From NBC's Will Brown
Former House speaker and possible 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich offered a wide-ranging rebuke of President Obama and the Democratic Party in his speech to the CPAC conference Saturday afternoon.

Gingrich referred to the Democratic agenda as "a secular socialist machine," and insisted that Republicans would benefit at the ballot box this November -- and beyond.

"I believe we're going to control the House and the Senate at the end of this year. And I believe we're going to elect a new president in 2012."

Gingrich echoed the conference's previous speakers, criticizing Obama on jobs, a lack of bipartisanship, and broken promises.

"President Obama has created three jobs that I know of," he said to growing applause. "Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie, and Scott Brown. Without Barack Obama, Scott Brown couldn't have won in Massachusetts."

Gingrich also focused on "principled bipartisanship," as he recalled his efforts with President Clinton and ticked off accomplishments as speaker.

"We did this when I was speaker. We passed welfare reform. We passed balanced budgets. We passed tax cuts. We did things that were very serious. But we did it in a way that said we're going to be principled." And: "As long we stuck with our principles, it was the right thing."

Gingrich entered the room in dramatic fashion. Unlike other speakers, Gingrich walked through side double doors and made his way through a standing ovation, shaking hands on the way to the stage (didn't see any baby kissing, though).

Then as he left, Gingrich issued a challenge to Democrats: "Let's get it on. Let's debate anywhere in the United States."

From NBC's Katherine Andrew
In his speech yesterday at CPAC, former GOP Sen. Rick Santorum began with a request that conservatives "reach out and engage the culture" within and outside the scope of politics. He also said this: "Mr. President, America is the hope, and you can keep the change," which sparked a standing ovation and roaring applause from the audience.

In addition, Santorum commented on the struggles of the Bush administration, and made it clear that "conservatives did not fail America; conservatives failed conservatism." He put particular emphasis on the importance of conservative values, especially for the upcoming 2010 elections. He asked the crowd, "Are we going to go towards European socialism or stand by our principles?"

Santorum also warned that the Obama administration is looking to minimize the issue of defense because it does not have enough money to fund its domestic and defense programs. He questioned a future where America didn't have a strong military. And he asked, "Who is left to protect Western civilization?" As he did during his unsuccessful 2006 Senate campaign, Santorum underscored the danger of Iran and declared that it was "the principal sponsor of terrorism around the world." He elaborated and described Iran's nuclear program as providing a "nuclear umbrella for terrorism organizations."

Finally, Santorum answered several questions on a variety of issues. When asked about "Don't Ask Don't Tell," he responded that "political correctness is reigning in the military." Another member of the audience brought up the impact of foreign "discretionary wars" on the economy. Santorum replied that external threats could severely undermine the economy if they were not prevented.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

From NBC's Mark Murray
This morning, Michigan Rep. John Dingell (D) -- the longest-serving U.S. House member in history -- announced that he would be seeking another term.

Dingell is 83 and is in his 27th full term in Congress. 

From NBC's Ali Weinberg
At back-to-back events in Nevada this afternoon, President Obama praised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for supporting his administration's sometimes-unopopular decisions -- hailing Reid as a strong voice in Congress while at the same time creating an opportunity to explain the rationale behind decisions like the bank bailout and health care reform legislation.

Addressing supporters first at a town hall-style meeting, Obama said of Reid, whose poll numbers are in the doldrums: "I can personally attest that Harry Reid is one of the toughest people I know. He does not give up. He knows what he cares about; he knows what he believes in; and he's willing to fight for it. Sometimes he takes his licks, but he gets back up."

Obama explained the necessity of passing the bank bailout, while also praising Reid's support of it. And the president defended the passage of the $787 billion stimulus package; a CNN poll released last week found 74% of respondents believe at least half of the stimulus money has been wasted.

"Harry Reid -- he's got his pollsters; I've got my pollsters. We knew this wasn't going to be popular. But we did it because it was the right thing to do," Obama said, adding, "It's also why we passed the Recovery Act ... almost two million Americans who are unemployed are working right now because of what Harry Reid did."

During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Obama fielded several questions about the final shape of health care legislation. To one question about whether volunteer community clinics would receive funding, Obama began his response by laying out the difficult climate in which he and Reid undertook health care reform.

"I've got to admit that this is an issue I was warned I shouldn't take on. No, no, seriously. When I first came in and Harry was part of some of these conversations, a lot of political advisers that said look, 'Health care is just too hard, just too compicated,'" Obama stated. "Your poll numbers will go down and you're not going to get a lot of cooperation from the other side. That was the warning," he added, before listing the individual accounts of lost and restricted insurance policies that compelled him -- and Sen. Reid -- to take on health care reform.

Characterizing delays in health legislation passage as a consequence of Republican opposition, Obama challenged members of the GOP to work with him and present their own ideas, again reiterating the need for health care reform.

"Show me what you got," Obama said as a crowd of supporters cheered. "But don't let the American people go another year, another 10 years, another 20 years without health insurance reform in this country."

In another gesture of support for his embattled colleague, Obama let Reid answer a question, from Peggy Durfy, a native Nevadan and furloughed U.S. Airways employee, about plans to get Nevadans in the tourism industry back to work.

"Do you want to talk to us?" Obama asked Reid, ceding the floor to let him talk about legislation he will propose next week to promote Nevada tourism.

