NEVADA: After a lukewarm showing in the 2008 elections, Nevada Republicans are working to ensure the state is not overlooked on its Feb. 18 caucus date, the AP reports. Among the efforts: “a series of mock caucuses, train volunteers about how to hold a caucus and teach voters the intricacies of participating in the process. Party leaders also are seeking advice from experts in Iowa, which for years has held the leadoff caucuses. And the GOP is stepping up fundraising to ensure that it has enough money to rent venues for the voting sessions.”

Nevada Republican “kingmaker” Sid Rogich, the founder of R&R Advertising and president of the Rogich Communications Group, says that Mitt Romney has the state caucus locked up, meaning other candidates might visit the state but won’t play heavily in it, the Reno Gazette-Journal writes

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The one thing missing from this budding presidential cycle, is a candidate who really fires up the base.

Mike Pence, a congressman from Indiana, had potential, but he decided against a presidential bid. He opted to run for governor of Indiana. Sarah Palin obviously has a deep, enthusiastic following, but she looks less likely to run. Mike Huckabee won here last cycle, but he, too, looks less likely to run.

It was Michele Bachmann today who showed the most promise in filling that void. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) and Newt Gingrich (R) were politely and well received, but it’s Bachmann who really fired them up with criticisms of the administration, an artful weaving of audience response, and backing up her points with a litany of “statistics.”

She ended her speech here at Rep. Steve King’s (R-IA) Conservative Principles Conference by provocatively asking if the crowd was “in” for 2012. And then to rally-like applause, Bachmann declared, “I’m in! You’re in, we’re going to take this country back in 2012.”

So was that an announcement for president? Not quite. This past week, she said she’s in… for the “conversation,” that she wants to have influence – at least – in the race. Sources close to Bachmann this past week told First Read that she is leaning toward a bid and that she will make a decision in June.

Bachmann connected with the audience not just in words, but also tried to do so in genealogy.

The congresswoman from Minnesota, who was born in Iowa, touted, “I am an Iowan!” She rattled off the seven generations of her family that emigrated from Norway to Iowa, a “land of milk and honey.” And she lavished Iowans with praise, calling them intelligent, good natured, and even good looking.

She drew laughs from the crowd, cracking wise on President Barack Obama, a fat target of today’s confab. She started with his NCAA bracket, making fun of his inability to pick Final Four teams. And then pivoted to saying the U.S. is “engaged in a third Middle East war. Talk about March Madness. Can anyone else see Jimmy Carter?”

She joked about the number of waivers granted for health care. She said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) had lobbied for one, and added, “If he gets one, I want mine, too, and I don’t know about you, but I want one from the last two years from Obama.”

Bachmann noted the debt to China, mentioned that a man named Hu is the president of China, and delivered this line: “We know now, Hu is your daddy.”

It’s a line she’s used before, notably at CPAC, but it was the first time for this crowd, and it played much better here than the last time.

She invoked the Founding Fathers, Lincoln, and even light bulbs.

“I think Iowans ought to be trusted on the choice of their own light bulbs,” she boasted to a mix of laughs and applause. “Iowans are really smart people.”

And Bachmann, who noted that she is a child of divorce, gave this socially conservative crowd a little of the policy they want to hear about -- mentioning that “an in-tact two parent family” can do more than a stimulus bill or a revamped education bill.

She praised King, whom she described as a teammate – a “Cage-match team.” She said they vowed not to vote for another spending bill without the president giving “the money back” on health care.

“Give the money back!” she said.

We asked Bachmann as she was leaving:  "Does your speech today mean you're running?"

"No, I asked if YOU'RE in," she responded.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the second woman to run on a national ticket, reacted to the death of Geraldine Ferraro in a Facebook posting, calling her an "amazing woman who dedicated her life to public service."  Although the two women could not be further apart politically, they share a unique experience.  Ferraro was often supportive of Palin during the 2008 campaign even if she didn't agree with her policy positions.  Here's Palin's Facebook post:

"My family and I would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Geraldine Ferraro. When I had the honor of working alongside Geraldine on election night last year, we both discussed the role of women in politics and our excited expectation that someday that final glass ceiling would be shattered by the election of a woman president. She was an amazing woman who dedicated her life to public service as a teacher, prosecutor, Congresswoman, and Vice Presidential candidate. She broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more. The world will miss her. May she rest in peace and may her example of hard work and dedication to America continue to inspire all women."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Before activists here, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) gave a glimpse of what they might focus on if they launch likely presidential runs -- and they revealed different approaches and priorities.

Barbour focused largely on the economy.

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing," Barbour joked, adding, "and the main thing is economic growth."

Barbour was generally well received, and earlier in the week, he showed no qualms in expressing his emotion on the issue of abortion. But with Iowa being a caucus state dominated by social conservatives, some attendees in the hallways and in the audience questioned that focus.

Another speaker, Emmett McGroarty, on a panel on family values, wrapped his speech with what appeared to be a mild shot at Barbour. He said social-conservative values are part of "the main thing, and that's the main thing I'm focused on today."

That drew a mix of laughs and applause.

As he's said before, Barbour stressed that the presidential election needs to be about policy, "because these are the wrong policies. ... These policies make it harder to create jobs."

Barbour showed a mix of humor and seriousness, as he also criticized President Obama for the health-care overhaul law and the administration's energy policy. He described the energy policy not as an "energy" one, but "an environmental policy." He said the policy is to "drive up the cost of energy, so people wont use it."

"We need more oil; we need more gas; we need more coal; we need more nuclear; we need more American energy," Barbour said, adding that the U.S. should also generate energy from wood and waste. "We need all of the above," he added.

Gingrich also hit Obama on energy and health care, but stressed values first as well as foreign policy. Notably, even though he mentioned values as a top priority, he did not speak at length about it. He instead focused much of his speech on other topics, including the president's handling of the situation in Libya.

In the past week, Gingrich has faced charges of flip-flopping on Libya -- being for a no-fly zone before he was against it. He argued today that he moved on his position, because, "I was just trying to follow Obama." That was met with polite laughter.

He went on to argue that if someone were to say jump in the lake, he would have said no. But "once we’re in the lake, I say, "Swim as fast as you can."

Gingrich said the administration has sent a "confused" message on its goals in Libya. The goal, Gingrich said, should -- unequivocally -- be to take out Khaddafy. He even called for ground troops -- just not American ground troops.

In a brief question-and-answer session in the hallways here with reporters after his speech, he attempted to clarify. He said there should be American-trained Arab "advisers," already in the region, who should help the rebels and try to oust Khaddafy.

"We need to be clear the goal is to get rid of Khaddafy," Gingrich said. He called the administration's message "obscure and inaccurate" and added that the "confusing" message helps Khaddafy's supporters because they are "confused about what we're doing."

He demurred, however, when asked if it was a mistake for former President George W. Bush to try and bring Khaddafy back into the fold diplomatically.

He also hit Obama for not consulting closely enough with Congress.

"When the president decides to take the country to war," Gingrich said, "there needs to be a serious public dialogue." He added the president needs to go to Congress for a supplemental to fund the military action.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run on a national presidential ticket, has died after a long bout with cancer. She was 75.

Before being selected in 1984 as Mondale's vice-presidential pick, Ferraro was a New York congresswoman, who pushed for the equal rights for women, notably with the Equal Rights Amendment and the Women's Economic Equity Act.

The Queens congresswoman was also seen not only as a trailblazer for women, but also for Italian-Americans.

*** UPDATE *** Here's the statement from Ferraro's family:

"Geraldine A. Ferraro, who earned a place in history in 1984 as the first woman and first Italian-American to run on a major party national ticket, has died, according to her family.  Ms. Ferraro passed away today at Massachusetts General Hospital, surrounded by her loved ones.  The cause of death was complications from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that she had battled for twelve years.  Ms. Ferraro was seventy-five years old.

"Her family said “Geraldine Anne Ferraro Zaccaro was widely known as a leader, a fighter for justice, and a tireless advocate for those without a voice.  To us, she was a wife, mother, grandmother and aunt, a woman devoted to and deeply loved by her family. Her courage and generosity of spirit throughout her life waging battles big and small, public and personal, will never be forgotten and will be sorely missed.”

