Ron Paul's presidential campaign used the occasion of Constitution Day for a 24-hour money bomb that raised more than $1 million from over 18,000 donors, according to the campaign.

Following Paul’s win at the California GOP straw poll on Saturday, where the presidential hopeful grabbed 45% of the vote, the campaign sent fundraising emails urging supporters to continue to donate and use the victory as “more proof of what polls have been saying for months” -- that Paul is “a top tier contender to WIN the Republican nomination for President,” and the Republican to “defeat President Obama.”

In a statement about the money bomb, Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton said:

“Our campaign continues to grow in strength and numbers, and the success of these truly grassroots events is a telling example of Dr. Paul’s support. Our rising poll numbers and successful fundraising demonstrate that Dr. Paul’s strong message of Constitutionally-limited government, a traditionally Republican non-interventionist foreign policy and a return to sound money is clearly resonating with the American people.”

According to the campaign, this marks the fifth time during the 2012 election cycle that Paul has raised over $1 million dollars for a single fundraising event.

The third fundraising quarter of 2011 ends on Sept. 30.

NEW YORK CITY -- A spokesman for Donald Trump tells NBC News that the real estate magnate, reality TV star and political lightning rod will meet with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in New York City next Monday, Sept. 26.

Trump, who in May decided against a run for the GOP presidential nomination himself, has met with Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry in recent weeks, as he decides who he will endorse for president.

Call it the Trump Primary.

"Whoever Trump endorses, that person will be the Republican nominee," Trump special counsel and spokesman Michael Cohen boasted in an interview. Cohen added that Trump has no set timetable for making an endorsement, but that he wants to make a "informed and meaningful decision."

Before his decision not to seek the GOP nomination, Trump made waves in the political world (and rose to second place in the Republican field in an April NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll) in part by aggressively questioning President Obama's citizenship and demanding to see his long-form birth certificate, which the president ultimately released.

Cohen said the Romney campaign requested the meeting, and that they were among the last to reach out to Trump, with first contact being made approximately three weeks ago. At this time, no location for a Romney-Trump meeting has been set, but Cohen said it will almost certainly be over dinner, as was Trump's meeting with Perry last week.

Asked what factors will contribute to Trump's decision on whom to endorse, Cohen laid out a set of ten principles guiding Trump's political thinking, including using "fiscally sound" methods to reduce the deficit, developing domestic energy resources, supporting Israel, and protecting Medicare and Medicaid.

Despite his belief that a Trump endorsement would seal the deal for an eventual Republican nominee, Cohen said Trump was leaving the door open to run as an independent if he was unsatisfied with the Republican candidate this summer.

"If Mr. Trump is not satisfied with who the Republican candidate is in June, he will potentially reenter the presidential race as an independent, which is not good news for the Republican Party." Cohen said. "By reentering the race, either Mr. Trump will win the presidency or Barack Obama will unfortunately be reelected."

The Romney campaign did not return requests for comment on this story.

Mark and Domenico weigh the possibility of the winner of the Romney-Perry contest offering his opponent the VP slot.

Thanks to Bob-1887910 for the question!

Keep an eye out for our next post to submit questions for future Boiler Room segments.

Obama’s populist pitch… The $3 trillion in deficit reduction he’ll unveil at 10:30 am ET includes $1.5 trillion in increased revenue (read: taxes), $1.1 trillion in ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the rest in entitlement savings… GOP slams the plan… White House doesn’t show leg on entitlement reform… Note: The Buffett Rule isn’t part of the proposal… Suskind book represents more piling on Obama… Perry begins portraying Romney as an elitist… Daniels frustrated by GOP field’s rhetoric… Another Reagan for statewide office in California?... And Ovide Lamontange makes his bid for NH GOV.

AP

*** Obama’s populist pitch: The $3 trillion in deficit reduction that President Obama will unveil in the Rose Garden at 10:30 am ET represents another populist turn for the White House. The $3 trillion over 10 years includes $1.5 trillion in increased revenue ($800 billion in letting the Bush tax cuts expire for top income earners, $700 billion in closing loopholes and other tax breaks), $1.1 trillion in ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the rest in savings from Medicare and Medicaid (that primarily come from providers, not beneficiaries). Not surprisingly, Democrats and liberals love it, Republicans and conservatives hate it, and it’s unlikely to be adopted by the “Super Committee.” The plan raises two questions: One, should Republicans have taken the deficit-reduction deal Obama offered back in July -- which contained more substantial entitlement changes and less tax revenue? And two, how will Obama’s proposal (and the GOP denunciation of it) impact the Super Committee?

AP

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on 'Meet the Press' Sunday, September 18, 2011.

*** GOP slams Obama plan: Republicans have already panned Obama’s proposal. “We don't want to stagnate this economy by raising taxes,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on “Meet the Press” yesterday. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan added on FOX yesterday, “You already have a $1.5 trillion tax increase coming in current law starting in 2013. Now, we're talking about another tax $1.3 trillion tax increase on top of that?... Why on earth would we go with that, especially when the problem is spending?” Ryan then said this about his vision for the Super Committee: “We see the Super Committee as an opportunity to get a down payment on debt through spending cuts.” A down payment? Both McConnell and Ryan seemed to make it clear that both the Obama jobs bill and the Obama debt plan were non-starters. Republicans are now trying to play four corners a bit in Congress -- do the minimum amount of cooperation with Democrats without giving Obama a big “win” on either jobs or taxes and hope voters hold Obama more responsible for DC inaction than congressional Republicans.

*** WH doesn’t show any leg on entitlement reform: It’s worth noting that Obama’s proposal today doesn’t represent a major effort on entitlement reform. There are no changes to Social Security; the eligibility age for Medicare doesn’t increase; and the savings from Medicare and Medicaid come primarily from providers, with a LITTLE hit on wealthier Medicare recipients (not quite means-testing but on the road to it). Privately, Team Obama folks note he made a major effort on entitlements back in July, and was rebuffed by Boehner. So why show any leg here if Republicans aren’t willing to show leg on raising tax revenue? It would only serve to antagonize the president’s standing with base elites even more.

AP

Warren Buffett in Washington, DC July 18, 2011.

*** “Buffett Rule” isn’t included in proposal: By the way, the so-called “Buffett Rule” that the White House floated over the weekend -- calling for a minimum tax rate for individuals making more than $1 million per year, to prevent investors like Warren Buffett to pay a lower effective tax rate than his secretary does -- isn’t included in Obama’s $3 trillion proposal. Senior administration officials say that the “Buffett Rule” should be a principle guiding how Congress undertakes tax reform.

