely unconstitutional. He stated other laws could be used to prosecute an adult for engaging in sex with a minor and that the Virginia General Assembly would likely have authority under the Lawrence decision to pass a new law specifically outlawing sodomy between an adult and a minor."

Morning Joe/Marist poll: Public still supports gun control… The problem for reformers: GOP doesn’t… Obama and using the bully pulpit to its fullest extent… President talks gun control in Denver at 5:00 pm ET… Why the deficit and debt might not be the best talking points… Hillary and Biden share the same stage… Sanford wins GOP nomination in SC; does the NRCC get involved?... Landrieu gets legit GOP challenger… And SENATE MADNESS enters Sweet 16!!!

Yuri Gripas / Reuters

President Barack Obama hugs a gun control activist after delivering remarks on common-sense measures to protect children from gun violence at the White House, March 28, 2013.

*** Public still supports gun control: In the past few weeks, two narratives have surfaced in the gun debate. One, it’s going to be difficult for Congress to pass any major gun-control legislation this year. And two, public opinion for gun-control measures is beginning to slip months after the Newtown, CT shooting tragedy. The first narrative is definitely true. The second? Not according to a brand-new Morning Joe/Marist poll. Six in 10 Americans believe that the laws covering gun sales should be stricter. That figure is virtually unchanged from the 61% who backed stricter gun laws when a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll asked the same question in February, even though at least one other national survey has found waning support for gun-control laws after Newtown. What’s more, the Morning Joe/Marist survey finds that a whopping 87% of Americans support background checks for private gun sales and sales at gun shows, and 59% favor legislation that would ban the sale of assault weapons. So when President Obama delivers remarks on guns in Colorado today at 5:00 pm ET -- and in Connecticut on Monday -- he still has appears to have public opinion on his side.

*** The problem for reformers: GOP doesn’t: But what isn’t on Obama’s side is GOP support, and that’s why getting Congress to pass any significant legislation this year will be a tall hurdle. While 60% of respondents want stricter gun laws, just 37% of Republicans agree (compared with 83% of Democrats and 55% of independents). In addition, just 41% of Republicans favor the assault-weapons ban (vs. 75% of Democrats and 55% of indies). The one measure that does receive overwhelming bipartisan support, however, is background checks -- 94% of Dems, 86% of indies, and 81% of Republicans favor them -- and that’s why it remains supporters’ best chance at achieving anything in the gun reform realm. That said, what’s the incentive for House GOPers on this? And think about what’s coming up for votes in the House: immigration reform and guns. Here’s betting House GOP leadership is willing to allow just one of those items on the floor under the scenario where Boehner has to violate the so-called Hastert Rule of not having a majority of the majority. And immigration is something party leaders want to have happen. Guns might not be the same priority for the GOP.

*** Using the bully pulpit to its fullest extent: As Obama talks gun control in Denver, CO today and in Connecticut on Monday, here’s one more point we want to make about the debate: He has used the bully pulpit on this issue to its fullest extent. Some have begun to criticize the president for not doing more, but ask yourself: Which politician in Washington is doing more across the country to talk about the issue and shape the debate? And when you look at the Morning Joe/Marist poll, Obama has been able to influence those he can influence -- Democrats and independents. While there are plenty of examples of issues where the president has dropped the ball in selling a legislative item (think the stimulus or the health-care law, especially after their passage), it’s hard to add gun control to this list.

*** Why the deficit and debt might not be the best talking points: The Morning Joe/Marist poll also asked a few questions on the economy and the deficit. The findings: By nearly a 2-to-1 margin, respondents want President Obama and Congress to make job creation their top priority (64%) instead of deficit reduction (33%). Also, Obama edges congressional Republicans by four percentage points, 44% to 40%, on who has a better approach to deal with the federal budget deficit. But the president’s approach to deficit reduction – calling for a combination of spending cuts and increased tax revenues – is more popular than the Republicans’ cuts-only approach: 42% prefer a mixture of spending cuts (including to entitlement programs) and revenue increases; 35% pick increasing mostly revenue; and just 17% choose mostly cutting government spending (including to programs like Medicare and Medicaid). Bottom line for the GOP: Solely focusing on the debt and deficit, and solely focusing on a cuts-only approach, isn’t a winning issue with the public.