"Ms. Ferraro was born on August 26^th, 1935 - Women’s Equality Day - in Newburgh, New York to Antonetta Corrieri and Dominick Ferraro.  She is survived by her husband of 50 years, John A. Zaccaro; her three children and their spouses, Donna Zaccaro Ullman and Paul Ullman, John and Anne Rasmussen Zaccaro, and Laura Zaccaro Lee and Josh Lee; and her eight grandchildren, Matthew and Natalie Ullman, Elizabeth, Samantha and John Zaccaro, and Daisy, Alexander and Jane Lee.  Ms. Ferraro resided in New York City."

*** UPDATE 2 *** Here's the White House's statement on Ferrarro's death (Ferraro was not an Obama fan when he ran in 2008):

Michelle and I were saddened to learn about the passing of Geraldine Ferraro. Geraldine will forever be remembered as a trailblazer who broke down barriers for women, and Americans of all backgrounds and walks of life. Whether it was as a public school teacher, assistant district attorney, Member of Congress, or candidate for Vice President, Geraldine fought to uphold America's founding ideals of equality, justice, and opportunity for all.  And as our Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission, she stood up for those ideals around the world. Sasha and Malia will grow up in a more equal America because of the life Geraldine Ferraro chose to live. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, John Zaccaro, her children and grandchildren, and their entire family.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
DES MOINES, Iowa -- It may be cold outside here (about 15 degrees colder than usual), but it feels like there's a bit of a political Spring in the air.

The big event this morning is Rep. Steve King's (R-IA) Conservative Principles Conference at the Downtown Marriott here. Five candidates considering bids for president are set to speak: Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was slated to speak, but he canceled yesterday because of a family emergency. Santorum was waiting for a connecting flight in Minneapolis on his way to Des Moines, when he decided to return home, a Santorum spokesperson told First Read.

The conference is notable also for who's not here: Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty (not to mention Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee).

For Romney, it may be a sign that he will not be competing as hard here as he did here in 2007 and 2008. Pawlenty will compete hard both here and in New Hampshire.

The Republican caucuses in Iowa are dominated by social conservatives, many of whom live in King's very conservative Western Iowa district. But, as we noted in First Thoughts Friday, Iowa is a swing state -- won by Barack Obama (D), George W. Bush (R), and Al Gore (D).

First Read is here and will update as news warrants. You can also follow along on Twitter: @DomenicoNBC

Here's the lineup:

10amET: Rep. Steve King kicks off the conference
10:18amET: Barbour
10:58amET: Gingrich
2:38pmET: Bachmann
4:23pmET: Cain
5:23pmET: Bolton

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
Mississippi governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Haley Barbour weighed in several times this week not only on President Obama’s handling of the situation in Libya, but also what Barbour said was the Obama administration’s overall lack of leadership over the last two years.

On Tuesday, while in Nevada to meet with Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) and other Republican lawmakers, Barbour was at first measured in his criticism. "When our men and women are involved in military action I think we need to be very careful about critiquing the administration,” he said.

But he went on to say that “the administration dithered a long time before making a decision” and that the U.S. should not take orders from the UN, NATO or wait for permission from the Arab League.

“When it is in our interests and the needs of the United States require us to take military action, sure we should consult our allies, but we should not wait for them to tell us what to do,” he added.

In radio interview in his home state yesterday, Barbour went further and criticized the administration on leadership. “Since World War II, the world has looked to America for leadership,” Barbour said, “But we haven’t provided leadership in this administration.  In fact, the Obama administration’s position has been to say, you know, we’re just one of the boys, so we’re not going to try to be the leader.”

Barbour also questioned the end goal of the operations, warning that the U.S. should be “careful…about getting into nation-building exercises.”

On a lighter note, as Barbour walked out of the building the Tuesday press conference was held in he quipped to the cameramen shooting him, “Make me look thin!”  The recently trimmer Barbour has previously joked that his weight could be an indication he might be running for president.  The Hill reported, back in June of 2010, Barbour saying, “If you see me losing 40 pounds that means I’m either running or have cancer.” In March, USA TODAY quotes Barbour as saying, “I hope I can lose some more.”

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
As multiple news outlets report that he’s flip-flopped on Libya, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took to the airwaves Thursday to express his reservations about the U.S. involvement in the region.

During a radio interview with WHO-AM Radio in Iowa, Gingrich said, “It’s very dangerous for the United States to get involved in open ended commitments.” He added that while he favors freedom for the Libyan people, he believes there are other ways of achieving it. “I think we would have been much better off to have Egyptian and Jordanian and Iraqi and other local forces who speak Arabic doing most of the work and keep us out of this thing,” he said. “We don’t need to keep adding more places for the U.S. to send troops or for the U.S. to be engaged in combat.”

 During the interview, he also called President Barack Obama the nation’s “spectator in chief.” He’s called the president this before, including at an event in New Hampshire on St. Patrick’s Day.

Gingrich has been under recent fire for his seemingly fluid statements on the North African nation’s no-fly zone. Here’s First Read’s earlier reporting on the story:

 “In the past two days, Newt Gingrich has been clear that he thinks the Libya no-fly zone was a mistake.  Yet, on March 7 he seemed to express support for a no-fly zone in Libya.  The New York Times’ Shear: ‘President Obama should establish a no-fly zone over Libya ‘this evening,’ [Gingrich] said on Fox News.  “All we have to do is suppress his air force, which we could do in minutes,” he said.  Yet on TODAY yesterday, Gingrich said, ‘I would not have intervened.  I think there were a lot of other ways to affect Qaddafi.  I think there are a lot of other allies in the region we could have worked with.  I would not have used American and European forces.’  That won this headline from the Times: ‘Gingrich Calls for No-Fly Zone, Then Attacks It.’ The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: ‘Gingrich: Flip-Flop on No Fly.’  Then, he attempted to deflect in a ‘clarification’ on his Facebook page with a post titled, ‘My Position on Libya.’  His opening doesn’t address his own apparent inconsistency, but the president’s: ‘It is deeply troubling that there is so much confusion, lack of foresight, and little resolve coming from the President and his administration about what our mission and goals must be in the Libya engagement.’”

When Congress returns next week, its focus will be Libya, but the threat of a government shutdown is still very real. Plus, new jobs numbers come out on Friday, and more Republicans hit the trail.

NBC's Athena Jones reports: President Obama participated in a National Security Council meeting on Libya today and will speak with leaders of Congress in a conference call shortly to update them on what's going on in Libya, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during a briefing today.

It will be a bipartisan group, and it's part of what Carney called a series of consultations the president and administration officials have had with members of Congress.

*** UPDATE *** Carney also said -- re: consulting with Congress -- that had Obama waited for Congress to come back from recess, there's very little doubt Benghazi would have fallen and people would have died.

He also allowed that the U.S. was the "principal actor" in the first phase of the no-fly zone implementation.

"There was no question that we were leading in the first phase," he said.

He goes on to say it was a partnership, but that at least in the first several days the U.S. was flying a majority of the missions.

He said that ratio is changing and reiterated that the command of the no-fly mission is shifting to NATO, and that the U.S. would no longer be in the lead.

*** UPDATE 2 *** NBC's Shawna Thomas reports that Speaker Boehner's office said the group invited to participate in the call with the president is essentially the same that did the call last Friday before the president announced the action in Libya. Boehner will be participating in the call.

The list last week was:

Majority Leader Reid,
Democratic Whip Hoyer,
Senator Levin,
Senator Lugar,
Senator Chambliss,
Representative Rogers,
Representative Ruppersberger,
Speaker Boehner,
Majority Leader Cantor,
Democratic Leader Pelosi,
Senator Durbin,
Senator McConnell,
Senator Kyl,
Senator Kerry,
Senator Feinstein,
Representative McKeon,
Representative Ros-lehtinen
Representative Berman

Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss the role First Read plays at NBC News. (We shot this before Mark went on vacation, but he’ll be back on Monday!)

Thanks to newdayDAWNING10 for the question!

Video was shot by Ali Weinberg and Alex Moe. Edited by Ali Weinberg.