*** Piling on Obama, Part 37: The other story dominating Washington right now is Ron Suskind’s book on the Obama White House, “Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President.” Obama is currently at a moment in his presidency -- facing all-time lows in the polls -- where every little thing (like this book) magnifies his problems right now. And the former Obama aides in the book continue the “pile on” we observed last week. While we’re still plowing through it, it’s worth noting a growing trend as Democrats leave the administration -- it’s not just some West Wing aides or the president who get parting shots, but also Treasury Secretary Geithner as well. Geithner has not fared well in this book, nor in “Too Big to Fail.”

*** Silver Spoons: Turning to the 2012 GOP race, we’ve seen Rick Perry unveil a new line of attack on Mitt Romney -- portraying him as an elitist. “I was the son of tenant farmers and sure wasn’t born with four aces in my hand,” Perry said on Friday night in Iowa, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty, Alex Moe, and Anthony Terrell. That’s part of the line of attack (in addition to portraying Romney as a flip-flopper) that you’ll see from Democrats if the former Massachusetts governor becomes the GOP nominee. So as congressional Republicans hit the president for class warfare, it’s worth noting Rick Perry is playing the class card of sorts against Mitt Romney. Populism usually works in primaries and general elections.

*** Daniels frustrated by GOP field’s rhetoric: Meanwhile, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels -- who flirted with a presidential bid earlier this year -- “says that he has occasionally been frustrated by the discourse in the campaign and that the field could benefit from at least one more contender whose candidacy was rooted in a message of fiscal discipline,” the New York Times reports. Said Daniels: “Somebody else could still enter and have a competitive chance.” More: “The candidate I could get instantly excited about is someone who is willing to level with the American people and assume they are prepared to listen to the mathematical facts and agree that whatever other disagreements we have aren’t as important.”

*** On the 2012 trail: Rick Santorum, Gary Johnson, and Buddy Roemer are all in New Hampshire… Bachmann begins a two-day swing through Iowa… Cain is in Florida… And Gingrich hosts a screening of his “City on a Hill” in Bluffs, IA.

*** Another Reagan for statewide office in California? On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Michael Reagan -- a former conservative talk-show host and son of Ronald Reagan -- is considering a bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “One Republican who is considering a run is Michael Reagan. ‘Yes,’ he said in an e-mail to The Chronicle Thursday, ‘but can't talk about it now.’ Reagan, who has never held public office, declined to respond to further questions.” Speaking of California, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) will be in DC today giving a 1:00 pm ET speech on education at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Per an aide, Villraigosa will tell the think tank that “adequate funding and deep reform must go hand in hand.”

*** Ovide for NH governor? And with Gov. John Lynch (D) deciding not to run for re-election in 2012, Republican Ovide Lamontagne is running for the office, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reports. The New Hampshire Democratic Party released this statement: "The ring leader has now joined the State House circus. Is there even a single instance where Lamontange doesn't agree with the job killing agenda forced on New Hampshire by the reckless Tea Party legislature this year?" By the way, does this mean Ovide will NOT endorse in the presidential primary and instead focus on using his standing to raise money?

*** Monday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: National Journal’s Jim Tankersley and the Economist’s Greg Ip on the economic implications of the president’s deficit reduction and jobs plans … Ed Rendell and Michael Steele on Pennsylvania’s possible shift to awarding electoral votes by congressional district … Plus the latest on the president’s economic push and the 2012 race with Republican Pete Seat, Democrat Karen Finney, and the Washington Post’s Dan Balz.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews OMB Director Jack Lew (on the president’s deficit-reduction plan), former Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card, Ed Rollins, and NBC’s Ann Curry, as well as Politico’s Ben Smith, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, and the New York Times’ David Rohde.

Countdown to Election Day 2011: 50 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 140 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The Washington Post on the deficit-reduction proposal the president will unveil today: “President Obama will announce a proposal on Monday to tame the nation’s rocketing federal debt, calling for $1.5 trillion in new revenue as part of a plan to find more than $3 trillion in budget savings over a decade, senior administration officials said. The proposal draws a sharp contrast with Republicans and amounts more to an opening play in the fall debate over the economy than another attempt to find common ground with the opposing party.”

The New York Times says that $3 trillion in budget savings consists of tax increases, entitlement cuts, and war savings. “The plan … is the administration’s opening move in sweeping negotiations on deficit reduction to be taken up by a joint House-Senate committee over the next two months. If a deal is not struck by Dec. 23, cuts could take effect automatically across government agencies.”

More: “In laying out his proposal, aides said, Mr. Obama will expressly promise to veto any legislation that seeks to cut the deficit through spending cuts alone and does not include revenue increases in the form of tax increases on the wealthy.”

“Administration officials said Obama will not offer any proposals to reduce long-term spending in Social Security, such as reducing cost-of-living adjustments. That idea drew wide criticism from Democrats when the president pitched it to House Speaker John Boehner in July,” the Boston Globe reports.

John Harwood sees the proposal as a way for Obama to reverse the income inequality in the country. “In 1979, when Mr. Obama began his freshman year at Occidental College, the highest-earning 20 percent of American households received 45.5 percent of all income before taxes. The middle ‘quintile,’ according to Congressional Budget Office figures, received 15.8 percent. The poorest 20 percent took in just 5.8 percent.” Now: “By 2007, as Mr. Obama sought the presidency, the share of pretax income received by the top 20 percent had risen to 55.9 percent — while Congress had chopped their maximum income tax rate in half, to 35 percent. The share of income for every other group went down.”

“Republicans on Sunday accused President Obama of inciting "class warfare" by proposing a new millionaire tax,” the New York Daily News reports.

David Vitter, “the Louisiana senator and other Republicans have pounced on the bankruptcy of Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra Inc., saying the White House rushed to approve a loan guarantee to the politically connected company without adequate oversight,” AP writes. “But Vitter was not always so critical of the loan program. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show he wrote to the Energy Department at least seven times since 2009 seeking money for projects that would benefit his home state.”

“Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) was for investing in renewable energy before he was against it,” Talking Points Memo writes.

Bloomberg highlights the political problem of Eric Cantor’s original stance that disaster funds need to be offset: “With few, if any, homes insured against earthquakes, there is ‘widespread damage and people can’t afford to fix it,’ said Mineral Vice Mayor Bernice Wilson-Kube. Cantor’s constituents ‘expect him to help us’ get federal aid… The back-to-back disasters highlight the fiscal and political dilemma confronting Cantor and other Republican deficit cutters when the need for federal assistance is in their own backyards. The House plans to debate increasing emergency disaster funding this week.”