*** Hillary and Biden share the same stage: As NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported on “TODAY,” Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden headlined a global women’s organization that Hillary founded 14 years ago, which produced plenty of 2016 speculation and tea-leaf reading. The New York Times: “It was an evening without overt politics and yet Mrs. Clinton’s appearance drew attention as she enters a period of deciding whether to run for president again in 2016.” Hillary Clinton is more inevitable than any other non-incumbent since Dwight Eisenhower. Indeed, the question everyone will be pondering for the next two years: Will she run? On the one hand, Hillary Clinton is more inevitable than any other non-incumbent since Dwight Eisenhower. On the other hand, it was the same situation she was in in 2005, and we knew how that turned out. By the way, we are well aware that any public movement Hillary makes will get over-covered and over-analyzed, and perhaps every one of these events THIS EARLY are truly meaningless as far as 2016 is concerned. But Hillary is in rare air, and her folks know this is the case even if they wish it weren’t so. It means every appearance and every word is more carefully orchestrated and that was clearly on display last night.

*** With Sanford win, does the NRCC get involved? Short answer: Of course, it has no choice: As expected, Mark Sanford continued his road to political comeback as he won the special congressional GOP run-off in South Carolina last night, defeating Curtis Bostic, 57%-43%. Yesterday, we asked this question: Does the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee play in this race to help its nominee, Elizabeth Colbert Busch? And today, we have this follow-up question: Does the National Republican Congressional Committee get involved? While the DCCC question is still an open debate, it’s no debate on the NRCC side. It has no choice. If the GOP loses the May 7 general election, national Republicans will have to do it all over again -- recruit candidates, hold a contested primary, etc. So it’s in their interest to win this now. The good news for Republicans: If they do lose, there’s an obvious reason -- it’s because of the candidate, not because of the party or a particular issue and it won’t be seen as some larger sign. The only reason this seat is in play is Mark Sanford, period.

*** Landrieu gets a legit GOP challenger: Roll Call writes, “Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy will challenge Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu in Louisiana, in what’s likely to be one of the most competitive races of 2014... The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Cassidy will officially announce his candidacy in a video to be released on Wednesday.”

*** Senate Madness -- yesterday’s results: In the 20^th Century bracket, Lyndon Johnson beat Robert F. Wagner, Richard Russell edged John Sherman Cooper, Mike Mansfield defeated John Stennis, and Everett Dirksen beat William Fulbright… In the Modern Era, Ted Kennedy trounced Robert Byrd, Hubert Humphrey blew out Ed Brooke, Joe Biden defeated Jesse Helms, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan triumphed over Bob Dole. 

*** Senate Madness -- the Sweet 16: Today, we feature our third-round -- and thus Sweet 16 -- contests: In the 20^th Century, it’s #1 seed LBJ vs.#12  Richard Russell (“The Master of the Senate” vs. The Southern Lion) and #2 Everett Dirksen vs. #11 Mike Mansfield… In the Modern Era, it’s #1 Ted Kennedy vs. #5 Hubert Humphrey and #2 Daniel Patrick Moynihan vs. #11 Joe Biden…. In the 19^th Century, it’s #1 Daniel Webster vs. #5 Sam Houston, and #2 John C. Calhoun vs. #3 Charles Sumner… And in the Mixed Era, it’s #1 Henry Clay vs. #4 Robert La Follette and #2 Henry Cabot Lodge vs. #14 Scoop Jackson.

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*** Wednesday’s “The Daily Rundown” line-up: Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) on the gun fight and President Obama’s visit today… NBC’s Lisa Myers with a Deep Dive into how and why Obamacare is raising some health care premiums… Plus the Washington Post’s Nia-Malika Henderson, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson and Democratic strategist Steve McMahon join the Gaggle.

*** Wednesday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews former Hillary Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, Lois Romano and Matthew Cooper on Hillary and Biden in 2016, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), National Review’s Robert Costa and former Rep. Patrick Murphy, and the Huffington Post’s Amanda Terkel.