U.S. hands off Libya no-fly enforcement to NATO … United Arab Emirates to contribute planes … What about Syria … The White House’s shuts out TV cameras … What the Census numbers say about importance of Latinos in politics … An Iowa cattle call … and who’s Iowa is it anyway -- Steve King’s or Chuck Grassley’s? … Bachmann + Trump = Warhol Primary … Haley, Newt, Bachmann, Huck in Iowa; Ron Paul in NH.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** The handoff: President Obama has consistently said it would be “days not weeks” until the United States hands over control of military action on Libya. Well, last night, six days from when “days not weeks” first appeared, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the U.S. handed over leadership of enforcement of the no-fly zone to NATO. The U.S. “military will continue to provide support,” however, Clinton said. Libyans were met by “extreme violence” when they stood up, they made appeals to the world, and “the world listened,” Clinton continued, adding, “We faced the prospect of an imminent humanitarian disaster” and the world was “compelled to act.” It's a bit surprising that NATO ended up with full control of the operation, since it seemed the administration was setting up another outcome for days for fear that NATO taking the lead would scare off other Arab countries from contributing to the military effort. The reality, though, coming up with an alternative command structure to NATO was proving extremely difficult on the short time frame the U.S. was demanding.  

*** The handoff 2: Despite the chorus of criticism, particularly from Congress, that the president hasn't been out in front on Libya, the White House is continuing its soft-power approach of letting others share the job of public spokesperson on this military campaign. Not only was it Clinton once again out front, but it’s going to be her and Defense Secretary Gates on NBC’s Meet the Press this Sunday. This is actually a consistent theme out of the White House, when criticism comes from the Beltway chattering class, they double down on their original instinct, sometimes to a fault -- and then capitulating when it's too late to have an impact. Image management aside, the president's political standing when it comes to Libya will be judged by the outcome, ultimately. (Don't miss our expanded Libya timeline.)

*** The single most important 2012 political story…: …It’s not in Iowa (more on that below); it’s not in Washington. It’s happening every single day in America – the growth of the Hispanic population. Latinos made up half of all U.S. population growth in the past decade, by far the fastest growing group. Hispanics have nearly doubled to make up 16% of the country. We’ve said it here before, and now with the new Census numbers out it’s worth repeating: Latinos are already a serious political force in America and their influence will only get bigger. And that could be problematic for Republicans on a presidential level, because overwhelmingly right now, they prefer Democrats. Obama won Latinos 67%-31% in 2008, and they made up just 9% of the electorate. In the 2010 exit polls, when Republicans swept Democrats out of the U.S. House, Hispanics still preferred Democrats by a similar 64%-34% margin. And they made up just 8% of the electorate. In fact, look at the states out West with large Hispanic populations and how Democrats performed out West vs. the Midwest. In states with high Hispanic populations, Democrats were able to keep their losses to a minimum, holding on to Senate seats in Colorado and Nevada, keeping California fairly blue and holding on to House seats in Arizona they should have lost. As one Republican operative said to us in April 2010: “We have problems, clearly, with Hispanics,” the operative said. “If we do not manage an immigration bill appropriately, and we alienate Hispanics, Obama’s going to run up his numbers in the 70s [with Hispanics]. That is not a sustainable model to win.”  For more, see Tom Curry's story on the Hispanic vote and 2012.

*** Iowa cattle call: Speaking of the presidential race, Saturday is the one of the first big GOP cattle calls in Iowa -- conservative Rep. Steve King’s (R) Conservative Principles Conference. Five presidential hopefuls will speak: Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Newt Gingrich, Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) (who we learned yesterday is leaning toward a run), and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain. Jim DeMint (R-SC), who won’t run for president, but could be a GOP kingmaker in another early primary state -- South Carolina -- delivers the keynote address some time after 5:30 pm ET. King will open the confab at 10:00 am ET. But…

*** Whose Iowa is it anyway -- Steve King’s or Chuck Grassley’s? King’s influence has grown with the Iowa GOP caucuses being dominated by social conservative and evangelical Christians, many of whom live in King’s Western Iowa district. But remember, Iowa is a presidential SWING state. Obama (D) won it by 10 points (54%-44%); George W. Bush (R) won it by 0.7 percentage points (49.9%-49.2%); and Al Gore (D) won it by 0.3 percentage points. It’s stunning that in a presidential election, a congressman could have more influence than a senator who represents the ENTIRE state. But the Iowa caucuses aren’t about the entire state -- they’re about activists. Remember, Grassley, who had been a health-care negotiator, retreated on the issue and after facing harsh blowback in his state. (He was up for re-election in 2010 and feared a primary challenge). So maybe the King wing has already won out. Is that a problem for the GOP come Fall of 2012? For full coverage of the event, tune into MSNBC and MSNBC.com all day tomorrow as First Read will be live on the scene.

*** The Andy Warhol primary: Staying with the presidential, Michele Bachmann was stirring the Twitter with news that she might run for president yesterday; Donald Trump announced he’s going to Iowa in June. It appears everybody wants their “15 minutes,” and with the dwindled Iowa field in particular, it looks like they’re going to get it. Bachmann and Trump are little more than cable distractions, the very definition of one of OUR favorite expressions "cable catnip." Neither of them has a realistic chance of being president -- or even the GOP nominee. Bachmann reminds us of Bob Dornan, when he ran in 1996. He became not only a non-factor in the overall picture of the presidential race, but he lost his House seat to boot. They have a similar style -- a little bombastic, know how to get press. There’s going to be a lot of wasted effort chasing these brushfires and we’re all probably going to exert too much effort on them -- all for provocative copy.

*** On the trail today: Bachmann, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, attend the Pastors’ Policy Briefing in Iowa. Barbour makes two more stops in Iowa, Gingrich appears on Iowa public TV, and then (with Callista), Gingrich screens his “Rediscovering God” documentary in Des Moines. … Ron Paul is in New Hampshire to speak at a Lincoln-Reagan Dinner.

Countdown to continuing resolution’s expiration: 14 days
Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 140 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 228 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 318 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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US military officials tell NBC News that it's likely command of the loosely described "no-fly zone" operation over Libya should be turned over to a NATO commander by tomorrow, NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports. While the command will change, the US will continue to take the lead in launching airstrikes against Khadafy's military armor and ground forces. A Senior US military official tells NBC News "some of the coalition members remain a little nervous about attacking ground forces" so US warplanes will continue that mission for the foreseeable future. 

Secretary of State Clinton announced that in addition to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates will also be sending planes. “We welcome this important step,” Clinton said, noting the importance of buy-in from the Arab world. “This operation has saved many lives but the danger is far from over,” she continued. The Arab League’s initial support provided the West cover to intervene. But after Khaddafy claims of civilians being killed, the Arab League was vocalizing criticism of the action for which it advocated. The U.N. and allies were apparently able to convince the Arab League, however, not to make any more comments it deemed unhelpful, because the league has been very quiet since. Clinton will head to London Tuesday to meet with allies. NATO still has to decide if it wants an expanded takeover role beyond the no-fly zone, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported on Nightly News last night. And, as of last night, Mitchell reports, NATO was NOT decided on enforcing the broader elements of “all means necessary” in the U.N. resolution.

And tensions in the region are far from being allayed. The administration is now condemning the violent crackdown by the Syrian government on protesters there. “An assault on the central mosque there early Wednesday, and subsequent attacks by security forces, left an unknown number of deaths, some of which appeared to be documented in bloody videos posted on YouTube,” the New York Times reports. In a statement released last night, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, in part, “The United States strongly condemns the Syrian government’s brutal repression of demonstrations, in particular the violence and killings of civilians at the hands of security forces. … Those responsible for the violence must be held accountable. … We call on the Syrian government to exercise restraint and respect the rights of its people and call on all citizens to exercise their rights peacefully.” “Must be held accountable?” Questions have been raised about the U.S.’s standard on when to intervene on foreign policy. Why Libya and not Yemen or Bahrain, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has asked. Well, what about Syria?

Here’s the full The United States’ statement on Syria: “The United States strongly condemns the Syrian government’s brutal repression of demonstrations, in particular the violence and killings of civilians at the hands of security forces. We reject the use of violence under any circumstances. We are also deeply troubled by the arbitrary arrests of human rights activists and others. Those responsible for the violence must be held accountable. The United States stands for a set of universal rights, including the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and believes that governments must be responsive to the legitimate aspirations of their people. We call on the Syrian government to exercise restraint and respect the rights of its people and call on all citizens to exercise their rights peacefully.”

Confusion over the United States’ goal in Libya is exacerbated by “the fact that the administration has shifted over the past weeks -- from resisting military action, to leading the first assault, to positioning itself to hand over control to its partners. That seems to have left almost no one satisfied,” the Washington Post writes. “Those who were urging Obama from the start to charge in -- neoconservatives on the right; humanitarian interventionists on the left -- say he dithered too long. Those who warned against yet another incursion into the Muslim world, particularly in a country where U.S. interests are limited, say he has been reckless. He has been accused of being too deferential to other governments, and not enough so to Congress.”

