In addition to that OTHER interview on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" today, former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman made some news on the program, saying he disagrees with some of Mitt Romney's statements on China.

Mitchell: You support Romney. Romney bashes Obama today in op-ed piece on China-is Mitt Romney wrong?

Huntsman: Well, let's just say that it's not unusual for candidates to be saying certain things about China. I've seen a lot of candidates who later became president who use a lot of rhetoric. It's much easier to talk about China in terms of the fear factor than the opportunity factor. Uh, I would disagree with some of what Gov. Romney has said and it's not surprising that Republicans disagree with each other from time to time. 

Mitchell: But why support him then?

Huntsman: Well, you're going to disagree on the issues from time to time. I happen to think that on the economy he's best placed to do what needs to be done in terms of economic development and the creation of jobs. When it comes to China, I think it's wrongheaded when you talk about slapping a tariff on Day 1.

Mitchell: What about those who say anything to play to audiences and then they have to live with it -- which leads to bad foreign policy choices. What would be your advice to Mitt Romney, Obama, or Rick Santorum?

Huntsman: Less pandering -- take a step back and analyze with a clear vision. The most complicated, the most challenging, and the most important bilateral relationship we have in the 21st century.  It's not going to be based on sound bites, it's not going to be based on short-term fixes and solutions-it is a long-term play between our people.

DETROIT, Mich. -- Rick Santorum delivered a blazing defense of free market capitalism in front of the Detroit Ecnomic Club today, slamming President Obama for promoting "class warfare" in America and striving to create a society dependent on the federal government.

In front of 250 people gathered in a city that has become symbolic of America's economic downturn, Santorum laid out his economic plan, stressing cuts in spending, a simplified tax code and entitlement reforms. It is a plan, he says, that will promotes individual
liberties and dramatically decrease government's role in the economy.

"President Obama is all about equality of results. I'm about equality of opportunity. I'm not about equality of result when it comes to
income inequality. There is income inequality in America. There always has been and hopefully  -- and I do say that  -- there always will be. Why? Because people rise to different levels of success based on what they contribute to society and to the marketplace and that's as it should be."

"We shouldn't have a society that has a president who envies or creates class warfare or envy between one group of people and another. We should celebrate like we do in the small towns all across American — as you do here in Detroit. You celebrate success. You build statues and monuments. Buildings, you name after them. Why? Because in their greatness and innovation, yes, they created wealth, but they created wealth for everybody else. And that's a good thing, not something to be condemned in America."

Instead of creating jobs, Santorum said Obama is "interested in redistributing wealth and creating a dependency class, which is a
reliable voting group for him."

While Santorum's harshest rhetoric was aimed at Obama, he also used part of his speech to defend himself from the attacks now being leveled against him but GOP rival Mitt Romney.  The former Pennsylvania senator has found himself in the crosshairs of the Romney attack machine with a series of negative ads critiquing his record on spending.

"I know you folks here in Michigan have been hearing some things on the television from one of my opponents that I am a big spender. You will find that rather surprising to the folks who were my colleagues and any objective look at my spending record when I was in Congress," Santorum said.

Today marked his first campaign stop in the Wolverine State.  It's a place where Romney was initially thought to have a homefield
advantage, but where polls show Santorum gaining steam.  The latest Republican to surge in the polls has said he believes his blue collar message will play well in the state where Romney's father served as a popular governor.

The Santorum campaign has invested $42,000 in three TV ads in the state, a sign that they feel they can do well here.  The pro-Santorum Super PAC "Red, White and Blue Fund" has invested $652,000 to purchase ads in the state.

In addition to attacking Santorum's spending record, Romney has taken to hitting him on his pro-union record while representing
Pennsylvania.  A claim he refuted today, saying,  "It's interesting, I've been attacked as the big union Republican in this race. I went
back and looked at my AFL--CIO score card, I have a 13% rating. If that's big union in the republican party I guess we've narrowed the field quite a bit haven't we?"