Also during the town hall, Obama outlined a new $1.5 billion program meant to shore up the housing markets in the country's five hardest hit states, one of which is Nevada.

"This fund's going to help out of work homeowners avoid preventable forecosures," Obama said.

Both Reid and Obama largely adhered to their stump speeches for the second event, an appearance before the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Obama, however, directly addressed criticism he has received from Nevada officials for comments made on several occasions about irresponsible spending in Las Vegas.

"Before I go any further, let me set the record straight: I love Vegas!" Obama exclaimed to raucous applause. "I did receive a little bit of heat, I know, maybe from some in this room, when I said folks shouldn't blow their college fund in Vegas. That wasn't a shot at Vegas. I think everyone agrees that the only place people should spend their college savings is in college," he said.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) stoked the fears of conservatives here that President Obama is putting the United States on a path to the decline of so-called "American exceptionalism."

She also claimed that Franklin Delano Roosevelt took a "manageable recession" and turned it into a 10-year Depression. (Really?)

She hailed conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer as a "genius" because he wrote that decline is a "choice" not predetermined.

She mocked Obama for having said that he believes in American exceptionalism as he probably suspects the Brits believe in British exceptionalism, for example. She then read off a list of what she said Obama sees as American sins.

The crowd booed loudly.

"We're all going to need a self-esteem course or two after that litany," she said, adding, "Decline can happen quickly even for a great nation. ...

"Will they choose decline for the united States or will they choose greatness?"

Sounding the Tea Party theme of co-opting the founding fathers, she claimed, "The founders of this great nation did not choose decline. They chose us, and they chose greatness for us. They gave us a legacy that was unlike any in recorded history."

Unlike any in recorded history? Tell it to the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the British Empire.

"They chose greatness for us, rather than decline," she told the crowd. "That is our history. That is our American story."

Great applause.

NOTES: Bachmann showed a slide of the Bush "Miss me yet?" billboard. She said she is "lucky enough to be the reprsentative for these very creative innovative business people. ... They got their ad dollars out of this billboard." ...

She advocated evangelizing conservatism to liberals. She talked of her son in medical school who vowed to convert just one liberal. His San Francisco roomate, she said, seemed to come around, because he sent him a Pat Buchanan WorldNetDaily column. She challenged the crowd to also change just one liberal's mind. "These elections won't even be close if we change one person each," Bachmann declared.

Bachmann opened her speech, saying she was addressing "the majority in waiting. How does it feel?" ...

She hit Obama on debt. She said that the $4 trillion in debt would be a pillar of money that would reach 260 miles into space. "This is a tremendous accumulation of debt even by Washington, D.C., standards," she said. "This is real money."

She then criticized the efforts toward health-care reform. "They're pushing to take over another 18% of the economy," she said, describing Democrats' plan as a "job-killing government takeover of health care." ...

She added, "You and I have a right to our labor, to the fruits of our labor." She labeled the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress as "radical," because they don't believe this, she claimed. "What I have belongs to me, not the king. Bondholders at Chrysler know this all too well." ...

Bachmann also talked of a supposed Obama speech and thought police.

From NBC's Mark Murray
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D), 86, has stomach cancer, his office said today.

The statement from Lautenberg's office:

After several days of hospitalization and testing, Senator Lautenberg's doctors have diagnosed that he has a B-Cell Lymphoma of the stomach. This is a curable tumor, and will require treatment over the next few months.

The Senator is under the care of Dr. James F. Holland and Dr. Martin Goldman of Mount Sinai Medical Center.

The statement from Dr. Holland:

We expect a full and complete recovery for Senator Lautenberg. The Senator will be treated with chemotherapy administered approximately every three weeks. We anticipate that he will receive between six and eight treatments, and in between treatments, the Senator is expected to be back at work in the Senate. 

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Tim Pawlenty sought to burnish his conservative credentials before the crowd here at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

The Minnesota governor, widely believed to be mulling a 2012 White House run, hit the administration on spending and terrorism, appealed to the Tea Party movement, proudly invoked God and even weighed in on the Tiger Woods situation.

On spending: "If government spending were an Olympic sport," Pawlenty said, President Obama would "be a gold medalist." And: "If the U.S. government was a bank regulated by themselves, it would shut itself down."

On foreign policy: "The Secreatary of State was on rhetorical bended knee in China," he said of Secretary Hillary Clinton. "The United States of America is not a beggar nation."

That was met with big applause.

He acknowledged that the U.S. freeing itself of debt to China "will not be easy but it can be done." He talked of his balancing the budget in Minnesota. He joked about the state's lefty leanings -- home to Sen. Al Franken and the only state to not have voted for Ronald Reagan.
 
"If we can do it in Minnesota," Pawlenty said,."then we can do it anywhere."
 
He continued, "France is lecturing the United States of America on appeasement. That's like AIG lecturing us on fiscal responsibility."
 
And: "I have a message for President Obama: Mr. President, no more apology tours and no more giving Miranda rights to terrorists."

He sounded many of the Tea Party themes, speaking of liberty and freedom and the Constitution.

"We're planting the flag on constitutional grounds," he said, "and if you try to take our flag we will fight back."

He drew a straight line between those who asked for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to be fired because he was "scruffy" and maybe "drank too much" and "elites"who criticize the Tea Party movemment.