*** Wednesday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviews Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Democratic strategist James Carville, Dem strategist David Goodfriend, Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, the Rev Al Sharpton, and  National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar.

*** Wednesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim, the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, BBC’s Katty Kay, Democratic strategist Ben LaBolt, former State Department spokesman PJ Crowley, and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX).

*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Dr. Hawa Abdi, Melanie Bloom, BBC’s Kim Ghattas, USA Today’s Alan Gomez, The State Department’s Ellen Tauscher, Republican strategist Phil Musser and the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza.

*** Wednesday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Denver, CO Mayor Michael Hancock, Dem strategist Chris Kofinis,  American Crossroads communications director Jonathan Collegio, and Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown.

“In danger of losing congressional momentum, President Barack Obama is drawing attention to Colorado’s newly passed gun control laws as he applies public pressure on Congress to pass similar federal measures,” the AP writes. “Obama was traveling to the Denver suburbs Wednesday, stepping up his call for universal background checks for gun buyers as well as his demands for Congress to at least vote on an assault weapons ban and limits on large-capacity ammunition magazines.”

The Denver Post: “In his first trip to Colorado since his re-election, President Barack Obama on Wednesday will urge Congress to act more like the state's Democratic-controlled legislature and quickly pass stronger gun-control laws. At a forum with law enforcement officials and community leaders at the Denver Police Academy, Obama will praise lawmakers and Gov. John Hickenlooper for passing some of the nation's strongest gun-control measures after the shootings in Aurora and at a Connecticut elementary school. He will also push Congress, which has been lethargic on the issue, to move on proposals pending in the U.S. House and the Senate. But the desire from the White House to cast Colorado as an all-supportive bastion of gun-control-loving people is complicated by some stark realities: Colorado lawmakers remain embroiled in debate on whether the state's new laws will make a difference and police are investigating death threats against lawmakers.”

Pew: “As the Obama administration approaches a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, a national survey finds broad public support for the project. Two-thirds of Americans (66%) favor building the pipeline, which would transport oil from Canada’s oil sands region through the Midwest to refineries in Texas. Just 23% oppose construction of the pipeline.” The poll was conducted before the oil spill in Arkansas.

President Obama and the first lady will attend the April 25 opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas.

Time magazine adds, “On April 25, President Barack Obama will be united with his four living predecessors in Dallas for the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University, officials confirmed Tuesday. According to White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest, both Obama and First Lady Michele Obama will be on hand when the 43rd President’s library and museum are dedicated. The last time all five met was in January 2009 before Obama was sworn in, in a meeting and lunch hosted by Bush in the Oval Office for the members of the world’s most exclusive club.”

“Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will give back a portion of his salary this fiscal year in solidarity with his department’s workers who are facing 14 days of furloughs, the Pentagon said Tuesday,” Politico writes. 

“Rep. Carolyn Maloney said she received death threats Tuesday at her upper East Side office warning her not to move forward with gun control legislation,” the New York Daily News reports. She told the Daily News: “They said they were going to kill me.” More: “The Democratic congresswoman was so disturbed by the three menacing phone calls — which came about an hour apart — that she skipped a dinner Tuesday night of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, where she was supposed to present an award. ‘I couldn’t go. Who knows what could happen?’ Maloney told the Daily News. ‘I think any member of Congress would be scared after what happened to my good friend Gabby Giffords.’”

“A bill requiring California residents to produce identification when purchasing ammunition cleared an Assembly committee on Monday,” the New York Daily News writes.

The Daily News: “An NRA-backed panel would mandate background checks for armed guards it wants in schools, even as the group fights legislation to require background checks for gun purchases.”

“One of the key GOP Senators that Dems are quietly trying to win the support of on expanded background checks is John McCain. His backing would make it significantly easier to pass the proposal through the Senate with real bipartisan support — which in turn would make it more likely that House Republicans would allow a vote on it.So it seems highly significant that McCain previously supported closing the private seller loophole — so much so that he actually cut ads in support of the idea, claiming: ‘With rights come responsibilities,’” the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent reports.

USA Today: “Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois announced his support Tuesday for same-sex marriage, becoming the second Republican to endorse marriage equality.”