In the city where auto manufacturing is central, he used the 2008 bailout of the auto industry to hit Romney.

"Governor Romney supported the bailout of Wall Street and decided not to support the bailout of Detroit. My feeling was that we should not support, the government should not be involved in bailouts, period. I think that’s a much more consistent position," Santorum said.

His language critiquing Romney was not nearly as sharp as it has been at other points on the campaign trail.  He often directly compares the former Massachusetts governor to the president in their support of the bailout and government run healthcare.

And though his message was focused mainly on the economy, he still worked in his message about the importance of the family -- the lynchpin of his platform as a candidate.

"We have a president who says that he supports the Occupiers who divide America between 99 and one, and another candidate in this race that suggested that he didn’t care about the very poor, he cared about the 95 percent," said Santorum. "How about a candidate who cares about 100 percent? Who cares about everybody and gives them the opportunity to rise in society, not just to do that in manufacturing, energy, and jobs but also to understand that unless we have strong families and strong communities we are not going to be an economically successful country."

*** UPDATE *** Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul responds: “It’s no surprise that Sen. Santorum, in a typical politician’s fashion, conveniently leaves out that he once said he didn’t think TARP ‘was an unreasonable decision.’  We are still waiting on answers about many of Sen. Santorum ‘s votes in Congress including his vote for Sonia Sotomayor, five votes to raise the debt ceiling without corresponding spending cuts and his vote opposing Right-to-work legislation. Sen. Santorum went to Washington and never left – in word and in deed.”

Note: The Romney campaign is referring to Santorum's vote for Sotomayor to sit on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, not the Supreme Court. Santorum was out of the Senate when Sotomayor was elevated to the nation's highest court.

So far during the GOP presidential contest, there have been 19 debates. And next week's -- in Arizona -- will be No. 20.

But it looks like there won't be No. 21.

First, the Romney campaign today said its candidate wouldn't be attending a March 1 debate in Georgia sponsored by CNN. The reason: Mitt Romney wants to use his time campaigning in the Super Tuesday states, scheduled for March 6.

"Gov. Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday," said spokeswoman Andrea Saul. "With eight other states voting on March 6, we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate."

In response, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond fired off this tweet: "@MittRomney spits in Georgia's face and cancels Atlanta debate appearence."

He added, "If @MittRomney won't stand up and debate his GOP competitors how will he face President Obama?"

But the Paul campaign also said it was NOT participating. And the Santorum camp tells NBC News that they haven't confirmed with CNN their participation, either.

And now comes the word, via CNN, that it's pulling the plug on the debate. "Without full participation of all four candidates, CNN will not move forward with the Super Tuesday debate," CNN said in a statement. "However, next week, CNN and the Arizona Republican Party will host all four leading contenders for the GOP nomination. That debate will be held in Mesa, Arizona on February 22 and will be moderated by CNN's John King." 

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- Declaring "we need to move forward" with new leadership in Washington, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder endorsed Mitt Romney for president at a chamber of commerce luncheon here today.

"The job is not getting done, and we need the leadership in Washington to get that job done, and to do that, you need the right people leading the charge. And we have a person in Governor Romney who has that background," Snyder said. "He has a great combination of private sector experience, of knowing what it takes to create a job, and how difficult that is, how to succeed in the private sector. He also brings that experience of being the chief executive of a state, of understanding what it’s to be in the public sector. And to be successful in running a state. That’s the experience we need in Washington."

Snyder, who like Romney is a former venture capital chief executive and data-obsessive, ran under the mantra "One Tough Nerd," and defeated the Romney-backed Pete Hoekstra in a Republican primary, before winning the governorship outright in the fall of 2010. Today, he adopted one of of Romney's favorite targets in giving his endorsement: the lack of business understanding in Washington, D.C.

“I was amazed in government at how little understanding there is of business. It shocked me to see how many people in government had never spent any time in business," Snyder said. "And yet the economy, business, is what drives the revenues of government, and the well-being of our citizens. And yet they don’t understand it.”