"We're on the side of freedom," Pawlenty proclaimed. Earlier in his speech, he, like other speakers here used the D.C. snowstorm for an anti-Congress joke. "Any day that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi can't get to work it's a good day for freedom, its a good day for liberty."

Pawlenty also explicitly and proudly invoked religion.

"God is in charge," he said, adding that some will say, "Oh Pawlenty don't bring that up... hogwash." He invoked the Declaration of Independence: "It says we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, not by Washington, D.C., ... by our creator. ... If it was good enough for the founding fathers, it should be good enough for us."

Pawlenty also said the American people could take a lesson from the Tiger Woods situation.

"When freedom is attacked, people will rise up," he said before transitioning to an acknowledgement of Woods' 11 a.m. news conference. "We can learn a lot from that situation," he said, but not from Tiger -- from his wife. She said she was fed up, she wasn't going to take it anymore, Pawlenty said.

"We should take a page out of her playbook," he said. "Take a 9 iron and smash the window of big government in this country."

NOTES: Pawlenty got a nice boost by being introduced by Grover Norquist -- famous fo his no new taxes pledge for presidential candidates. Norquist described Pawlenty as a "Reagan Republican." ... Pawlenty took to the stage with a campaign favorite soundtrack, U2's "Beautiful Day."

From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
First Read has confirmed the news that Indiana Congressman Brad Ellsworth (D) will run for the Senate, giving Democrats a top-tier candidate to run after Sen. Evan Bayh (D) decided not to seek another term.

It's worth noting that Senate Democrats have now been able to find good replacement candidates in Connecticut (after Chris Dodd decided not to run), Delaware (after Beau Biden didn't get in the race), and now Indiana (with Bayh's upcoming retirement).

*** UPDATE *** The news that Ellsworth is running for the Senate doesn't guarantee that he will be his party's nominee (although that is the smart money).

Since no Democrat met this week's deadline to qualify for the ballot, this means state party leaders will end up choosing the Democratic nominee.

Ellsworth likely will be that nominee. But we won't know for sure until the state party leaders make their pick.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Mark Murray
With most of the country's attention on Tiger Woods -- and not the ongoings at CPAC -- some of today's speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference have invoked (and joked about) Tiger.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said Republicans could learn a thing from Tiger's wife. "Take a 9-iron and smash the window of big government in this country."

And Indiana Rep. Mike Pence (R) described his reaction to learning that his speaking time coincided with Woods' news conference: "Oh, perfect", he said. "Timing is everything,"

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
There's a reason Democrats couldn't get any Republicans to support their economic measures -- beyond raw politics, that is.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor summed up the stark philosophical economic divide between Democrats and most Republicans. And he engaged in a little chest-beating that Democrats had lost the debate on what works.

For the GOP and Cantor, it's all about tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.

"It's about jobs, stupid," Cantor said opening his remarks here at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

"They believed government spending was going to be the answer," Cantor said, adding later, "You won the debate."

He added, "You can't create sustainable jobs with government spending."

What works? "Across-the-board tax cuts are the key" to reviving our economy, Cantor said.
(Left unexplained was the fact that the Bush years -- which were full of across-the-board tax cuts -- turned out to be the weakest eight-year span for the U.S. economy in decades.)

He continued, "Republicans had a chance to stand up and show their true colors as a common-sense alternative."

There was tepid, polite applause from this conservative crowd.

Republicans "regained our mojo," Cantor said.

He accused Democrats of being the ones who were "spewing vitriol" when House Republicans held together and opposed the stimulus. 

He then took aim at unions, particularly government employees and said the average Department of Education salary is $100,000 a year.

Cantor called on the party to produce a document similar to Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America." And, he added, "Americans need to see our commitment to fighting for a reform agenda."

Obama finishes his two-day western swing in Nevada, where he'll announce money for housing assistance… Bush and Cheney make a comeback at CPAC… Pawlenty, Pence, Bachmann, and Ron Paul give the big speeches at CPAC's second day… First Read's Top 10 Senate takeovers… And the NYT one again body-slams David Paterson -- this time on the eve of his campaign kick off.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** You're so money … and you don't even know it: On a Friday that will largely be dominated by Tiger Woods and his statement to the media, President Obama finishes his two-day western swing (a.k.a. the "Save The Senate" swing). Today in Nevada, Obama -- with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in tow -- holds a town hall in Henderson at 1:00 pm ET. Then, at 2:55 pm ET, he delivers remarks to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (where we'll probably hear something related to the Vegas furor at Obama's past remarks urging folks not to blow their kids' college money in Las Vegas). Like Colorado, which Obama visited yesterday, Nevada is a swing state that usually leans Republican that Democrats turned blue in 2008. And, like Colorado, it's a state where Democrats look to be in trouble this November, whether it's Reid's re-election or the gubernatorial race featuring Reid's son, Rory. 

*** Focusing on housing: Today in Henderson, Obama is announcing funding to help families in the states -- like Nevada -- that have been hit the hardest in the aftermath of the housing bubble. Today's announcement is a reminder that one of the under-performing parts of the economic rescue plan that Obama rolled out last year is his housing plan, and it brings attention to one of the parts of the economic crisis that hasn't hit bottom yet. And the White House knows all of this. Part of the under-performance has to do with problems in the credit markets and banks making it harder to refinance, even as the government tried to create incentives for lending. So this program being unveiled today is an attempt to use some TARP money and directly intervene in the hardest-hit places for housing and unemployment.