“That Kara Kennedy died at age 51, leaving behind two teen-age children, one of whom’s birthday is today, is the latest tragedy to befall her prominent political family,” the Boston Globe’s Johnson writes. “That she survived the past nine years after being diagnosed with supposedly inoperable lung cancer is a tribute to but one member: her late father, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. With characteristic zeal and a stubbornness he displayed in fighting his own terminal brain cancer, the senator refused to accept the initial diagnosis in 2002 from the doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He pushed until he found doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who felt they they had a reasonable chance of success at treating his only daughter.”

BACHMANN: Per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod, Bachmann begins a two-day swing through Iowa today.  The tour will be jobs and economy focused, and will take her to factories in Sheffield and Waterloo Monday, and Des Moines Tuesday.

A USA Today editorial takes Bachmann to task over her HPV comments: “Presidential candidates get big megaphones and an outsized opportunity to steer the national debate. But there's an implicit requirement to be careful, and even by the low standards of political speech, Bachmann's nationally broadcast suggestion that a vaccine can cause mental retardation was appallingly irresponsible.”

PAUL: Novogrod reports from Los Angeles that Ron Paul won the first-ever California GOP straw poll, held during the party’s fall convention this weekend with 45% of the vote, followed by Rick Perry 29%, Mitt Romney 9%, Bachmann 8%

Paul is also touting that he finishes one point behind where Romney does against Obama in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, NBC’s Anthony Terrell reports. And “Could it be magic?” Paul got the endorsement of songwriter Barry Manilow. He was also introduced this weekend at an event by actor Vince Vaughn in Reno, who was also on board in 2008; he might think Paul is “so money, baby.”) Paul also raised more than $1 million this weekend from 18,000 donors, his campaign says.

Paul will make three campaign stops in western Iowa on Tuesday and then join the other GOP presidential candidates in Orlando, Florida on Thursday for the FOX News debate.  On Friday, Paul will address the Florida Conservative Political Action Conference ahead of the straw poll, one the state's Republican Governor, Rick Scott, claims is extremely important. "I personally believe whoever wins that straw poll, they will be the next president of the United States," Scott told Fox News on Sunday.

PERRY: The New York Times profiles Perry's hometown of Paint Creek, TX. "People here in Haskell County do understand Mr. Perry in a way few can, seeing the spirited, mischievous child in the brash, ambitious politician and recognizing how far this son of a dry-land cotton farmer has already traveled from a county with one stoplight. But they also know that this town 'too small to have a ZIP code,' in Mr. Perry’s words, propelled a restless farm boy whose disciplinarian father was a local power broker into a life of politics that fed off his roots while he moved beyond them and, some say, betrayed them."

The Statesman speaks to some of Perry's military colleagues: “In interviews with half a dozen men who served with Perry 35 years ago, a picture emerges of Perry as a good pilot, a competent and safety-conscious airman and a magnetic personality who often invited his comrades on hunting trips near his hometown of Paint Creek in West Texas and who could be the life of the party on the unit's many overseas deployments. But the picture is in some ways incomplete: Perry and his campaign have so far refused to release any of the governor's military records, including evaluations he received during his Air Force career, which spanned 1972 to 1977. And Perry's military years have largely gone unexplored by Texas or national media outlets. Except for rare interviews on the subject and brief references in his two books, little more than a general narrative has become part of the public record.”

The Houston Chronicle outlines some of the hefty taxpayer-paid bills for Perry's security detail.

And the Washington Post gives Rick Perry two Pinocchios for his comments on the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. “Perry is stuck in a time warp,” the Post’s  Kessler writes. “He’s describing a situation that existed in the 1980s, not really today. …  Just to be sure, we sent Perry’s remarks to three experts on Middle East diplomacy—an Israeli, a Palestinian and an American. All three said he appeared to be remarkably uninformed.”

SANTORUM: NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reports, Santorum was in New Hampshire yesterday and said he doesn’t do debate prep and that, as a Steelers fan, he respects but dislikes the Patriots. "I don't do debate prep,” he said. “I don't. I go out and let folks see who I am. I'm not a trained seal. I don't have whole team of advisers crafting lines for me or one liners or attacks. I haven't done one minute of debate prep. My debate prep is doing town halls talking to people, answering questions like yours." And on a football Sunday, asked about the Patriots, he said holding a pumpkin spice ber, "I don't like the Patriots but I respect them.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Republican Ovide Lamontagne declared he is running for governor at this morning's Bedford Republican Committee breakfast, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reports. He is running for the soon to be open seat to be vacated by five-term Democratic Gov. John Lynch. Several Republicans are likely to declare, creating a potentially crowded primary. Yesterday influential New Hampshire conservative Stretch Kennedy said he wishes Lamontagne would go for the Senate instead: "Ovide should be setting his sights on the Senate that Shaheen is holding. I believe he is the man who can do it. Why would we want people brawling with each other?" he said, referring to many interested GOP candidates, at a GOP picnic on Sunday.

TEXAS: "The Justice Department will deliver its opening salvo today in Texas' controversial redistricting case, laying out its initial argument on whether the state's new Congressional map adheres to the Voting Rights Act," Roll Call writes. Earlier this year, Texas Republicans passed a Congressional map that added four new House seats — a result of population growth. But Democrats charge that the map does not accurately reflect the increase in Hispanic voters by creating additional majority-minority districts.

The specter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s attempted HPV vaccine mandate looms particularly large in South Carolina, where the state’s current governor, Nikki Haley, co-sponsored a similar bill as a state representative in 2007. 

According to a CNN story earlier this week, Haley later voted against the bill after fierce opposition arose. She did not, however, request to be removed as a sponsor of the bill.

According to a statement on Haley’s website, she voted against the bill when “it became clear to me that an opt-out provision was not going to be included in the bill and it sought to mandate that middle-school girls obtain a vaccine – and strip parents of the right to make the choice for their daughter." 

Two opt-out amendments were in fact later added to the bill, but Haley voted to table both of them according to legislative records.

When asked about Haley’s position on the bill yesterday, South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott declined to comment but said he opposed the concept of a vaccine mandate.

“I think the very most important thing to do on that question is ask Nikki Haley. Because I’m not going to be a spokesperson for Nikki Haley,” Scott said. “I can tell you however that giving parents the options to take care of their family and their children is the most important decision the government can make, which is to stay out of the way.”

A spokesman for Haley told NBC that the governor's statement speaks for itself. 

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, campaigning in South Carolina yesterday, said he believed that Haley had good intentions when she first supported the bill.

“I think what Nikki would tell you, and I’m sure she will tell you herself, a lot of people looked at that initially, you see this is an anti-cancer drug and this is a very could be a very helpful thing to eliminate that.”