Washington Post: “The international coalition confronting Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi agreed Thursday to put NATO in charge of enforcing a no-fly zone but was still working on a deal to relieve U.S. forces of command of all military operations in the country.”

The allies involved in the offensive against Col. Khaddafy’s forces remain divided over the ultimate goal and exit strategy of the military campaign, the New York Times writes. President Obama has all but called for Khaddafy’s removal, while France also recognizes the Libyan rebels as the country’s legitimate representatives, but other allies have backed away from going so far in their stated positions. “The questions swirling around the operation’s command mirrored the larger strategic divisions over how exactly the coalition will bring it to an end -- or even what the end might look like, and whether it might even conceivably include a Libya with Colonel Qaddafi remaining in some capacity.” 

President Obama will not give a long, explanatory speech to the nation because he does not want to equate this conflict with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Politico writes.

The White House doesn’t want to call the Libya offensive a war, the Wall Street Journal points out, instead referring to it as “time-limited, scope-limited military action, in concert with our international partners, with the objective of protecting civilian life in Libya from Moammar Gadhafi and his forces,” as White House Press Secretary Jay Carney put it yesterday.

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer says that the confusion is due to President Obama’s unwillingness to lead, borne out of his lack of American exceptionalism. “This confusion is purely the result of Obama’s decision to get America into the war and then immediately relinquish American command. Never modest about himself, Obama is supremely modest about his country. America should be merely “one of the partners among many,” he said Monday. No primus inter pares for him. Even the Clinton administration spoke of America as the indispensable nation. And it remains so. Yet at a time when the world is hungry for America to lead -- no one has anything near our capabilities, experience and resources -- America is led by a man determined that it should not.”

BACHMANN: Politico writes that the current media and political environment -- cable news, talk radio and the Internet -- means that if Michele Bachmann runs, she’ll be doing more than just highlighting her irrelevance like conservative provocateurs of past cycles.

BARBOUR: “Potential Republican presidential candidate Gov. Haley Barbour is stepping up criticism of President Barack Obama's actions in Libya, saying Obama hasn't shown leadership but is treating the U.S. as ‘one of the boys’ on the international scene,” the AP writes.

DANIELS: The five-week standoff at the Indiana statehouse, in which legislative Democrats walked out, may affect Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ presidential prospects, WTHR reports. Daniels said that the possibility that the legislative session will be extended until Democrats return “complicates” any decision he might make on whether to run for president. 

GINGRICH: “Newt Gingrich could find it's not so easy to go home again,” AP writes. “The former House speaker is using Georgia to anchor his presidential campaign strategy. He's counting on his old home state to provide a crucial base of support and a backdrop to help him escape the stigma of Washington insider at a time when the public detests anything linked to the capital or its levers of power. But Georgia is no sure bet for Gingrich. ‘Newt's been gone from Georgia for quite a while now. ... And the shelf life in politics is pretty short,’ says state Sen. Don Balfour.”

Newt Gingrich told the Republican Women’s Club in Greenville, South Carolina that President Obama is failing in Libya. The AP writes that Gingrich “says the president has allowed others to take the lead on the military crisis in Libya and left Americans confused about the country's role in the world.” Gingrich’s statement comes two days after Gingrich had to clarify his own position on Libya, saying that he supported military intervention with the goal of getting rid of Col. Khaddafy, but not in the case of a humanitarian mission.

Vanity Fair reports that Gingrich’s older Tweets on such subjects as his like of Reese’s peanut butter cups and peanut butter eggs, have disappeared.

HUCKABEE: Mike Huckabee leads the field in a new Gallup poll, garnering 19% of respondents, followed by Mitt Romney with 15%.

HUNTSMAN: The so-called “campaign-in-waiting” for U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman has hired media buyer and digital strategist Kyle Roberts, who is the president of the single largest political media buying operation of the 2010 election cycle, the Washington Post’s Cillizza reports. Roberts worked for Sens. Marco Rubio (FL) and Jerry Moran (KS) and California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

PAUL: Ron Paul told reporters yesterday that he and his son, Sen. Rand Paul, have never discussed whether Rand should run for president. This came hours after Rand Paul said there was a 50-50 chance one of them would run for president, the AP writes.

PAWLENTY: Tim Pawlenty at first said that he didn’t know whether President Obama bypassed Congress in launching a no-fly zone over Libya, but later clarified that statement, saying, “I think we need to make sure we don’t tie the executive or the commander in chief’s hands so tightly that he or she can’t respond in an emergency quickly or in a situation that deserves and needs a quick response.”

ROMNEY: This sounds fun: “Mitt Romney is sketching a path to the GOP nomination that looks nothing like the one blazed by Republicans before him,” Politico’s Martin writes. “Romney’s plan, by necessity, more closely resembles the outline of the epic 2008 Democratic presidential primary than the GOP’s recent victory-by-early-knockout design. With glaring weaknesses in two of the traditional early states, an increased number of contests allocating delegates on a proportional basis and a capacity, thanks to his own deep pockets and a growing stable of donors, to raise significant cash, Romney’s second White House bid relies on outlasting the competition." 

The Atlantic points out that, in a list of states Mitt Romney told major fundraisers were most important to him, Iowa was missing, while Romney said he “needed” to do well in New Hampshire and Florida.

SANTORUM: Rick Santorum, so far one of the champions of social issues among likely presidential candidates, says he looks forward to capitalizing on the nation’s shift to foreign affairs, which he says will highlight his knowledge of foreign policy as a senator for 12 years, as well as what he says will be the relative weakness of his potential rivals on those issues, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes.

IOWA: Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the host of Saturday’s Conservative Principles Conference, writes an op-ed for Politico stressing the importance for presidential candidates to reach conservative voters. Describing the convergence of social and economic issues, King writes that “social moderation has certainly contributed to the $14 trillion in national debt.” He goes on to describe the priorities of Iowa caucus voters: “In debating the moral standards of American culture, we start with the basic premise that government must possess the moral authority to institute all manner of laws and regulations. In the minds of most Iowa caucus-goers, there is little difference between the ultimate power to tax and the power to define marriage.”

The Iowa GOP will co-sponsor a Republican presidential debate with ABC News in December, the Des Moines Register writes.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says it’s too early for him to pick a favorite presidential candidate, but he did say that only two or three of the likely candidates are qualified to be president, Radio Iowa writes.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi gave a pep talk to Democratic activists in Des Moines yesterday, telling the crowd of 150 that they need to “be in spring training to be able to swing for the fences” in the 2012 election.

MARYLAND: The Washington Post writes that the Maryland General Assembly is working on a bill that would move the state’s presidential primary to April, which would disband the group of three states that formed the “Potomac primary” when Maryland, Virginia and D.C. voted on Feb 12, 2008.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Haley Barbour’s next stop in New Hampshire will be on Sunday into Monday, the Union-Leader’s John DiStaso writes. He’ll visit with Upper Valley Republicans on Sunday, then visit several “landmark” restaurants on Monday. http://is.gd/PynHgc 

NEVADA: “Sen. John Ensign's former administrative assistant has been indicted for allegedly violating criminal conflict of interest laws,” AP reports. “Douglas Hampton is charged with illegally lobbying the senator's staff on behalf of a Las Vegas airline company and an energy company. Hampton's wife had an affair with Ensign that has sidetracked the Republican senator's political career. Ensign announced this month that he would not seek a third term. Federal law prohibits a former senior Senate aide from lobbying the Senate for one year after terminating employment.”

“As the White House works to assuage congressional anger over U.S. entry into armed conflict in Libya, four top national security officials will give a classified briefing to lawmakers on the war next Wednesday afternoon,” Politico reports.

“The administration outreach comes as President Barack Obama has faced mounting bipartisan criticism on his approach to U.S. involvement in Libya and has struggled to publicly defend the action,” Roll Call adds.

“With a shutdown seemingly off the table, Republicans are considering an alternative tactic” to get Democrats to pass more budget cuts, The Hill writes: “‘ratchet’ up demands in future short-term spending bills by including amendments that defund Democratic priorities like healthcare reform.”