*** Out with the new and in with the old? As Republicans and conservatives begin envisioning taking back control of Congress -- and maybe even the White House in 2012 -- there's a reason why they've embraced Marco Rubio, Scott Brown, and the Tea Party movement: They have nothing to do with the GOP's past. After all, they didn't inherit a surplus and turn it into a trillion-dollar deficit; they didn't make the case that Iraq had WMD; and they didn't get blamed for their response to Hurricane Katrina. But a funny thing happened at the first day of CPAC yesterday. First, Dick Cheney made a surprise appearance, declaring that Obama will be a one-term president. And then Mitt Romney devoted part of his speech to defend George W. Bush's legacy. "I am convinced that history will judge President Bush far more kindly," he said.

*** Miss me yet? There is no doubt that being associated with Bush or Cheney is no longer as politically toxic as it used to be. Former Bush official Rob Portman's doing well in his race for Ohio Senate; former Rove protégé Tim Griffin is running for Congress and is currently favored; and both Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie were able to blunt Dems using Bush to attack them. But that doesn't mean Bush and Cheney are suddenly much more popular than they were a year ago. In our NBC/WSJ poll last month, Bush had a 30%-51% fav/unfav rating, which is virtually unchanged from his last days in office. And in last June's NBC/WSJ poll, Cheney's fav/unfav was 26%-48%. But with the GOP base, which has no interest in hearing apologies, praising Bush and Cheney works.

*** Where was the response? Remember the campaign mantra to never let an attack go without a response? Well, yesterday we heard tons of attacks on President Obama at CPAC -- Cheney calling him a one-termer, Romney describing him a failure, Romney blasting Obama-care (when it's virtually identical to Romney-care in Massachusetts) -- and there was no response from the DNC or any other Democratic group. In fact, the liberal organization that perhaps pushed back the hardest yesterday was Media Matters. In this era of the perpetual political campaign, are the Obama White House and DNC going to give Republicans -- including potential 2012 opponents -- a free pass? *** UPDATE *** DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse emails First Read that it did release this statement on Romney (which we missed or didn't receive). "Mitt Romney's address to CPAC today – and the overwhelming greeting that attendees gave to Dick Cheney  - makes one thing perfectly clear: The Republican Party still pines for the very leadership that bankrupted this country financially, with their reckless economic policies, and ethically, with their allegiance to special interests over the American people. And that's what real failure looks like."

*** CPAC, Day 2: Today's speakers at CPAC include Tim Pawlenty (10:00 am ET), Mike Pence (11:00 am), Michele Bachmann (12:20 pm), John Ashcroft (1:15 pm), Tom Price (3:30 pm), and Ron Paul (4:30 pm). A source familiar with Pawlenty's speech tells First Read that the Minnesota governor "will discuss his common-sense agenda for America, specifically offering four principles. He will speak about conservatives' comeback in the past year, and give credit to the audience's shared principles, including limited government, rule of law, individual responsibility and free markets. Recognizing that he's still largely unknown, he'll share his personal story growing up in South St. Paul and record of balancing budgets as governor of Minnesota. He'll also offer his common-sense ideas for how to address our nation's current challenges both foreign and domestic."

*** CPAC as a GOP convention: By the way, CPAC's growth as an influential stop in Republican Party politics is truly striking when one looks back over the last 10 years. In the late '90s and even early '00s, it took a lot to get Republican Party leaders to show up. But over the last few years, CPAC has gotten more and more popular again. This year has the feel, as NBC's David Gregory pointed out this morning, of a nominating convention, which makes the Democrats' decision to completely ignore the attacks coming out of the "convention" even more surprising.

*** First Read's Top 10 Senate takeovers: If it's Friday, it means another First Read Top 10. Today, we look at the Top 10 Senate takeovers. Quite a bit has changed since our prior Senate list last month -- including the news that Evan Bayh won't seek re-election. The biggest takeaway: The first eight (!!!) on this list are GOP pick-up possibilities. The number in parentheses is our last ranking.

1. North Dakota (1) -- More likely than not, this state will be No. 1 on our list from now until November
2. Indiana (unranked) -- Once Democrats get their candidate (Brad Ellsworth, Baron Hill?) this will move down the list
3. Delaware (2) -- Mike Castle (R) is the clear front-runner, but can Chris Coons (D) make this competitive?
4. Nevada (3) -- Harry Reid, whom Obama campaigns for today, remains the most vulnerable Dem incumbent. Can Harry pull a Houdini and survive?
5. Arkansas (5) -- We're all watching that March filing deadline. Does Blanche Lincoln run?
6. Colorado (4) -- Not only is this a challenging environment for Michael Bennet, he also has a primary on his hands.
7. Pennsylvania (8) -- Pat Toomey (R) continues to perform better than any of us thought was possible a year ago
8. Illinois (10) -- It's Alexi vs. Kirk. And despite that Dem poll, Kirk might have the very slight edge
9. Missouri (6) -- Finally, a Dem pick-up opportunity. A year ago, many considered this the No. 1 pick-up opportunity
10. (tie) New Hampshire (7) and Ohio (9) -- The other two Dem pick-up possibilities. In NH, Hodes has become a better candidate than a lot of pundits thought earlier.