Santorum said he took issue, however, with the idea of “taking parents’ rights away for having their children be vaccinated for something without really full consent and knowledge.” 

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA -- Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said yesterday that the top contenders in the presidential primary are like a “shiny penny” with which the media is temporarily distracted.

Wrapping up a three-day trip to South Carolina, Santorum told forty people at a Horry County GOP meeting that his campaign is like the “little engine that could." 

“You have all of these bright shiny engines coming down the tracks, past the disabled train and the media just, it’s like a shining penny that they just keep looking at,” he said.

“Several months ago we just hitched up the train and started chugging along,” he said about his own campaign. He later noted his victory in a Republican straw poll in his home state of Pennsylvania, in which he took 36 percent of the vote, beating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 25 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 18 percent.

Given that yesterday’s event was a Constitution Day prayer meeting, Santorum said he believed the Founding Fathers did not intend to remove religion “completely out of the public square,” as he said John F. Kennedy did when he became president.

“The separation of church and state was never to protect the state from religion but religion from the state. It was a one-way, not a two-way wall,” he said.

He also he supports a federally uniform definition of marriage, and criticized candidates who support a Constitutional marriage amendment but say they would allow states to decide the issue in the meantime, chiding Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann by name.

“They go out and say, ‘but we’re for the federal marriage amendment,’ therefore they can appeal to both sides. They can say ‘it’s fine with me, and yet it’s not fine.’ Sort of like what Barack Obama does.”

Santorum also claimed Bachmann was inconsistent in her views on states’ rights, noting that she would leave same sex marriage up to the states, but not decisions about health insurance.

“She said that states have the right to change the marriage law. And then in the last debate, she said states don’t have the right to mandate insurance. I found that to be rather challenging, intellectually,” he said, as members of the audience responded with scattered laughter and whispers.

The forty people who listened to Santorum made a small dent in the large conference room where the event took place – something Johnnie Bellamy, the chairwoman of the Horry County GOP, noted when Santorum finished speaking.

“The number of the people here is not indicative of the quality of the candidate. We had the same type of meeting with Michele Bachmann, the same number of people,” Bellamy said.

The prayer meeting may have lost attendees to two other big Saturday-evening events: home football games for both Clemson University in Greenville and the University of South Carolina in Columbia, lending credence to the adage that in the South, football is religion. 

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. -- Rep. Tim Scott and businessman Herman Cain rallied a town hall crowd today by making President Obama’s policies their target.

At the beginning of the event, part of his presidential candidate series, Scott talked about the National Labor Relation’s Board lawsuit against Boeing, in which the NLRB claims the company punished unionized workers in Washington State by moving a plant from there to South Carolina.

Scott recently sponsored House-passed legislation that would prohibit the NLRB from having any input on a company’s location, and urged the crowd of about 200 to keep the pressure on his Senate colleagues.

“I’m not going to quit this fight until we win it!” Scott said, urging the cheering crowd to call Democratic senators and voice their support of the bill. “Flood those lines until they are locked down,” Scott said. 

The Daniel Island School, the site of the town hall, is about fifteen minutes away from the Boeing plant.

The crowd was fully riled up by the time Cain arrived in the school’s auditorium, about 15 minutes late.

“Is there a godfather in the house?” Scott asked as he introduced Cain, alluding to Cain’s former role as the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. 

Cain kept the crowd’s momentum going as he praised Scott for his labor bill, saying that he and Scott have the same commitment to short legislation, which Cain contrasted with President Obama’s new 200-page jobs bill. 

Brandishing a single piece of paper that he said was Scott’s bill, Cain exclaimed, “This is the American people’s legislation! It doesn’t have to be complicated!”  

Cain took questions from the crowd, a friendly audience made up of primarily activists from local Tea Party and 9/12 groups, on topics ranging from what he would do about the United Nations to the debt ceiling.

“How do you resolve the debt issue? Raising the debt ceiling is not the answer!” asked one questioner, according to Scott, who read each inquiry aloud. “I agree,” came Cain’s answer. 

While the Tea Party stresses fiscal discipline above all, the audience cheered when Cain said he would oppose further cuts to military spending. It’s worth noting that the Charleston area has a strong military presence, housing Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps bases.

“I will oppose President Obama’s decision to begin to cut our military and enhance our military because the world is not safer!” Cain said.

Cain and Scott, both African American, also laughed at the concept that the Tea Party is racist. 

“Oh those terrible racist Tea Party conservatives coming to hear two black dudes hang out!” Scott said as the audience laughed. “Why can’t we just all get along!” he added, to applause.

LOS ANGELES -- Inside a sprawling ballroom at a downtown Marriott, Michele Bachmann last night addressed a crowd of about 400 GOP delegates and party members on the first evening of the California Republican Party convention.

During her address, Bachmann reiterated the core vows of her stump speeches --  repealing President Obama’s health care law, striking down the Dodd-Frank banking regulations, and opening up exploration of domestic energy sources.

“As president, I will not rest until we repeal ObamaCare,” Bachmann told the convention, describing the health-care law as a symbol a federal government grown too large. “For the first time in our nation’s history,” she said, “the federal government has said to all of us, you will buy a product or service because the government told you so, as a condition of your citizenship in the United States.”

The comment provoked scattered boos. “Have you ever heard of anything so malicious?” Bachmann said. 

Bachmann’s vows, though delivered in the language of personal liberty, also form the basis for a prescription on improving the economy. “If we legalize American energy production,” Bachmann said, “we would create 1.4 million high-paying jobs.”

She added that “we have billions and billions of barrels of oil here in the United States,” and domestic energy opportunities are the “great untold story you don’t see on the evening news.”

It was on matters of foreign policy that Bachmann seemed to take her stump message further, offering a critical view of the so-called “Arab Spring” and voicing sympathy for Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. “We saw President Mubarak fall while President Obama sat on his hands,” Bachmann said. “And we’ve also seen now the rise of radical elements all across the Middle East region.”

Bachmann also attacked President Obama for dismantling the shuttle program, arguing that the move will limit access to strategic satellites. “No other nation can touch the dominance that the United States has in space. But here again, Barack Obama has weakened us,” Bachmann said. That comment introduced an opportunity for Bachmann to pay homage to California’s most legendary Republican -- and with it came perhaps the clearest statement yet of Bachmann’s own foreign-policy philosophy. 

“While I want to have peaceful relations with all nations,” she said, “I also believe that Ronald Reagan led the way again. He said that we have those relations with adopting the policy of peace-through-strength.”