By the way, as NBC’s Ken Strickland point out, next week is going to be all about Libya in Congress. But each day focused on Libya is a day not focused on the budget, and though neither side wants a government shutdown, one still looms two Fridays from now. And there are likely to be no more stop-gap measures to continue funding the government.

Democratic lawmakers met with Medicaid advocates this week, telling them that Democratic-proposed budget cuts would have cuts to entitlements, but they would be less than those in the Republican bill.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor added his voice to the chorus of criticism against President Obama’s Libya plan, The Hill writes.

General Electric, a part owner of NBC whose CEO is President Obama’s liaison to the business community, has employed such fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that that it claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion in 2010, the New York Times reports.

From NBC's Suzy Kianpour
Former Libyan Ambassador Ali Aujali joined Council on American-Islamic Relations President Nihad Awad, American-Libyan Council President Fadel Lamen, Libyan Emergency Task Force Director Dr. Esam Omeish, and Muslim Public Affairs Council Washington Director Haris Tarim, at the National Press Thursday to express their support for the military action in the troubled North African nation.

They spoke about the need for allied forces to arm the opposition forces, cautioned against more “boots on the ground,” expressed their desire for the Obama administration to stay involved in the conflict, and discussed the strategic role the city of Misurata plays in the Libyan conflict. Ambassador Aujali also offered some unique insight into his last interaction with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Oemish thanked the Obama administration for a "timely and swift" response, which came in the wake of Aujali’s comments last week insinuating that the United States had taken longer than he'd hoped to get involved with the crisis. He called Obama "reminiscent of George H.W. Bush" for his efforts in Kuwait against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in 1991. "What the U.S. has done will never be forgotten by the Libyan people," Oemish said.

Awad called on President Barack Obama to increase U.S. support in Libya. "Now's not the time to weaken our resolve," he said. "It's our moral duty to do whatever is necessary to support the people of Libya."

They shared stories they’ve heard from Misurata, a city in northwestern Libya. "Stories we cannot even tell our wives," Aujali said, comparing Gadhafi’s actions to those of Italy’s Benito Mussolini and Germany’s Adolf Hitler. "The fight for Misurata is the fight for Libya, I want everyone to understand that," Lamen added, citing the strategic importance of the city to opposition leaders.

Aujali said they are not looking for more "boots on the ground" but rather, more logistical training to supplement the ongoing efforts. In the event that the opposition takes over and Gadhafi falls into their hands, Aujali said they will hand him over to the international court to "stand trial for crimes in Libya.

Lamen stressed that the situation in Libya is unique. "Afghanistan is not Libya, Libya is more coherent," he said, "Libya has more urban centers like urban cities," and went on to compare the situation in Libya to that of what happened in Kosovo and that in the end the Libyan people want to oust Gadhafi themselves. "They want that honor" he said.

The news conference concluded with an interesting anecdote about Auajli's last interaction with Gadhafi. "Last year in May I went to Tripoli to see him," he said and talked about how he explained the importance of relations with the UN and how he should allow more American investments and for tourists to be allowed to come to Libya so that American citizens wouldn't have a negative view of Libya. "He always panicked if his relationship with American was not good," Aujali said.

We compiled a timeline of events and statements in the US and Libya in order to track the Obama administration's evolution from the beginning of the riots in Libya to Secretary of State Clinton's announcement tonight that NATO will be assuming command and control of the no fly zone there.

Feb 15: Riots against Col. Mummary Khaddafy begin in Benghazi.

Feb 22: After a week of riots, Khaddafy delivers a speech in which he vows to “die a martyr”

Feb 23: In measured rhetoric, President Obama delivers a statement in which he says that “the suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable.”

Feb 26: The UN Security Council imposes sanctions on Khaddafy and his family

Feb 28: The EU governments approve a package of sanctions against Khaddafy and his advisors

Feb 28: In an interview with ABC's Christiane Amanpour, Khaddafy says that his people love him and would die to protect him, and blames Al Qaeda for encouraging the rebels to take arms against the regime

Feb 28: In an interview with the BBC, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hedges on the enforcement of a no-fly zone, comparing the situation to Iraq: “That's one of the drawbacks of a no-fly zone is, as we learned in Iraq when we ran a no-fly zone in northern Iraq, sometimes absolutely horrible regimes decide that that means it's open fire on the ground. So this is a much more complicated decision matrix than it might at first appear.”

March 1: The UN General Assembly unanimously suspends Libya’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council

March 2: In a hearing of the defense subcommittee of the House appropriations committee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates distances himself from endorsing a no-fly zone: “there's a lot of, frankly, loose talk about some of these military options. And let's just call a spade a spade. A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses. That's the way you do a no-fly zone. And then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down. But that's the way it starts.” 

March 3: In a news conference at the White House with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Obama says Khaddafy “has lost the legitimacy to lead and he must leave.” With regard to military options he says “there are a whole range of options, military and non-military, that we're examining.”

March 11: President Obama says in a news conference that potential military options include a no-fly zone. Rather than repeating his statement that Khaddafy “must leave,” he says rather that “I am absolutely clear that it is in the interest of the United States, and more importantly, in the interest of the Libyan people for Mr. Qaddafi to leave.”

Later in that press conference: “Let me be clear, again, about what our policy as determined by me, the President of the United States, is towards the situation there.  I believe that Qaddafi is on the wrong side of history.  I believe that the Libyan people are anxious for freedom and the removal of somebody who has suppressed them for decades now. :”

March 12: The Arab League calls for a no-fly zone against the Khaddafy regime

March 17: Khaddafy delivers a menacing radio address in which he tells civilians: “It's over ... We are coming tonight… You will come out from inside. Prepare yourselves from tonight. We will find you in your closets."

Evening of March 17: The UN Security Council votes 10-0 with 5 abstentions (Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russian Federation) demanding “the immediate establishment of a ceasefire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against, and abuses of, civilians.”

March 18: President Obama delivers a statement explaining the rationale behind the no-fly zone, where he explains in part: “Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Qaddafi would commit atrocities against his people. Many thousands could die.” He also articulates the “focus” of the US’s role: “Our focus has been clear: protecting innocent civilians within Libya, and holding the Qaddafi regime accountable.”

Also in that speech, the president indicated that other members of the coalition would take the lead on the operation: “Indeed, our British and French allies, and members of the Arab League, have already committed to take a leadership role in the enforcement of this resolution, just as they were instrumental in pursuing it.”

Evening of March 18: President Obama leaves the White House for a trip to Latin America, arriving the next morning in Brazil.

March 19: Delivering remarks in Brazil, Obama announces that he authorized the United States Armed Forces to “begin a limited military action in Libya in support of an international effort to protect Libyan citizens.” He warns that “we cannot stand idly by” and again describes the American role in enforcing the no-fly zone: “… the United States will contribute our unique capabilities at the front end of the mission to protect Libyan civilians, and enable the enforcement of a no-fly zone that will be led by our international partners.”

March 20: On NBC’s Meet the Press, Adm. Mike Mullen says Khaddafy staying in power is “certainly, potentially, one outcome.”

March 21: At a press conference in Chile with Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, Obama says the operation will “take place in matter of days not weeks.”

March 22: At a press conference in El Salvador with Salvadorian President Carlos Mauricio Funes, Obama says about the American role: “our job was to take our unique capabilities and create a space to shape the environment so that the operation of a no-fly zone could operate effectively, and to make sure that our immediate humanitarian goals could be met.”

More: “We will continue to support the efforts to protect the Libyan people, but we will not be in the lead.  That’s what the transition that I discussed has always been designed to do.  We have unique capabilities.  We came in, up front, fairly readily, fairly substantially, and at considerable risk to our military personnel.  And when this transition takes place, it is not going to be our planes that are maintaining the no-fly zone.  It is not going to be our ships that are necessarily involved in enforcing the arms embargo.  That's precisely what the other coalition partners are going to do.”

March 22: In an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, Secretary of State Clinton says of the US mission: “We are implementing the UN Security Council resolution. We are establishing the no-fly zone, which everybody was calling for, from the United States Senate to the Arab League -- please do a no-fly zone, get UN Security Council support to do it. And that is what we are doing.”

She also says this about the possibility of Khaddafy staying in power: “Now obviously, if we want to see a stable, peaceful, hopefully someday democratic Libya, it is highly unlikely that can be accomplished if he stays in power as he is.”

March 23: President Obama returns to the United States.