*** NYT vs. Paterson: The New York Times continues to body-slam New York Gov. David Paterson (D) as he continues his quixotic bid to seek election, which he officially kicks off tomorrow. The paper's lead: "When a plane crashed outside Buffalo about 10:20 on a Thursday evening last year, killing 50 people, aides to Gov. David A. Paterson of New York could not find him for more than three hours, and it was nearly five hours before his office released any statement about what was the deadliest air disaster in the nation since 2001… Last summer, as some advisers warned him that he needed to travel around the state to shore up his poll numbers, Mr. Paterson spent long stretches in the Hamptons, relaxing with friends and mingling with wealthy donors and celebrities."

*** Today's filing deadline: Indiana.

Countdown to NC filing deadline: 7 days
Countdown to TX primary: 11 days
Countdown to AR filing deadline: 17 days
Countdown to OR, PA filing deadlines: 18 days
Countdown to CA, NV filing deadlines: 21 days
Countdown to IA, UT filing deadlines: 28 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 256 days

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"President Obama will put forward comprehensive health care legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week, senior administration officials and Congressional aides said Thursday," the New York Times says. "Democratic officials said the president's proposal was being written so that it could be attached to a budget bill as a way of averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate. The procedure, known as budget reconciliation, would let Democrats advance the bill with a simple majority rather than a 60-vote supermajority."

Roll Call adds, "The White House has developed its own version of a merged House-Senate health care reform package and plans to have it online for public review by Monday in advance of a bipartisan health care summit scheduled for Feb. 25."

And: "Congressional Republican leadership chiefs of staff met Wednesday to begin laying out a strategy for their expected participation in President Barack Obama's bipartisan health care summit, a senior GOP Senate aide has confirmed."

The Washington Post front-pages, "The capture of senior Afghan Taliban leaders in Pakistan represents the culmination of months of pressure by the Obama administration on Pakistan's powerful security forces to side with the United States as its troops wage war in Afghanistan, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials."

Today in Nevada: "President Barack Obama on Friday will direct $1.5 billion from the $700 billion financial bailout to help boost the hardest hit housing markets in the country," The Hill reports. "The announcement comes as Obama traveled this week to Nevada, home to one of the hardest hit markets since the housing bubble burst. Obama traveled to the state to help boost embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who is locked in a tough reelection race with housing worries and broader economic troubles weighing heavily on his campaign."

"President Barack Obama personally welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House on Thursday and lauded his goals for the Tibetan people, but he kept their get-together off-camera and low-key in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with China," the AP writes.

Chuck Schumer says no Republicans have indicated they would vote for the new jobs bill to be taken up next week. "I don't think anyone has committed to voting for the package, but there are a number of people who say they are interested in looking at it," he said, per The Hill. 
 
"Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) aims next week to unveil legislation to overhaul the financial industry," The Hill writes.

The AP wraps up yesterday's action at CPAC. "Conservatives seem more fired up than they've been in years, rallying against President Barack Obama. But energy alone won't herald a Republican revolution, and the excitement pulsing through the GOP base masks disputes and divisions the party faces ahead of critical midterm elections."

The New York Times: "Republican leaders took the stage at a conservative conference here to pay tribute to the Tea Party movement and soberly pledge to defeat Republicans who did not adhere to conservative views. Speaker after speaker drew hoots as they mocked Mr. Obama for his use of a teleprompter, seemingly oblivious to the teleprompter that rose from the floor before them."

The Washington Post adds, "This year's CPAC, which began Thursday and will run through Saturday, had a festival atmosphere, as thousands of jubilant activists turned the Marriott Wardman Park ballroom into a hive of old-guard conservatives and Don't Tread on Me 'tea partiers' hungry for new leaders and messages that can carry the GOP out of the political wilderness. It was, in the words of one speaker, 'our Woodstock.'"

The Boston Globe on Mitt Romney's address yesterday: "Sounding like a potential rival for President Obama in 2012, Mitt Romney delivered a brutal critique yesterday of what he called American liberal 'neo-monarchists' as he sought the favor of traditional conservatives and insurgent tea party activists at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference."

Politico: "When Mitt Romney, candidate for president, came to the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2007, he was a fresh-faced over-eager student of Republican politics: He won cheers for a newfound social conservatism, and won a straw poll amid charges he'd packed the hall. Romney ended his candidacy in an emotional speech to CPAC the next year, and in 2009 he used the forum to open a critique of President Barack Obama that he spent the next year refining. The new Romney, received Thursday as the favorite son at the gathering of conservative activists, is a more constant, seasoned, and comfortable figure, one whose applause lines match up more closely with his record, and whose protégé – Senator Scott Brown – is his party's hottest star."

The Globe's Milligan: "Conservatives can barely contain themselves at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a yearly event where activists and politicians gather to denounce big government, condemn abortion and rail against all things liberal. Giddy over polls showing Democratic candidates in deep trouble this fall, conservative speakers are in an all-out rhetorical attack against Democratic leaders and even some Republicans deemed too moderate for the attendants' conservative principles."

ARIZONA: Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, the Republican challenger to Sen. John McCain, took jabs at a familiar McCain phrase at the Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday. Per the AP, "If you want to see how politicians undergo campaign-year conversions, you've got my friend," Hayworth said before pausing. "I hate using that term, because he uses it all the time -- you have my senior senator, John McCain," Hayworth said.