At the end of the speech, there was a light moment -– showing, perhaps, that there is diplomacy in her approach, too. Near the ballroom, a band began playing. Soon, bass notes vibrated along the room’s thick carpet, traveling up tables and rattling the china. 

“That must be the exit music,” Bachmann said.  “I’ll have to wind up.”

NBC's Alex Moe

Gov. Perry speaks to supporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday evening.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA -- Returning to the Hawkeye State for the first time since his debut in the presidential debates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent most of his two days here hitting chief rival Mitt Romney -- almost as much as President Obama.

Throughout his total of five stops in Iowa, Perry defended himself against criticisms leveled against him in the past two debates.

“I was the son of tenant farmers and sure wasn’t born with four aces in my hand,” Perry told the crowd of more than 100 supporters here at Tish’s Restaurant last night, where a handful of protesters also gathered outside. The comment was a reference to Romney’s assertion that job growth in Texas was more a product of Perry’s good fortunes than his policies.

Along with defending himself, Perry also went on the offensive against the former Massachusetts governor. He used the term “RomneyCare” and railed against government-mandated health care -- “whether it’s in Massachusetts or Washington, DC.”

“I think it is very important that we put someone as the nominee that doesn't blur the line between Obama and the Republican Party,” Perry said in Jefferson on Thursday night.

Yesterday afternoon, Perry toured Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Atlantic, IA, where he said no one told him the secret recipe for the soda.

“That’s one of the best uses of Iowa corn right there, and fresh Coca Cola right off the line,” Perry said after taking a sip out of Coke. “We had a little private meeting, no one was in there and nobody shared with me the secret recipe of Coke Zero.”

Perry was also questioned by reporters about the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the execution of Duane Buck in Texas. 

“We have a processes of justice in the state of Texas that I have full confidence in. As it goes forward, there are obviously ways to address any concerns,” Perry said in Atlantic. “Whether or not he is guilty is not the question. Whether or not the jury process was tainted will be decided by the Supreme Court and we will respect that.”

Iowa advisers say Perry will spend the remainder of the month focusing on fundraising, but they expect him to return to the first-in-the-nation caucus state in October.

From NBC's Ali Weinberg 
ROCK HILL, SC -- Traveling through upstate South Carolina yesterday, businessman Herman Cain made one point clear: political correctness is not his thing.

In fact, he began the first of his three speeches yesterday on that note. Greeting about 100 Republican voters in Aiken, he pointed to his “transitions” glasses that had turned slightly dark in the overcast outdoors.

He told the crowd that his campaign gets nervous when he keeps the sunglasses on, as they say it makes him look intimidating.

“Political correctness is not one of my strong points,” he said, to laughter and applause.

The freewheeling nature of the stops continued in Simpsonville, where Cain told approximately 150 people at P. Simpson’s restaurant about his stance on illegal immigration.

“If we can keep a dog in a yard with an invisible fence, don't you think we can keep people from sneaking into this country?” Cain asked the audience – again, as they broke into applause.

Cain then reflected on the bluntness of his remarks. 

“Now, I know I'm going to get written up for talking about putting, you know, invisible fences and treating illegal immigrants like dogs. No, that's not it. I'm not real good at being politically correct, folks. I just like to solve problems,” he said.

And at his final stop at Winthrop University here in Rock Hill, Cain urged the audience to stay informed, taking aim, as he has frequently on the campaign trail, at a loosely defined demographic. 

“It's stupid people that are ruining America,” Cain said, referencing the percentage of Americans who give President Obama high job approval marks in polls. 

Regarding his own spot in the public consciousness, Cain said his name identification, which started much lower than some of his opponents, is “on the move,” and blamed the media for turning the presidential campaign into a race between two candidates, whom Cain never named all day.

He did, however, explain how he would break through that top tier of candidates – in typical Cain parlance for the day.

Speaking of how he would gain attention at future debates, Cain said, “I just stand back and let the others shoot at one another, and when it’s my turn I'll get up and say, ‘Here's my solution.’”

Cain is still in South Carolina today, making a morning stop at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach and participating in Rep. Tim Scott’s town hall series in Charleston at noon.

Coming up: President Obama heads to the United Nations, then sells his jobs plan near House Speaker Boehner’s district, another Republican debate, Bill Clinton on Meet the Press.

Video edited by Domenico Montanaro with various pieces of campaign video shot by NBC campaign embeds.

MANCHESTER, NH -- Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who served as George W. Bush's former Homeland Security secretary, today endorsed Jon Huntsman here in New Hampshire, calling him "only candidate with demonstrated success at the state, national, and international levels."

"Jon has a proven record in creating jobs, strengthening America's competitiveness and advancing our interests in a global economy," Ridge told reporters. "His significant experience and statesmanship already signal 10 times over that he is ready to take on the complex challenges facing the country and meet the demands of America's leadership with the rest of the world."

"He has a unique combination of leadership and statesmanship the country needs now," Ridge added. "We need leaders who inspire us to compete. He has the judgment, temperament and vision to lead America."

Huntsman returned the compliment: "What I love about Tom is that he is a problem solver, not a flame thrower."

"I am humbled to gain the support of one of our nation's most respected public servants," the former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China said. "Tom has been on the front lines of some of the most important issues facing our nation, and I'm proud to have the support of such an experienced voice."

Ridge's endorsement comes in the midst of significant staffing changes and financial challenges for the Huntsman campaign. Most recently, here in New Hampshire, Huntsman fired his state campaign manager and replaced him with seasoned New Hampshire campaign staffer and John McCain's New Hampshire deputy campaign manager, Sarah Crawford Stewart.

Ridge's endorsement was first reported in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

DES MOINES, IA -- It has been five weeks since Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared his candidacy for president at the same time as the Iowa Straw Poll was getting underway.

NBC's Alex Moe

During that contest in Ames, 718 Iowans cast write-in votes for Perry -- an impressive performance for someone who had just entered the race. And since then, the campaign has begun building its ground game throughout the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

“Ground game and organization equals success in Iowa,” Perry’s Iowa co-chair, Matthew Whitaker, told NBC News. “I think Gov. Perry is doing Iowa and the caucuses the right way, and I would expect that we would have success.”

Perry, who is currently making his third trip to Iowa, is expected to pay a good deal of attention to the state, as many believe he could win caucuses, even against Michele Bachmann, who won the straw poll in August. The Perry campaign announced 10 new staff members that joined their expanding Iowa leadership team earlier this week, including the addition of Whitaker.

Iowa political veterans are impressed with the Texas governor’s efforts in the Hawkeye State thus far, especially since he jumped into the race much later than the other candidates.