March 24: Secretary of State Clinton announces that command and control of the no-fly zone will be transferred to NATO.

From NBC's Kevin Hurd
Almost half -- 48% -- labeled Obama as a "cautious and consultative" commander-in-chief, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Highlighting the partisan split in the country, another 36%, however, called him "indecisive and dithering."

Just 17% called him "strong and decisive."

A little more than one-third of Americans see President Obama as an "indecisive and dithering" commander-in-chief.

The new poll of 975 people asked respondents to describe the president's leadership style as Commander-In-Chief.

It also gauges how the public feels about U.S. involvement in Libya.

Julia Clark, IPSOS Public Affairs Director, tells Reuters, "the data suggest he is perceived to be more consultative in his approach, which may distinguish him in the minds of the American public from his predecessor, George W. Bush, who was not perceived to be.

On U.S. involvement in Libya, 60% said they "support the United States and its allies bombing Libya to impose a no-fly zone to protect civilians from Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi's forces." Another 40% said they are opposed.

In the poll, 79% said they would support the U.S. and its allies trying to remove Khaddafy. A small minority support deploying grounds troops -- only seven percent said they would support that idea.

Quote of the Day: “This sounds like a light-hearted exchange, and I don’t think the Speaker is concerned that he’ll winding up ‘sleeping with the lutefisk’ at the hands of the Norwegian mafia.” -- Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

From NBC’s Luke Russert and Catherine Chomiak
In an interview today on a Des Moines, Iowa, radio station, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) awkwardly laughed when conservative Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson of 1040 WHO Radio made a mafia joke and asked what should be done to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) if the House GOP does not strike funds used for the implementation of President Obama’s health-care reform legislation from an upcoming government funding bill. Mickelson seemed to joke about physical retribution.

The Exchange:

MICKELSON: You have the votes to pull the plug on the funding?

BACHMANN: We are working, we're trying to work with Republicans to get them on board with us.

MICKELSON: Why would you have to work with Republicans?!

BACHMANN: Well, because what it would mean is a showdown with President Obama. We would have to go toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball.

MICKELSON: Isn't that what we sorta sent you guys there.

BACHMANN: Of course, and Congressman King (Rep. Steve King R-IA) and I say now is the time to have the fight. We have the fight with President Obama.

MICKELSON: Is your Leadership this biggest impediment over this? Is Boehner a problem?

BACHMANN: We need to get the Republicans on board. We are talking to leadership.

MICKELSON: Is that a yes? (laughs)

BACHMANN: We are talking to leadership and we're telling leadership...

MICKLESON: I'm not really trying to get you in trouble, but...

BACHMANN: (laughs) Thank you Jan. I do appreciate your sensitivity to that. The most important thing right now is that we try to save the country by getting rid of this funding.

MICKELSON: So, what do you want to do to Boehner? We know people who know people.

BACHMANN: (laughs) What I want to do is to is to be able to get them to start fighting President Obama and defunding Obamacare.

MICKELSON: A little known fact, that Norwegians have a mafia.

BACHMANN: Ooooh, and we are tough, tough people.

MICKELSON: Not really fast moving uhh

BOTH: (laugh)

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel saw the remarks as jocular saying to NBC News: “This sounds like a light-hearted exchange, and I don’t think the Speaker is concerned that he’ll winding up ‘sleeping with the lutefisk’ at the hands of the Norwegian mafia.”

There has been friction between the House GOP Leadership and Rep. Bachmann since the November mid-terms. Prior to the massive Republican victory, Bachmann was unwilling to commit to voting for Boehner as Speaker of the House due to questions about his conservatism. Bachmann also attempted to run for the Chairmanship of the House GOP Conference against Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), who was supported by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).

Last week, Bachmann expressed displeasure with House GOP leaders for not committing to cutting all government funds used to implement the nation’s health-care reform law, saying to National Journal, “I think there's going to be a fake appeasement with the Planned Parenthood thing and a fake appeasement with the 'Obamacare' thing."

House conservatives have been adamant that all funding needed for the new law be stripped of any spending bills that keep the government running. If the House GOP leadership were to do such a thing, it would be a non-starter in the Democratically controlled Senate and, thus, bolster the possibility of a government shutdown -- something that could reflect poorly politically on the GOP in 2012.

But leadership on both sides emphasize they are not interested in a shutdown.

NBC's Robert Windrem reports: U.S. officials say there are indications that the Libyan army is having to deal with "strains," but they are uncertain whether the rebels can take advantage of them. The strains are seen in the Eastern area, particularly in logistics, maintaining the supply chain. There are also concerns about tribal strains in the military.

But, as one official said, a third-world military still has advantages over a rag-tag group of rebels. 

NBC's Courtney Kube reports: Despite speculation that the Tomahawk campaign in Libya had ended, coalition ships fired 14 more Tomahawk missiles over night.

There have now been at least 175 Tomahawk missiles fired into Libya since Saturday afternoon.

AP

FILE - Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn, speaks during a Tea Party town hall meeting at the National Press Club in Washington last month.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Luke Russert
Two people close to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) say she has not made a decision yet on whether she will run for president.

"At this point," one source said, "the decision has not been made."

That said, Bachmann appears to be leaning in the direction of running, or at least forming an exploratory committee.

"There are definitely steps that have progressed," the Bachmann source said. She will make a decision likely this summer, the source said.

CNN reported that Bachmann will form an exploratory committee in June and possibly earlier. The sources would not confirm -- nor deny the story.

Why? Consider: the news of her potential run comes on a day in which she's making a speech today in Iowa.

Republicans unaffiliated with a 2012 GOP campaign believe this is a way for Bachmann to keep her name in the news and increase her visibility -- in an effort to get her visibility and poll numbers up, thereby improving her viability.

In other words: She's seriously considering a run, she's putting out feelers, and if she believes she has a shot, she'll do it.

The official statement from Bachmann's office is as follows: "The Congresswoman is grateful for all the encouragement she's received. She will make a decision about 2012 this summer. There is a natural timeline to these events and they will run their course."

A GOP fundraising source speaking on background tells NBC: "She's been in Iowa a ton and can definitely raise money, we think with her millions she could definitely launch a presidential bid. She has people in position to do it."

Ed Brookover, a political consultant who has worked with Bachmann since she first ran for the House in 2003,  said that Bachmann is "being aggressive in her planning process."

Another source close to Bachmann said she'll continue to travel to the early states of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida and that she has authorized her staff to talk to individuals in those states who could help in the event that she does run for president.

The source also contends that Bachmann has a donor base of close to 160,000, quite a large number and a good place to start if she were to run.

She has been in Iowa since Tuesday and will head back to Minnesota tomorrow. She will return to Iowa Saturday.

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Catherine Chomiak notes what Bachmann herself said about a potential bid on a radio program today:

"I'm in to make sure that Barack Obama is a one term president just like we're all happy that Jimmy Carter didn't have a second term. I'm in for that and I'll be making a decision about whether or not I will be a candidate by sometime this summer because I think it's important that a candidate participates in the Iowa straw poll."

*** UPDATE 2 *** CNN also reported that Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson "has been hired to be Bachmann's political director for the state." But Sorenson tells First Read he has "not been hired." He said he has been traveling with her for the past two to three days, wants her to run, is encouraging her to run, thinks she's "leaning in that direction," and that if she does he would likely be part of her campaign.

AP

President Obama arrives from a Latin America tour with his family, front right to back, daughters Malia and Sasha, first lady Michelle Obama, and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday.

No red carpet rolled out for the president in Washington … Obama’s Doctrine of pragmatism … Day 6 of ‘days not weeks’ … Obama takes his licks from the late-night shows … Gingrich’s no-fly flop … Huckabee, Bachmann in Iowa, Newt in Carolinas, Ron Paul in NH.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Welcome back, Mr. President: On his Latin America trip, the red carpet may have been rolled out (literally) for President Obama, but there were no ceremonial trumpets playing for him when he returned to Washington. He's facing a growing bipartisan chorus of criticism from Congress. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) sent a letter minutes after President Obama landed with what Boehner says are a slew of unanswered questions regarding a "clearly defined mission." And House DEMOCRATIC leader Nancy Pelosi put out her own statement of support that wasn't exactly ringing; It may wind up sending two messages -- one to the White House that House Democrats are on the verge of fracturing on this issue, and one to skeptical members that she's still giving the president some benefit of the doubt and they should, too. What it means essentially is that Pelosi is saying she hears both sides, telling members to keep in mind that the U.S. is preventing a humanitarian disaster, but that the president needs to keep Congress informed or the problems will get bigger.