COLORADO: The New York Times notes Sen. Michael Bennett's political inexperience and challenge from the left while reviewing President Obama's campaign stop for Bennett last night: "Mr. Obama has ruffled feathers among some Democrats by inserting himself into the race, although the White House says the president's policy is simple: he endorses the incumbent. Mr. Obama, who was expected to raise $650,000 to $700,000 for Mr. Bennet, made no acknowledgment of the intraparty contretemps here, but he did try to turn Mr. Bennet's political inexperience to his advantage. 'He hasn't perfected the seven-second sound bite,' Mr. Obama said. 'He's never even made a TV ad.'"

FLORIDA: The Washington Post's Milbank of Rubio: "The anti-Crist came to Washington on Thursday. In the ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park, they acted as if he were the Messiah."

NEW YORK: The New York Times with another tough piece on Gov. David Paterson (D). "On the eve of his election kickoff ... interviews with dozens of current and former aides, legislators and friends reveal significant criticism about Mr. Paterson's management of the state and of his election effort. Those interviewed describe the governor as remote from the most seasoned people around him, and increasingly reliant on people whom he feels comfortable with but who lack deep experience in government, including his former driver, David W. Johnson, and his former Albany roommate, Clemmie J. Harris Jr., who retired from the State Police on disability a decade ago and has been appointed special adviser to the governor."

Meanwhile, "Harold Ford Jr. ratcheted up his slams on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand this morning -- releasing a blistering 'open letter to the unelected Senator' in which he accuses her in his own words of "lying" about him and being a 'hypocrite' and a 'tobacco apologist,'" the New York Post reports.

NEVADA: The day before President Obama's campaign stops in Nevada, Republican Senate hopeful Sue Lowden released a Web video accusing Harry Reid of making over-optimistic statements about the economy, although Reid criticized Sen. McCain for saying "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" during the 2008 presidential campaign, The Hill reports. The ad says, in part, "With his own re-election bid in jeopardy, Harry Reid claims Nevada's economy is experiencing 'robust growth.'" The Reid camp said Lowden's ad, which refers to a statement first made on his website, is "out of context," as the campaign was referring to a report which showed "robust" growth of 5.7% over one quarter.

The Las Vegas Sun yesterday on the warm relationship between Obama and Reid: "Reid and Obama, who will appear together tonight and Friday at events in Las Vegas, have forged a deeper relationship than most of Washington could have imagined a year ago. To be sure, the bond is built on mutual dependence. But there is also a general fondness for the other, a relationship one White House official described as 'close and trusting.'"

From NBC's Mark Murray
As we mentioned earlier this morning, the Conservative Political Action Conference is part presidential cattle call, part conservative rally, and part political carnival.

Those looking for the carnival can find it in the basement of the DC hotel holding CPAC this year. Down here, scores of conservative groups are sponsoring booths promoting their causes.

Some examples: Citizens United (the group whose lawsuit resulted in that recent controversial SCOTUS decision), Keep America Safe (the Liz Cheney group), the John Birch Society, the Oath Keepers (handing out a DVD entitled "For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty"), and Concerned Women for America (handing bumper stickers saying "Real Men Marry Women").

As it has done in the past, the National Rifle Association is sponsoring a booth with a video gun game.

And there's a Poker Players Alliance booth with this slogan: "Ante up for personal responsibility."

From NBC's Kelly Paice
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was introduced at today's CPAC gathering with a slideshow highlighting his leadership in the House, along with fitting background music of "Someone Like You." He said there has been, if anything, a "rebirth" of the Republican Party. He said the Republicans have started listening to the American people and are offering better solutions, noting that although "Democrats have tried every trick in the book"-- from attempting to buy off Republicans with pork or intimidate them with polls or call them the "Party of No"-- he reiterated, "None of it worked."

Boehner outlined three lessons he has learned -- lessons he said all successful leaders have, lessons he said he would institute in Congress if Republicans were the majority and he became speaker. First, "Be open, be transparent, and be willing to listen." He criticized President Obama for being more of a lecturer than a listener -- something Boehner suggests the American people want the opposite of.

His second lesson: "If you do the right things for the right reasons, good things will happen." He pointed to Republicans uniting against the stimulus bill and against the Democrats' take on health care reform.

Boehner's third lesson: "Real leaders work harder than their opponents," essentially the team that works the hardest is the team that usually wins. He said if Republicans win back Congress and he were to become speaker, "I pledge to you right here right now that we're going to run the house differently," and made clear it would be run differently than to the way it was run by both Democrats and Republicans in the past.

Boehner also talked about a hometown Tea Party event he attended last September, saying that the Republican Party should not attempt to co-opt the Tea Parties.

"What we will do is respect them, listen to them and walk amongst them," he said. "The other party will never ever do that."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Congressman Brad Ellworth's office calls reports of his entrance into the race to replace Sen. Evan Bayh "inaccurate."

"The rumor mill appears fully geared up," Ellsworth spokeswoman Liz Farrar told First Read.

"He's still considering," Farrar said, adding, "He has not made a decision at this point. ... He hasn't ruled it out."

It's important to remember that declaring a candidacy publicly doesn't exactly matter. The filing deadline has passed, and since no Democrat has qualified to get on the ballot, a 32-member state party committee will select the nominee.