“In some ways, getting in late gave him more momentum and more name recognition,” said Steve Grubbs, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party. “As soon as he got in, he went right to the front of the pack.”

But the "ground game" for the governor started in the state before he officially declared his candidacy. The independent expenditure committee, Americans for Rick Perry, appeared for weeks during the summer at other candidate’s events encouraging Iowans to cast write-in votes for Perry at the straw poll.

The Texas governor's other Iowa co-chair, Robert Haus, said the campaign can have no coordination or contact with anyone who was associated with Americans for Rick Perry for 120 days, but he acknowledged the group’s aid. “I think they probably did some good work in Iowa, but I also think Gov. Perry is a pretty well known commodity,” Haus said.

One Republican strategist from Iowa told NBC that Perry has a top-notch team in the state. “His campaign team here is solid, aggressive, and hungry for a win. His team has a lot to prove and they know it."

That team, which has a small headquarters in Clive, will continue to expand the campaign over the next few months, according to the co-chairs.

“I think we are going to keep our eyes forward and making sure we have a great campaign in place here in Iowa as we run up to the caucuses,” Whitaker said.

Haus added that Perry is successful at retail politics, and they will play up that strength. “When he sees a crowd, he wants to get in, he wants to shake hands, he wants to talk and say hello -– and that stuff works really well in Iowa, as well as in New Hampshire and South Carolina.”

Neither Haus nor Whitaker would definitively say that Perry would win the Iowa caucuses, but they are hopeful the campaign strategy they are helping lay out will lead to success.

“I don’t play the expectation game. I think he could do very well here, and I think he could win the nomination and be president. We wouldn’t be assembling this team if we didn’t think so,” Haus said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's efforts to tout his record on jobs and the economy as a centerpiece of his presidential campagn took a hit today with new figures from one of his own state agencies: They show the Texas unemployment rate increased to 8.5% in August -- the highest level in more than 24 years and more than twice the rate when Perry took office in December 2000. 

The new unemployment rate for Texas is still below the national average of 9.1%. But the new figures from the Texas Workforce Commission included some disturbing trends: There was a net jobs loss of 1,300 in Texas during the month of August, even worse than than the latest national figures showing zero job growth.

While the private sector did add 8,100 jobs in Texas during August, this was more than offset by a shrinking public sector resulting in the loss of 9,400 government jobs, state figures show. 

State officials blamed national economic trends. "Texas continues to feel the pressures of a stagnant national economy," said Texas Workforce Commmission chairman Tom Pauken.

But the figures also show some key sectors of the Texas economy losing strength during the month: Trade and transportation, mining, information, and leisure all experienced  job losses. Mark Lavergne, a spokesman for the commission, confirmed that the new unemployment rate of 8.5% -- up slightly from 8.4% the previous month -- is the highest unemployment rate for Texas since July, 1987. When Perry took office in December 2000 after George W. Bush resigned, the unemployment rate in Texas was 4.2%

At this week's GOP presidential rate, Perry touted his record of "creating more than one million jobs" in Texas, but made no mention of the recent downward trends in the state's economy. A spokesman for his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest figures.

*** UPDATE *** Perry's campaign this afternoon responded:

"Texas is not immune to the effects of the national recession," said Ray Sullivan, Perry's chief spokesman. "Yet Texas continues to outperform the rest of the country and is still home to roughly 40% of the net new jobs created nationwide since June 2009."

He continued: "And even during this national economic downturn, which the president's misguided policies have only worsened, Texas remains the nation's top economy, attracting jobs and growing by more than 1,000 people a day. As president, Gov. Perry will get our nation's fiscal house in order, free employers from the onerous tax and regulatory burdens undermining our economy, and restore confidence in private sector job creators across this nation so we can get America working again."

Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss whether or not pundits are out of touch or deliberately provocative.

Plus, the guys give their behind-the-scenes take on the preparation for the NBC News-Politico 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate last week.

Thanks to Steeler Fan-380417 for the question!

Keep an eye out for our next post to submit questions for future Boiler Room segments.

Video edited by NBC's Morgan Parmet.

Daley troubles: Reports complaining about the White House chief of staff surface… But don’t expect a knee-jerk move from this White House… Axelrod pens memo listing what is going right for Team Obama… At 11:10 am in Virginia, the president signs patent reform legislation into law… On the 2012 trail, Perry unloads on Romney… Bachmann’s struggling -- big time… Tom Ridge to endorse Huntsman in New Hampshire… And Bill Clinton to appear on “Meet the Press” this Sunday.

*** Daley troubles: When things are going well for an administration or campaign team, they’re hailed as geniuses and the toast of Washington. But when things aren’t going so well, you begin to see stories like these. Politico: "[White House Chief of Staff] Bill Daley is off to a very rocky start... [C]ritics inside and outside the West Wing are questioning whether he is the tough, competent manager needed to shake up the operation and propel Obama into the 2012 election year." Here's the Huffington Post: “Bill Daley Leaves Some Democrats Longing For Rahm Emanuel.” (Who would have ever thought you’d see that headline in HuffPo, of all places?) What’s more, a new book by author Ron Suskind details rivalries and conflicts inside of Obama’s old economic team. It’s been a “pile on” week -- first on Perry at the debate, then on Obama, and now on Daley. In Daley’s case, as sports fans know well, when you can’t do much about the owner (Obama), you complain about the coach (Daley).

*** Don’t expect a knee-jerk move from this White House: One the complaints about Daley is his relations with Capitol Hill Democrats. But in his defense, congressional Dems are no longer in charge (though Democrats are in charge of the Senate). But Daley was brought in to deal with the business community and Republicans, and those relationships have yet to pay dividends. Arguably, whatever positive personal developments have taken place between the White House and Boehner/McConnell, they’ve given the president nada. The final straw for some congressional Democrats was the speech-timing debacle. Also, keep in mind the Schumer-Durbin rivalry here. Durbin and Daley have known each other for years, and whether there’s ACTUALLY something there or just an assumption of something there by folks, it has an impact. Finally, despite what James Carville has called for -- to panic and fire a bunch of folks -- the last thing you’ll see this White House do is something knee-jerk. It’s simply not in Obama’s DNA. Rather, expect those who have the president’s trust but also have close friends on Capitol Hill (the Pete Rouses of the world perhaps?) to (re)expand their portfolios. The White House went through a more dramatic leadership change than many folks appreciate. While the names may have been familiar, Daley-Plouffe have a MUCH different management style than Rahm-Axe.