*** You can’t always get what you want: The White House maintains they have consulted Congress the entire time and plan to continue to do so. Congressional leaders, however, on BOTH sides of the aisle, believe they've been more "informed" -- NOT consulted. And catch this line from White House national security adviser Ben Rhodes in the White House briefing yesterday responding to criticism that the White House doesn’t have congressional support: “First of all, we would like congressional support.” “Would like?” An admission (or Freudian slip) that the White House doesn’t have it?

*** Not very doctrinaire: We wrote of the “Obama Doctrine” last week and how the president’s action on Libya are fairly consistent with the broad themes of his foreign policy that he laid out in April of 2009. Yesterday on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough was asked about the president’s “doctrine” and where the line is -- why Libya and not Bahrain or Yemen, for example. Here’s what he said, in part: “[T]he president`s doctrine is not an ideology. He’s not an ideological guy. He’s very pragmatic. And so he’s for -- as he said in the Situation Room, he’s for what works. … What I can tell you is that when we’re presented with the kind of language that Khaddafy presented, seeing the kind of history that he brings to this kind of threat, and knowing that this is a moment of great opportunity in that region, he thought it was a good opportunity for us to take.” McDonough also said the president will “make sure that we can hand off to our allies to run this no-fly zone in the days ahead.” We’re now on Day 6 of “days not weeks.” Tomorrow, it becomes a week. By the way, in an interview right after his TV hits, McDonough told NBC News that the main difference between Libya and the situations in Bahrain and Yemen is that in the latter two countries, a reform process (even if not as fast as some want) has begun. That's never been the case, he says, in Libya.

*** Late-night licks: We warned a week ago that this was possible and here it is. Jokes about Libya and a perceived mixed message, his overseas travel, and, yes, Obama’s basketball bracket have all made it into the comedy mainstream -- from Leno and Letterman to Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and even the usually Obama-friendly Jon Stewart. Here’s a sampling this week, per our friends at The Hotline:

- Fallon: "Everyone's been following march madness, but it's been a few days without any games. It's been so boring, President Obama said he actually wants to focus on situations in Libya and Japan."
- Leno: “We know more about President Obama's basketball picks than we do about his Libya plan right now.” … “You remember when President Obama ran for president saying we couldn't fight two wars and he would change our policy? Well he has, now we're in three wars. Ok, we're in three wars. Now I guess you know why...that's why they call him President O-bam-a.”
- More Leno: “As you know President Obama took a lot of heat for filling out his NCAA tournament bracket thing there and I guess they thought he should be focusing on more important things. Anyway, here is filling out the Men’s bracket. Okay, you probably saw that. Okay, then after this he filled out the Women’s bracket and if he would have stopped there he would have been okay. But then he went on to, here take a look, to do the Pee-Wee basketball. And then he switched over to TV doing the Biggest Loser. And the last one, Sexiest Man Alive. There's no reason he needs to be involved in that.
- Stewart: "We're at war!? Again? I don't want to be a pain in the a--, but don't we already have two wars. You know, wars aren't kids, where you don't have to pay attention to the youngest one 'cause the older two will take care of it." *** UPDATE *** On cue, the Republican National Committee sent out a video wrapping this:

*** Washington echo chamber… or going mainstream? Many times, the White House argues that this echo-chamber criticism is more of a Washington obsession and not something that regular people are paying attention to. But when late night goes with it, it gets mainstreamed. Bottom line: The White House has a short-term P.R. problem on Libya that, at this point, only gets solved by the president’s pledges coming to fruition: mainly, the handover to international forces to enforce the no-fly zone; and perhaps, more importantly, that they remove Khaddafy. By the way, the White House has no plans for any primetime or Oval Office address on Libya anytime soon, at least that's what they said yesterday.

*** Speaking of muddled messages: In the past two days, Newt Gingrich has been clear that he thinks the Libya no-fly zone was a mistake. Yet, on March 7 he seemed to express support for a no-fly zone in Libya. The New York Times’ Shear: “President Obama should establish a no-fly zone over Libya ‘this evening,’ [Gingrich] said on Fox News. “All we have to do is suppress his air force, which we could do in minutes,” he said. Yet on TODAY yesterday, Gingrich said, “I would not have intervened. I think there were a lot of other ways to affect Qaddafi.  I think there are a lot of other allies in the region we could have worked with. I would not have used American and European forces.” That won this headline from the Times: “Gingrich Calls For No-Fly Zone, Then Attacks It.” The Seattle Post-Inetlligencer: “Gingrich: Flip-Flop on No Fly.” Then, he attempted to deflect in a “clarification” on his Facebook page with a post titled, “My Position on Libya.” His opening doesn’t address his own apparent inconsistency, but the president’s: “It is deeply troubling that there is so much confusion, lack of foresight, and little resolve coming from the President and his administration about what our mission and goals must be in the Libya engagement.” Conservative blog Hot Air, for one, isn’t necessarily buying it. By the way, it’s never a good thing that after a controversy you have to put out a statement titled, “My position on” whatever that topic was.

*** Gates in Israel: A day after a bombing in Jerusalem, Defense Secretary Gates traveled from Cairo, Egypt, to Israel, where he meets and holds a news conference with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will also meet with President Shimon Peres at 9:30 am ET. … President Obama has a light public schedule today: He lunches with Vice President Biden at 12:45 pm ET and then meets with Treasury Secretary Geithner at 2:15 pm ET.

*** On the trail: Mike Huckabee and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) are in Iowa, where they will address the Pastors’ Policy Briefing, a meeting hosted by the group Iowa Renewal Project, in Des Moines. … Later in the day, Bachmann holds a Facebook town hall from the Hawkeye State. … Newt Gingrich heads to South Carolina, where he will address the Greenville County Republican Women’s Club. He is slated to take questions afterward at noon ET, and then heads to North Carolina, where he will speak to the Wake County Republican convention in Raleigh at 6:00 pm ET… and Rep. Ron Paul gives a speech at the University of New Hampshire at 3:30 pm ET. 

Countdown to continuing resolution’s expiration: 15 days
Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 141 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 229 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 319 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The New York Times editorial page thanks French President Sarkozy for taking the lead last week in pushing for action on Libya, but now tells him to take a step back: “NATO leadership best serves American interests. The United States took the lead in knocking out Libyan air defenses. That made sense because it alone has the cruise missiles for the job. Now the Obama administration rightly wants to hand off military leadership to its NATO partners. Mr. Sarkozy would do himself, and the Libyan democratic cause he supports, a big favor by smoothing the path to NATO leadership.”

The Times’ Kristof makes this point: “Doubts are reverberating across America about the military intervention in Libya. Those questions are legitimate, and the uncertainties are huge. But let’s not forget that a humanitarian catastrophe has been averted for now and that this intervention looks much less like the 2003 invasion of Iraq than the successful 1991 gulf war to rescue Kuwait from Iraqi military occupation. This is also one of the few times in history when outside forces have intervened militarily to save the lives of citizens from their government. More commonly, we wring our hands for years as victims are massacred, and then, when it is too late, earnestly declare: ‘Never again.’”

“President Obama returned to Washington and a political storm on Wednesday over the military campaign in Libya,” The Hill writes. “Five days into a mission that started while Obama was out of the country on a trip to Latin America, the criticism of the White House’s handling of the Libyan crisis reached a new peak as military leaders hedged on when the U.S. would transition leadership to its allies.”

Politico: “Returning to Washington Wednesday after a tour of South America, President Obama encountered a perhaps familiar pattern from his five days overseas: his decision to launch a ‘no-fly zone’ to protect Libya’s pro-democracy rebellion trumped the trade and diplomatic accomplishments of the trip.”

Republican criticism of President Obama as aloof and indecisive didn’t start with just Libya, the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne writes. His reluctance to get into the fray of, as Dionne puts it, “Washington-style conflict,” has been the top strategy for Republicans looking to criticize the president since the 2010 elections.

The Treasury Department had said it hoped to snag $100 million or perhaps more in frozen Libyan assets. But they announced last week that the windfall was in excess of $29.7 billion, “a piece of extraordinary good fortune for the Obama administration at a crucial moment in the efforts to address the bizarre and deadly events unfolding in Libya,” according to the Washington Post.