Ellsworth has continually been in touch all week with the committee, Farrar said. He has expressed interest, as First Read has previously reported, but he has not told them explicitly that he wants to be the pick as yet. Ellsworth has not done any statewide polling testing the waters.

Currently, Ellsworth is on a town-hall tour he does every year of the 18 counties in Indiana's eighth congressional district.

"I think he's probably feeling a little like 30 minutes in the car between town halls is not the best way to make a decision," Farrar said. "He wants to take a little bit more time to think it through."

It has only been 72 hours since Bayh announced he would not run for re-election.

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams interviewed the co-chairs of President Obama's newly formed debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson.

Obama, this morning, signed an executive order creating the commission, which will be tasked with trying to reduce the deficit -- no easy task.

Here's some of what they discussed:

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

Erskine, I'll give you the first question.  What does it say that the co-chairs I'm looking at, neither of whom are running for anything nor hope to in the near future?

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

I think it says we're serious about this.  I think we're gonna be really good partners.  And I think that because we're not concerned about reelection, we're only concerned about getting the facts on the table, that we got a really good chance.

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

And we're-- Senator Simpson--

          ALAN SIMPSON:

Go ahead.  No, I mean, we're gonna take a lot of guff.  He'll get a lot of guff from his party--

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

Yeah.

          ALAN SIMPSON:

I'll get a lot of guff from mine.  I've already been accused of being the toadie here and the token Republican and all that stuff, but both of us are in this, not as a stocking horse for taxes or stocking horse for this.  We're a stocking horse for our grandchildren, his seven and my six.  And that sounds corny, but let me tell you.  This is big time stuff.

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

Senator Simpson, it's been said this ought to be on the scale of a Marshall plan, but we don't have a war to point to or an Apollo program.  And we don't have a rocket to point to.  How do you get people who are worried about jobs and health care-- to be outraged about this?  How do you get people energized in this cause?

          ALAN SIMPSON:

I-- I think, Brian, we're not out to get outrage from them.  We're out to get education for them.  And what they-- what they have to know is that whatever their favorite-- their-- their-- their-- their most wonderful, passionate thing they love in discretionary spending, the children, this and that and all that is nothing with this engine coming down the track with no rudder and no breaks.  While they do nothing, this thing just sucks it all up and that's where we're headed.

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

And if they're worried about jobs, Brian, you know, if this national debt continues to grow, there'll be fewer and fewer dollars available for the private sector for those small businesses to create jobs.  So this is a big deal we have to set, and we have to go after now.

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

How do you get the parties off the dime?  You know the lines in the sand that both parties have set.  The Democrats, "This is an oversimplification."  The Democrats don't want to touch entitlement spending.  The Republicans don't want to touch taxes.  This is gonna take a little bit or a lot from everybody.

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

I think the good thing is, the president started today by saying everything's on the table, and everything means everything.

          ALAN SIMPSON:

And the other thing is is that I didn't know whether the Republican leadership was going to appoint, but I talked to John Boehner and-- and Mitch McConnell and they both were cordial and-- and they're both going to appoint.  They're gonna appoint from each of their bodies- three people.  It's an 18-member commission.  And I think that's a real step.  There was talk that they weren't-- somebody would say, "They're not gonna appoint.  It'll never work.  The president'll have to appoint Republicans from outside the Congress."  But they're players, and that's all we ask.  We don't care who the players are.  I hope it's Judd Gregg-- and Kent Conrad, one a Democrat, one a Republican.  That'd be good starters.

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

And Senator Simpson, you-- said a quote not long ago that's already-- become quite famous.  "There isn't a single member of Congress, no one, who doesn't know where this is headed."  When people hear that, that sure sounds like-- a lack of courage, if everybody knows what's happening here.

          ALAN SIMPSON:

Well, it's called politics.  And you can't have democracy without politics and-- so you work through it and-- and hope for the bigger thing, which is democracy.  You-- you can't blame people.  I never did.  You-- you can't-- hinder them for their own district, but there is certain hypocrisy here by people who are saying, "Deficits first, spending first."  And then you find they've got these things in their own district, which are of a higher order, way in the vapors, you know.  I know how that works.

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

But senator, think of how politics has changed.  Let me throw out a few names.  Bob Michel, Mac Mathias, Alan Simpson.  Where are they all today?

          ALAN SIMPSON:

Well, some are dead, but I (LAUGHTER)-- no, I'll tell you where they are.  They-- a lot of them left.  I-- I was in there with Bill Bradley, Nancy Kassebaum, Bill Cohen, Dave Pryor.  These are wonderful people, friends.  We were friends.  We didn't hack on each other, but we all left.  I think that we've lost the-- the-- the-- the wonderful association of friendship and trust.  Trust is the coin of the realm.

 

Ted Kennedy and I worked on stuff.  I didn't judge him or his life.  But when we shook hands or agreed, we kept our word.  That has to come back.  If Erskine and I can bring nothing to it, it would hopefully be trust and some good humor and say, "Hey, pal, bitch and whine and snort all you want.  But this is-- this is the big-- this is it."

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

Erskine Bowles, how do you get people to pay attention to this commission?  I'm thinking most recently of the findings of the 9/11 commission, which I think if most Americans read it-- sat down, read it start to finish, would still come as something as a surprise to them.