*** Remain calm. All is well! Despite the White House’s tough week, the re-election campaign team has released a memo from senior strategist David Axelrod listing what’s going right for them as we head into 2012. “Public polling released this week makes clear that Americans strongly agree with the President’s plan to create jobs and provide economic security for the middle class,” Axelrod says. “Members of the media have focused on the President’s approval ratings as if they existed in a black box. Following the intransigence of the Republicans during the debt debate, the approval rating of the GOP brand dropped to a historic low... Despite what you hear in elite commentary, the President’s support among base voters and in key demographic groups has stayed strong... The Republicans have yet to choose a nominee, and therefore, most Americans have yet to learn much about their records or visions for the country. Their candidates are busy courting the Tea Party, signing off on any economic pledge it might demand.” 

*** Obama’s day: At 11:10 am ET in Alexandria, VA, the president will sign into law the America Invents Act, which reforms the patent system.

*** Perry unloads on Romney: Last night in Iowa was the first time this week when Rick Perry was on offense against Mitt Romney. Per NBC’s Alex Moe, Andrew Rafferty, and Anthony Terrell, Perry distinguished his upbringing from Romney’s. “As the son of tenant farmers, I can tell you I wasn’t born with four aces in my hand,” Perry told a crowd of more than 250 at the Greene County Republican party fundraiser. Perry continued, “Gov. Romney … said it’s pretty easy to be governor when you have four aces in your hand and you think you’re good at poker. There are some folks back in Texas who are a little offended by that. We work hard in Texas.” Perry also hit Romney on health care, noting the similarities between Romney’s law in Massachusetts and Obama’s federal law.  “I think it is very important that we put someone as the nominee that doesn't blur the line between Obama and the Republican Party,” Perry said. It appears Perry’s game plan for the NEXT debate is to not simply defend himself from the slings and arrows, but to throw a few more punches Romney’s way.

*** Bachmann’s struggling -- big time: The New York Times writes about Bachmann’s numerous gaffes and misstatements, including her recent accusation (not supported by the facts) that the HPV vaccine is linked to mental retardation. People close to her campaign “spoke of their frustration that Mrs. Bachmann, who entered the race with a reputation for making unsupportable statements on cable television, has not found the discipline to win credibility with major Republican donors and influential referees in the conservative news media... Jim Dyke, a former communications director for the Republican National Committee unaffiliated with any candidate, said: 'This is the nail in the coffin in her campaign. Because you can be a cable television darling by saying provocative things, but you can’t be president of the United States.'" Bottom line: Bachmann’s candidacy is struggling -- and if she never gets back on track, this week will be seen as the final nail. She had a good debate on Monday, but blew it the day after. And the folks who are probably most pleased by this are the ones from Austin, TX. 

*** Ridge to back Huntsman: At 10:15 am ET in Manchester, Jon Huntsman will pick up an endorsement from former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reports. Ridge will announce his endorsement at a press conference -- with Huntsman -- at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College. In a statement to the New Hampshire Union-Leader, Ridge said Huntsman is a "serious, insightful leader who will bring together people from across the political spectrum to solve the many changes we face, both at home and abroad." Kent notes that the endorsement comes in the midst of significant staffing changes within the Huntsman campaign. Huntsman still suffers from low poll numbers nationally and locally, but said he is upbeat about the campaign's future. "All I can cite is anecdotal evidence," he told reporters yesterday. "We are making progress, we are absolutely making progress." Our take: This endorsement would have been a much bigger deal 12 years ago, even four years ago. Today? It just feels like a different Republican Party than the one Tom Ridge was a rising star, during the first decade of the 21^st century.

*** On the 2012 trail: Bachmann is in California, where she holds a rally in Orange County, tapes an appearance for the “Tonight Show,” and addresses the California GOP fall convention… Cain is in South Carolina… Huntsman remains in New Hampshire… Paul is in Reno, NV… And Perry makes multiple stops in Iowa.

*** Friday's "The Daily Rundown" line-up: Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) on why he's backing Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) for president… Former Reps. Martin Frost (D-TX) and Tom Davis (R-VA) on the fight in Congress over jobs and debt… Romney Campaign Senior Adviser Eric Fehrnstrom on the 2012 fight… NBC News Perry Campaign Reporter Carrie Dann with the latest on his campaign… And more 2012 news with NPR's Ari Shapiro, Comcast's Robert Traynham and Roll Call's Shira Toeplitz.

*** On “Meet the Press” this Sunday: NBC’s David Gregory interviews former President Bill Clinton, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Countdown to Election Day 2011: 53 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 143 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The New York Times: “President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor on Thursday to a young former Marine who ignored orders to stay put and fought his way five times into an ambush in an Afghan ravine, helping to rescue three dozen comrades and to recover the remains of four dead American servicemen.”

The White House will not put Social Security on the table in Obama’s upcoming deficit-reduction proposal, the Washington Post reports.

With friends like these… “Leading House Democrats are accusing the Obama administration of ignoring the lingering mortgage crisis and threatening tens-of-millions of Americans with foreclosure in the process,” The Hill writes. “The lawmakers – encouraged by Obama's mention of mortgage-relief in his address to Congress last week – were quickly deflated just days later when their efforts to learn the details of the White House plan proved unsuccessful. ‘The administration has been AWOL on this issue,’ charged Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), ‘and the American people are suffering because of the mismanagement.’ ‘In my entire political career, I've never seen anything this irresponsible,’ he added.” What this is really about is Democrats having their feelings hurt that they couldn’t get the administration official they wanted to talk about the jobs bill.

In his speech yesterday, per the New York Times, House Speaker John Boehner "rejected tax increases as part of a sweeping effort to reduce the nation’s debt, delivering his prescription for a Congressional deficit-cutting committee ahead of a competing presentation by President Obama early next week. Mr. Boehner urged the new bipartisan committee to focus on cuts in federal spending and entitlement programs as a way of slowing the growth of government. He said tax increases should be 'off the table' as the committee works toward a late-November deadline."

But: "Boehner said that the committee’s efforts should include proposals to close tax loopholes as part of a broader overhaul that lowers personal and business tax rates... 'Yes, tax reform should include closing loopholes,' he said. 'Not for purposes of bringing more money to the government. But because it’s the right thing to do.'" 

Roll Call: “In a speech before the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Boehner largely dismissed President Barack Obama’s jobs plan.”

“The Senate cleared legislation today to provide about $7 billion in emergency disaster aid and a House-passed transportation package that averts a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration,” Roll Call adds. “The bill, passed 92-6, includes a four-month FAA funding extension and a six-month funding extension for surface transportation programs, scheduled to expire at the end of the month. Before final passage, the Senate rejected two Republican amendments. The measure was being held up by Sen. Tom Coburn over his opposition to a provision that would require states to set aside funds for projects such as bike paths, sound walls and decorative highway signs.”