“Sen. Rand Paul, the tea party favorite and possible 2016 presidential candidate, is raising money for a conservative gun rights group that’s targeting fellow Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor,” Politico reports. “And when one congressman complained, the message from Paul’s camp was: too bad.”

And seriously, here’s why they formed: “The Kentucky Republican has lent his name to fundraising pitches for the National Association for Gun Rights, a group that says the National Rifle Association is too willing to compromise on gun rights.”

Menendez watch: “Two maids allege that FBI agents from Miami tried to brow-beat them into making incriminating statements against U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, during questioning about alleged sex parties at the Dominican Republic resort home of a South Florida doctor who hosted Menendez numerous times,” the Miami Herald reports. “The maids, both employees of Dr. Salomon Melgen, have asked the Dominican National Police to investigate the FBI’s interrogation of them, saying they were illegally detained and felt threatened during the interviews in February in La Romana.”

“If Hillary Clinton thought she could quietly ease back onto the public stage last night with a safe speech to an adoring crowd, her fans had another idea. Outside Washington’s Kennedy Center, 200 gathered to give her a not-so-subtle nudge toward 2016, waving placards shouting ‘Ready for Hillary!’” Lois Romano writes. “Inside, she may have shared the spotlight with Vice President Joseph Biden, but it was her show. Person after person at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards — an organization she founded — touted her contributions to empowering women globally.”

More: “On Friday, she gives the keynote address at the star-studded Women in The World Summit, hosted by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. In three weeks, she will give her first paid speech at the National Multi Housing Council in Dallas; and in the June, the Economic Club of Grand Rapids will honor her.”

Both Joe Biden and Ted Cruz will be in Columbia, SC, May 3 delivering speeches helping to raise money for the local parties.

Bobby Jindal’s approval rating is tanking in Louisiana. He stands at 38% approval, down from 51% in October, according to a poll conducted by Southern Media & Opinion Research. Barack Obama’s approval his higher – at 43%, but that’s largely divided along racial lines. “Almost three fourths of white respondents rated the president’s job performance as negative, while 90 percent of black respondents approved,” the pollsters write.

LOUISIANA: “Congressman Bill Cassidy is officially running for US Senate in 2014,” local affiliate WAFB reports. “Cassidy made the announcement Wednesday morning on WAFB. He is challenging US Sen. Mary Landrieu, who will be seeking a fourth term.”

MASSACHUSETTS: “The Massachusetts Republican party has filed an ethics complaint against US Representative Edward Markey, the leader in the race for the Democratic nomination in the US Senate special election, alleging he improperly used video recorded at a House committee hearing and in a government building, in two campaign ads,” the Boston Globe writes. “Markey campaign officials, however, insist that neither of the ads improperly uses video footage and say that the complaint amounts to a political stunt.”

SOUTH CAROLINA: Mark Sanford won the Republican primary run off in the special election in SC-1, 57%-43%. Just 46,071 people turned out to vote.

The State: “Republican voters in the First Congressional District appear to believe in second chances after handing Mark Sanford – whose political career seemed over following an extramarital affair – a resounding victory in Tuesday’s GOP runoff.”

The Charleston Post and Courier: “The political race many had anticipated would unfold in the 1st Congressional District — the national comedian’s sister versus the once-disgraced governor angling for a comeback — is finally here.”

And get this: “After Sanford thanked supporters, family and his fiancee, Maria Belen Chapur, who made a surprise appearance Tuesday night, he began sounding out themes that separate him from Colbert Busch.”

Politico: “Mark Sanford won over primary voters Tuesday night, but national Republicans aren’t celebrating: Many privately concede the former governor could hand a safe Republican seat to Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.”

The Rothenberg Report’s Jessica Taylor looks ahead to the Sanford-Colbert Busch general election on May 7. “While the general election contest contest has all the hallmarks of an upset in the making, Sanford still retains a slight advantage -- for now -- to hold the state’s 1st District seat. To be sure, this seat is a lot more in play than it should be in a district that gave GOP nominee Mitt Romney over 58 percent just last November."

National Journal: “The fact that there are two nationally recognizable candidates is no reason to think this off-year campaign will carry with it important political lessons. Those eager to see how voters react to the latest House GOP budget or Democratic-backed gun-control measures will have to wait until at least the next special election to gain any insight.”