Arriving in Cairo yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sought to quell Egyptian fears that the fighting in Libya would not spill over the border, the Washington Post writes. And when asked about the military support of other Arab countries, Gates referred indirectly to Qatar, the only Arab country that has thus far committed fighter jets to the region. “’At least one country is participating, but I don’t know if they’ve announced it yet, so I’m hesitant to do so myself,’ he said in response to a reporter’s query about Arab members of the military coalition. ‘A number are providing support and assistance, for example, overflight rights and access and so on.’”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also defended the Obama administration’s actions in Libya, telling reporters in Washington, “Many, many Libyans are safer today because the international community took action,” Politico notes.

AP

FILE - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a news conference earlier this month.

The GOP presidential field is wide open, and those considering running are holding fundraisers everywhere, including less politically influential states, which is proving to be a boon for those states’ party coffers, Politico writes.

While most of the Republican potential presidential candidates have mostly, with a few notable exceptions, said they support sending U.S. forces to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya, they have tended to criticize the specifics of the Obama policy, the L.A. Times’ McManus writes. “Like [former President George W.] Bush, they favor using U.S. military power to topple Middle Eastern dictators. Like Bush, they don't see much need for blessings from the United Nations Security Council or any other international body. And like Bush, they think foreign policy decisions should be quick and clear, not drawn out and complicated -- or, to use their newest term of derogation, ‘nuanced.’”

BACHMANN: Michele Bachmann is locking up a core of up-and-coming conservatives in Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports, and she’s also said she’ll participate in the Aug. 13 Ames straw poll, a test of financial and organizing prowess in the first caucus state.

BARBOUR: Although he denied playing a key role in his lobbying firm’s work for the Mexican government on immigration reform, records show that Haley Barbour was in fact a leader of the team assigned to the account, the L.A. Times reports. Barbour also said the account advocated for a law that would have allowed legal immigrants to renew their visas without leaving the country, but the bill in fact would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain legal residency by paying a fine. http://is.gd/VFt32T

The Mississippi governor is getting pushback from some state legislators for traveling out of state so much, WAPT reports.

GINGRICH: Conservative blog Hot Air is among the outlets to note Newt Gingrich’s apparent inconsistent opinion, first noted by liberal blog Think Progress, toward a no-fly zone in Libya.  The Gingrich camp said that Gingrich’s first statement was in response to the President’s seeming contention that Khaddafy had to relinquish control of the country. When the bombing actually happened, the Gingrich team explains, the president’s policy “no longer included replacing Qaddafi but was narrowed to a “humanitarian” mission and that became the rationale for intervention causing great confusion given the president’s previously stated goal.

Hot Air’s question: “In other words, when Greta asked him, “What would you do?” Newt supposedly thought she meant, “How would you advise the president now that he’s committed to regime change?” But … Greta didn’t ask him that. And if she had, he could have given her the same answer he gave Matt Lauer this morning -- that military intervention is a bad idea, that there are diplomatic and economic ways to pressure Qaddafi, etc, but now that Obama’s put U.S. prestige on the line, we have no choice but to put some birds in the air. He didn’t say that. How come?”

Rob Johnson, Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign manager, has signed on to be a senior political adviser for Newt Gingrich, the Austin American Statesman reports.

HUCKABEE: Despite not having had contact with the Iowa GOP in some time, Mike Huckabee will be back in the state today, speaking at the Iowa Renewal Project, a private conference for Christian pastors, Fox reports.

Huckabee has lent his voice to a robocall against the health care law, playing in Wyoming this week, that has led many Republicans and Democrats to complain about getting as many as three automated calls an hour, the Billings Gazette writes. Some say that under Wyoming law, the calls might be illegal, but while the law bars against calls for promoting a political campaign, the group who recorded the message said they’re only advocating an issue.

MOORE: Former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore, who was removed from office over the Ten Commandments monument he erected outside the state courthouse, is preparing to launch a presidential exploratory committee in Iowa, the Wall Street Journal reports.

PALIN: Sarah Palin told a private crowd in Naples, Florida that whether she’s a candidate or not, she’ll be involved in the 2012 presidential election, Naples Daily News writes.

PAUL, RAND: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the son of 2008 presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (TX), might do better in a presidential primary than some think, Salon’s Steve Kornacki writes. In fact, Kornacki says, with his brash style, ideological purity, and ease on camera, Paul might get more votes than his father did in ’08.

Along with Tim Pawlenty, Rand Paul will speak at an Iowa Federation of College Republicans’ event in April, The State Column reports.

PAUL, RON: Speaking at the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators in Des Moines, Paul said his decision over whether to run for president again would be driven by the state of the economy. “I have said in the past, that if there’s a major economic crisis worse than what we have now … I’d feel almost obligated since I’ve spent my lifetime warning about a dollar crisis,” he said.

He also told the crowd that the Department of Education is trying to “indoctrinate” children, Politico reports.

PAWLENTY: A new Gallup poll finds that Tim Pawlenty starts his presidential exploratory bid with 41% name recognition, compared to Sarah Palin’s 97% recognition and Mike Huckabee’s 89%.

Pawlenty is buying in, literally, to New Hampshire, the Union-Leader’s DiStaso writes. Pawlenty, along with Haley Barbour, bought a $2,500 sponsorship for a fundraiser for the GOP state senate PAC, the Republican Senate Majority Committee. He, along with Michele Bachmann were also the only potential presidential contenders to have bought a $5,000-per-table sponsorship of next week’s state GOP “First in the Nation” fundraiser, while Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum each bought a $1,000 sponsorship.

ROMNEY: Mitt Romney tops the field in a new Pew poll, garnering 21% over Mike Huckabee with 20%, Sarah Palin with 13% and Newt Gingrich with 11%, My San Antonio writes.

Based on the Pew poll, the Washington Post’s Cillizza has this anti-CW headline: “Mitt Romney, tea party favorite.” “Mitt Romney is the choice of nearly one in four of those who agree with the tenets of the tea party, according to a new Pew poll, a surprising result that suggests the former Massachusetts governor’s support heading into 2012 may be broader than previously assumed.”

Greg Sargent: “Romney’s solution to this problem … is to argue that the mandate on the Federal level is unacceptable, whereas on the state level it’s acceptable, as long as states are free to ‘experiment’ as they see fit. Thus his vow to immediately grant each state a waiver from “Obamacare.” The problem for Romney, however, is that he has explicitly suggested that Romneycare should serve as a model for efforts to reform our health system on the Federal level.” In an unaired interview from CNN, Romney said, “I think there are a number of features in the Massachusetts plan that could inform Washington on ways to improve health care for all Americans. The fact that we were able to get people insured without a government option is a model I think they can learn from.”

The Washington Post’s Blake points out that White House adviser David Axelrod Tweet exchange with Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom yesterday: “I still admire what he did in MA on health care, though. In many ways, a model for the nation!” Blake calls it “the latest example of the Obama Administration damning potential 2012 GOP candidates with faint praise.”

Romney is staging a 15-city fundraising push with big-money “bundlers,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Romney, who is meeting with 100 donors in New York City tomorrow, is asking for collections of between $25,000 and $50,000 per bundler within 90 days. “He said he expected to win in Nevada, as he did in 2008, and that he saw Florida's primary as pivotal, with only two candidates likely to emerge from that state able to compete in the later primaries. Less clear was his thinking on the nation's first nominating contest -- the Iowa caucuses -- where socially conservative voters dominate and where Mr. Romney placed a distant second in 2008.”

Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu said Mitt Romney is “at the head of a pack of four” of likely candidates to win the first-in-the-nation primary in 2012, The Hill reports of Sununu’s appearance on ABC’s “Top Line” webcast yesterday.

SANTORUM: By next week, Rick Santorum will hit a combined 25 visits to Iowa and New Hampshire, Politico writes. Next on the agenda are stops at a Des Moines conference led by Rep. Steve King, then a New Hampshire Reagan Day dinner. Santorum also announced a stop on Tuesday at WEZS radio in Laconia, NH, followed by a tour of downtown Wolfeboro, NH. In the evening he’ll attend the “First in the Nation Celebration,” which RNC chairman Reince Priebus will also be attending.

TRUMP: “If Donald Trump decides to run for the White House, he would just barely crack double digits in the crowded field of potential GOP candidates, but his entry into the race could hurt former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin,” CNN reports of its new poll.