Unable to make the trains run on time: "In last year’s campaigns, Republicans ripped into Democrats for failing to perform one of Congress’s most basic duties: providing money in a timely way for the operations of government,” the New York Times says. “But Republicans acknowledged Thursday that they would miss the deadline they had promised to meet. They began to rush a stopgap spending bill through the House because, they said, Congress could not finish work on any of the 12 regular appropriations bills before the new fiscal year starts in two weeks, on Oct. 1.”

BACHMANN: Michele Bachmann refused to back down from relaying a story from a mother who said the HPV vaccine caused her daughter’s “mental retardation,” a side effect not known to be associated with the vaccine. At a Tea Party fundraiser Thursday in San Rafael, just north of San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod, Bachmann said, “During the debate I didn't make any statements that would indicate I'm a doctor, I'm a scientist – or that I'm making any conclusions about the drug one way or the other." She added: "At the conclusion of the debate, a woman came up to me who was very distraught.  She was crying, and she thanked me for my remarks and said that her daughter had had a negative reaction.  And that’s all I related.”

HUNTSMAN: Tom Ridge is going to endorse Huntsman, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.

PERRY: Perry again said of Romney, “I think it's very important that we put someone as our nominee that does not blur the lines between President Obama and the Republican Party.”

“Republican voters are evenly split over whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry's outspoken stance on Social Security makes them more or less likely to support him for the presidential nomination, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, but they are worried that his views could cost him in the general election. … One in five Republicans say that position makes them more likely to support him; one in five say it makes them less likely to do so. However, by more than 2-1, 37%-17%, Republicans predict Perry's position will hurt rather than help his chances of being elected president. There is evidence they are right: By close to 3-1, 32%-12%, independents who were polled say Perry's stance makes them less likely to support him. By almost 4-1, 40%-11%, they say it would make it harder for him to win the White House.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution Thursday of a black man convicted of a double murder in Houston 16 years ago, agreeing to review his appeal that his death sentence was unfair because of a comment about his race during the sentencing phase of his trial,” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The man was scheduled to be executed last night. His lawyers appealed to Perry, but Perry hasn’t commented.

ROMNEY: “Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign yesterday challenged an explosive report that said his landmark health-care law cost the state jobs, while his GOP rivals seized on the findings linking ‘Romneycare’ to Obama’s controversial health-care reforms,” the Boston Herald reports. “The Herald yesterday exclusively detailed the report, conducted by a conservative think tank, the Beacon Hill Institute, which said Romney’s universal health-care plan passed in 2006 has cost Massachusetts more than 18,000 jobs.”

“Romney, who has failed to stir the passions of primary voters en masse, hopes he can win them over by casting himself as the pragmatic politician best able to attract independents and disaffected Democrats in key swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania,” the Boston Globe’s Viser writes. “It marks a significant test for some Republican primary voters: Should they vote with their heart - choosing the candidate who most represents their political persuasions - or with their heads, picking the one who seems to have the best chance at defeating Obama.”

And catch the Perry campaign’s response: “Governor Perry has run numerous races, and people who have had that line on us before are now home watching reruns on TV of ‘CSI: Miami,’ ’’ said Mark Miner, a spokesman for Perry’s campaign. “This electability issue comes from someone who has been running for president for five years. If someone has an electability problem, it’s Mitt Romney. He’s made a career out of it, and not a very successful one.’’

CALIFORNIA: A Field poll shows Sen. Dianne Feinstein with just a 41% approval rating, the lowest of her career, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “For the first time since being elected to the Senate in 1992, a plurality - 44 percent - of Field Poll respondents were "not inclined" to vote for her while 41 percent were.”

CONNECTICUT: Rep. Chris Murphy (D) looks like the man to beat in the Connecticut Senate race, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. He tops wrestling mogul Linda McMahon 49%-38%. In the Democratic primary, Murphy is beating former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz 36%-26%. McMahon leads former Rep. Chris Shays 50%-35% in a GOP primary. Murphy would have a tougher time in a general election against Shays, but still beats him, 43%-37%. Bysiewicz would beat McMahon, but not Shays.

MICHIGAN: “The state Senate in Michigan voted Thursday to hold its presidential primary on Feb. 28, a move that could bolster the state's influence in the contest, but could also subject it to major penalties at the GOP nominating convention,” The Hill writes. That would be the same date as the Arizona primary.

GREENVILLE, SC -- Playing the aggressive underdog, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum took shots at almost all of his primary opponents during a speech here today.

Speaking at a South Carolina GOP fundraiser, Santorum revisited his criticism of a Ron Paul campaign blogger, who suggested that America was partly to blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Santorum also alleged that -- based on their statements supporting Afghanistan troop withdrawal at Monday’s presidential debate -- Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman subscribed to “at least part” of Paul’s foreign-policy viewpoint.

“For Ron Paul to have on his website, and he did, a quote from someone who blamed 9/11 on us, that it was our actions that brought about 9/11 and in a sense, we deserved it -- why would you put a man like that in the White House?”

He continued, “Unfortunately, we see not just him and now Huntsman and now Perry signing on to at least part of that agenda."

Santorum said that when he heard Perry talk about withdrawal from Afghanistan, “I felt I was listening to Joe Biden, not Rick Perry.”

Santorum also suggested that Perry’s comments on Social Security were nothing new, telling the audience of 30 here that he had been vocal on the issue since the mid-1990s.

“It’s great for Rick Perry to go out and say, 'Oh, we need to change the Social Security system.' Heck, the AARP says we need to change the Social Security system. How bold is that!”

IN addition, he accused both Herman Cain and Mitt Romney of hypocrisy, saying that they’ve both run for office before -- although they play the “businessman, not career politician” card.

“I understand you’re a businessman, I understand you’ve accomplished things, but don’t say you're not a career politician when you tried to be one but you just failed at it!” he exclaimed.

Not even an ex-candidate -- former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty -- escaped Santorum’s line of fire, as he took a shot at Pawlenty’s third-place showing at the Ames straw poll.

Santorum said that Pawlenty’s heavy investment in Ames didn’t pay off, while his fourth-place finish came with a much smaller price tag. He told the audience here a story about running into a commentator at the straw poll who told him that in this case, coming in fourth was better than coming in third.

“I finished in fourth and Pawlenty finished in third. And the reason it was bad was they spent an enormous amount of money and were able to end up with only a few hundred votes more than I did,” Santorum said.

After the event today, Santorum headed back to Pennsylvania. He will be returning to South Carolina on Saturday for a series of events including celebrations of Constitution Day, held on Sept. 17.