19^th Century Era

1. Daniel Webster vs. 5. Sam Houston

1. Daniel Webster, Whig - Massachusetts, 1782-1852 
Dubbed “The Great Orator,” Daniel Webster fought to keep the country unified during the pre-Civil War debate over slavery. Indeed, he became the de facto spokesman for those seeking to save the union after delivering what’s been called, “The Most Famous Senate Speech” in a debate that lasted over nine days with a senator from South Carolina. Ironically, it was another speech – arguing in favor of the Compromise of 1850 and saying that bickering over slavery was pointless because it wasn’t going away – that ended his Senate career. That speech played well as a middle-of-the-road position in many parts of the country, but not in his liberal home state. Soon after, he resigned the Senate to become Secretary of State. Webster died just four months after Henry Clay – another #1 seed – did.

5. Sam Houston, D/Know Nothing-Texas, 1793-1863: The namesake for the nation’s fourth-largest city, Sam Houston still lives deep in the hearts of Texans. He was the Texas Republic’s first president, and when Texas became a state, he became one of its senators. In that chamber, he refused to endorse the Kansas-Nebraska Act – which allowed states to decide for themselves whether to keep slavery – because he felt it would further divide the nation. In fact, he was the only Southern Democrat to vote against the act, and he was right: Less than a decade after its passage, the country descended into Civil War. Houston’s opposition damaged him politically, and he was dismissed from the Senate by the Texas Legislature (remember, this was before direct election of senators), and then ran for governor and lost. Two years later, however, he ran again for governor, and won, but was deposed in 1861 after Texas seceded from the union – despite his best efforts to avoid that -- and he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate states.

2. John C. Calhoun vs. 3. Charles Sumner

2. John C. Calhoun (19^th), D/D-R/Nullifier-South Carolina, 1782-1850: During the debates over slavery before the Civil War, there was no bigger and notable champion of states’ rights than John C. Calhoun, who preached under his doctrine of nullification that states had the right to reject federal policies they believed were unconstitutional. Calhoun also served as vice president (under both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson), secretary of war (under James Monroe), and secretary of state (under John Tyler).

3. Charles Sumner, R-Mass., 1811-74: A prominent abolitionist on slavery, Sumner wrote the seminal piece of civil-rights legislation in 1870 during the debate over Reconstruction. The bill was far ahead of its time: It declared all men, including ex-slaves equal and to have equal access to all walks of life. The legislation passed in 1875 after Sumner’s death, but was ruled unconstitutional (leading eventually to the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision declaring “separate but equal facilities to be allowable). Sumner, though, is perhaps best known for being beaten with a cane by Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina in 1956 – in fact, Sumner was beaten so badly he didn’t return to the Senate for nearly three years.

Mixed Era

1. Henry Clay vs. 4. Robert La Follette

1. Henry Clay, D-R, Whig - Kentucky, 1777-1852
Henry Clay’s ability to navigate a fractured Senate is credited with fending off war between slave-owning and free states -- at least three times. He was pivotal in the negotiations in the creation of the Missouri Compromise, which allowed the United States to continue its Western expansion. For his efforts, Clay earned the nicknames “The Great Compromiser” and “The Great Pacificator.” How revered was he? Abraham Lincoln called him "my beau ideal of a statesman" and often used his quotes in his speeches. He was the first ever to receive the honor of being laid in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Clay also engineered the only censure of a president -- Andrew Jackson. Clay's death, which took place a decade before the Civil War's start, was regarded as the end of the Senate's "Golden Era.

4. Robert La Follette, R-Wis., 1855-1925: The quintessential senator of the Progressive Era, La Follette sought to regulate the railroads and worker protection. He also opposed America’s entry into World War I, and he helped launched an investigation into the Teapot Dome scandal. In 1924, he ran for president as a third-party candidate under the Progressive Party banner, and he won 13% of the popular vote. 