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

Yeah, I think the great thing is to put the facts on the table, to take the myths out.  I mean, if you just get rid of foreign aid, you can balance  the budget, if you just get rid of waste, fraud and abuse.  You know, we've got to talk about the facts.  And I think Alan and I are willing to put the facts up there, no matter how painful they may be, and expose 'em to the American people.  And they're pretty smart.  They'll get it.

          ALAN SIMPSON:

Oh, that's it.  The American people are smarter than their politicians--

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

Yeah.

          ALAN SIMPSON:

--and that's-- this thing up in Massachusetts, it looks like a great Republican thing.  Let me tell you.  That's-- that's for a crack in the icecap.  What they're saying up there is, "Look, both of you are goofy.  Both the Democrats and the Republicans are goofy, but at this point, the-- one's a little goofier than the other."

 

And this is-- this is bad business-- it can't go on.  And-- and I don't know whether we can-- do anything more to ameliorate that hostility, but we think that with goodwill and trust and honesty and an overused word transparency, we will educate the people.  And I'm with one of the great educators in American (LAUGHTER) right here.

          BRIAN WILLIAMS:

Final-- final question for both of you, Erskine first.  Sum up how serious a problem this is, when you look at-- children and grandchildren's futures in the United States.  How do you put this in terms of urgency?

          ERSKINE BOWLES:

Critical, urgent, not sustainable.  I'll be darned if I'm gonna sit by and leave this burden on my grandkids.

          ALAN SIMPSON:

I'm looking around this-- --looking around this room, and a wonderful bunch of young people who at the age of 65, if we don't do something, will be picking grit with the chickens.

From NBC's Mark Murray
In a blistering speech at the CPAC confab here, Mitt Romney assailed President Obama and his economic and national security policies.

Romney -- who helped lead the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and appears to be preparing for a run for the presidency in 2012 -- began his address with a joke that skier Lindsey Vonn was stripped of the gold medal she won yesterday. The reason, he said: "President Obama has been going downhill faster than she has."

He also praised Sen. Scott Brown (R), who introduced him, saying Brown's victory last month "stopped Obama-care." He added, "We have something to that you'd never think you'd hear at CPAC, 'Thank you Massachusetts!'"

Romney devoted much of the rest of his speech to arguing how Obama has blamed others for his recent defeats -- the Supreme Court (over the Citizens United decision), the Republican Party (for stopping Dem legislation), and the American people (for their failure to understand his policies).         

"When it comes to pinning blame," he said, "pin the tail on the donkeys."

And Romney took a shot at Obama on national security. "Conservatives believe in providing constitutional rights to our citizens, not to enemy combatants like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," he said. "On our watch, the conversation with a would-be suicide bomber will not begin with the words, 'You have the right to remain silent!'"

Of course, those Miranda rights were read to shoe-bomber Richard Reid -- during the Bush administration right after 9/11 in 2001.

From NBC's Mark Murray, Norah O'Donnell and Kelly Paice
Brown at CPAC: "My name is Scott Brown, and I'm the newly elected REPUBLICAN senator from Massachusetts."

He then repeated for emphasis, "I am the REPUBLICAN senator from Massachusetts."

Romney's Lindsey Vonn/Obama joke: Mitt Romney started his speech telling the crowd he just got back from Vancouver and that there's "breaking news."

He said the gold medal won by Lindsey Vonn was stripped because "President Obama is going downhill faster" than Vonn.

From NBC's Kelly Paice
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jim DeMint took to the podium here at CPAC, opening with a thanks to the crowd "for organizing this critical mass of conservative hope and change."

He said that right now there is a "battle between the American people and Democrats, and I like those odds."

With the CPAC slogan this year, "Saving Freedom," Sen. DeMint stressed the importance of the CPAC group to keep on with that effort, saying that the United States has been the most prosperous and exceptional in so many ways because our economy, culture and government was built on principles of freedom unique from the entire world.

He suggested that the nation may face a lifetime of debt slavery because people in Washington are too eager to trade freedom for earmarks and kickbacks. He took a dig at Arlen Specter, and also President Obama.

"I think we've confirmed you can't govern from a teleprompter," DeMint said, concluding with a call for "No more false hope and empty promises."

Freedom Works' Dick Armey later took to the podium, furthering the message that "the solution is not more government control; the solution is less government control."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz, followed, focusing mainly on national security and the "incompetence and misjudgment" of the Obama administration. She introduced her father, Dick Cheney, to the podium for a brief surprise speech. The crowd went wild.

Still to come: Mitt Romney and Reps. Thaddeus McCotter, John Boehner, and Marsha Blackburn.

From NBC's Betsy Cline and Stacey Klein
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
said she expects a single Democratic health-care proposal to be posted
online before the president's Feb. 25 health care summit. The proposal,
a merging of the efforts of the House and Senate, she said, will
include "some of the best ideas and put them into a framework."

Sebelius also criticized Republicans for not putting forth any ideas of their own.

"The Democrats have actually been engaged
looking for solutions for over a year," she said, "The Republican Party
has not come to the table with any sort of comprehensive proposal."

Sebelius spoke at a news conference today about
increased rates for health-care premiums. She said though the economy
is down, insurance companies are still collecting billions in profits.
Calling the rate hikes "wildly excessive," the secretary called for
more transparency and state action.

Echoing the president, Sebelius said, "We won't fix the economy without fixing health care."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is going to introduce Mitt Romney at CPAC before Romney's 1:30pm ET speech today.