2. Henry Cabot Lodge vs. 14. Scoop Jackson

2. Henry Cabot Lodge (Mixed), R-Massachusetts, 1850-1924: If you want to point to one person who re-defined how politics is played on Capitol Hill, look to Lodge. He wrote the playbook for how to oppose a president. He and Woodrow Wilson did not get along. So much so Wilson’s widow told him not to come to Wilson’s funeral. The position of majority leader didn’t even exist at the time, but Lodge is referred to as the de facto majority leader because of his tenure and influence, particularly on foreign policy. The hawkish Republican scuttled the U.S.’s joining of the League of Nations in the Treaty of Versailles, putting a premium on party unity. He was also instrumental in the annexing of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, and pushed for a stronger Navy. If he has a weakness, it was that his focus in the Senate was almost exclusively on foreign policy.

14. Henry Martin “Scoop” Jackson, D-Wash., 1912-83: The 30-year senator (1953-1981) and 43-year member of Congress wielded tremendous influence with colleagues on Capitol Hill and was regarded for his deep bipartisan ties. His counsel was sought after by presidents, especially on foreign-policy issues. He was liberal on most social issues, but he was hawkish on military affairs. For example, he supported U.S. efforts to get involved in Southeast Asia, even saying in 1975: “The basic decision to go into Vietnam was right.” He was popular with the American Jewish community for his support of Israel and crafting legislation to help Russian Jews emigrate more freely to there. He was one of the first senators to benefit from television’s advent, notably during the McCarthy-Army hearings of the 1950s; Jackson said McCarthy was “hunting headlines instead of hunting communists.” He also was seen as the “Senator from Boeing” for his work procuring funding for the airline maker in his home state. He ran for and lost the Democratic nomination for president twice – in 1972 and 1976. He got his nickname, “Scoop,” by the way, because his sister thought he reminded her of a comic-strip character.

Strong majorities of Americans say they favor stricter gun laws, including an assault-weapons ban and universal background checks for private gun sales, according to a new national Morning Joe/Marist poll.

Read the entire poll here

Six in 10 respondents – including 83 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of gun owners and 37 percent of Republicans – believe that the laws covering gun sales should be stricter.

This figure is virtually unchanged from the 61 percent who backed stricter gun laws when a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll asked the same question in February, even though at least one other national survey has found waning support for gun-control laws months after the Dec. 2012 shootings in Newtown, Conn.

Jessica Hill / AP

John Woodall. left, of Newtown, Conn., carries a sign that he says indicates the percentage of Americans who support universal background checks, speaks with Gordon Jones of Southbury, Conn., a supporter of gun rights during a rally outside the National Shooting Sports Foundation headquarters in Newtown on March 28.

What’s more, the Morning Joe/Marist poll finds that 87 percent of Americans support background checks for private gun sales and sales at gun shows, and 59 percent favor legislation that would ban the sale of assault weapons.

Later this month, the U.S. Senate is set to consider Democratic-backed gun legislation that, among other provisions, contains a requirement for universal background checks. With Republican senators threatening to filibuster the legislation, its prospects for passage remain uncertain.

Democrats also are expected to offer an assault-weapons ban as an amendment to the legislation, but it has almost no chance to win passage in the Senate.

Favoring job creation over deficit reduction
Turning to the economy and the deficit, the Morning Joe/Marist survey shows that Americans – by nearly a 2-to-1 margin – want President Barack Obama and Congress to make job creation their top priority (64 percent) instead of deficit reduction (33 percent).

Those who prefer Washington’s political leaders to emphasize job creation include 76 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Republicans; a narrow majority of Republican respondents (51 percent) want the focus to be on deficit reduction.

Also, Obama edges congressional Republicans by four percentage points, 44 percent to 40 percent, on the question of who has a better approach to deal with the federal budget deficit.

But the president’s approach to deficit reduction – calling for a combination of spending cuts and increased tax revenues – is more popular than the Republicans’ cuts-only approach.

Forty-two percent of respondents prefer a mixture of spending cuts (including to entitlement programs) and revenue increases; 35 percent pick increasing mostly revenue; and just 17 percent choose mostly cutting government spending (including to programs like Medicare and Medicaid).

The Morning Joe/Marist poll was conducted March 25-March 27 of 1,219 national respondents by both landline phone and cellphone. It has a margin of error of plus-minus 2.8 percentage points. 

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