After accepting the endorsement and praising Snyder, Romney peppered his speech with Michigan nostalgia. He mentioned his love of the state's lakes, the automobile industry, and said even the height of the trees seemed right here in his home state. Less prominent in this speech? The anti-union, anti auto-bailout rhetoric that has been the hallmark of Romney's campaign stops in Michigan thus far. Snyder has taken moderate positions on both issues. He has called the auto-bailout a necessary step to save the industry, and has not made passage of right-to-work legislation a priority, as Romney has promised to do if elected. 

"I love the auto industry; I want to see it thrive and grow," Romney said. "I’m glad it went through a managed bankruptcy process, which I recommended from the very beginning, to shed unnecessary costs and get its footing again. I’m delighted it's profitable. In my view, this auto industry can continue to lead the world and must continue to lead the world to keep Detroit with a vibrant and prosperous future."

The Romney campaign doubtlessly hopes Snyder's rising approval rating here will also lift Romney in what's widely seen as a must-win state for him. A Detroit News poll released today showed Romney trailing former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by four points, 34 to 30, with 12 days to go until the Michigan primary.

Foster Friess -- a prominent Santorum supporter and one of the chief benefactors of a pro-Santorum Super PAC -- today made a statement on contraception that's already raising plenty of eyebrows.

Friess told NBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Andrea Mitchell Reports":

This contraceptive thing, my gosh, it's so inexpensive. Back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn't that costly.

The obvious suggestion by Friess: that women should put an aspirin between their legs so they don’t open them.

New polls, new ad spending in Michigan as the stakes are raised for Romney, Santorum.

Video edited by Natalie Cucchiara.

UPDATED 6:20 PM ET...
The game of Poker in Michigan between Romney and Santorum allies just got a little richer.

The pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future just bought up almost another $1 million in ad time in Michigan, bringing its overall buy so far to about $3.2 million, according to NBC/Republican ad-tracking firm Smart Media Group Delta.

This follows the Santorum campaign pushing more of its own chips in, adding $438,000 in ads in Michigan for the next two weeks, closing the gap with Romney and his allies somewhat.

Those buys followed a big $652,000 ad buy made earlier by the pro-Santorum Super PAC Red White and Blue Fund -- financed largely by Santorum supporter Foster Freiss.

Here's the current overall Michigan spending: 

Pro-Romney: $3.2 million (Romney campaign $1.2 million; Restore Our Future $2 million)
Pro-Santorum: $1.1 million (Santorum $480,000; Red, White, and Blue Fund: $655,000)

SOURCE: NBC/Smart Media Group Delta

Restore shelled out another $2 million for the week after next on broadcast in Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. Restore has now crossed the $20 million threshold for total ad spending this campaign -- $20.8 million.

Romney's campaign has now spent $13.4 million, bringing pro-Romney spending to a grand total of $34.2 million.

The next closest is $7.8 million in pro-Gingrich ads ($5.1 from Winning Our Future and $2.7 million from the campaign); then it's $6.1 million for Ron Paul; and $4.2 million for Santorum ($2.1 million apiece for the campaign and Red, White, and Blue Fund).

How did Romney get here?... Romney targets Big Labor, but could that hurt him in a general election?... The GOP united in targeting labor is a recent phenomenon… Santorum releases his tax returns… Obama: “Right now!”… And payroll tax cut legislation deal appears to be finalized.

*** How did Romney get here? As Mitt Romney finds himself in a real battle to win Michigan -- a state where he holds so many advantages -- it raises an inevitable question: How did he get here? How did he get to yet another moment where perhaps his entire candidacy is on the line? After all, he didn’t stumble in a debate (as he did in South Carolina). He didn’t commit a serious gaffe. And he isn’t on unfriendly turf (as he was in Iowa and South Carolina). Romney appears to be his current predicament 1) because he and his team gave Rick Santorum an opening in the contests of Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri; and 2) because of ideology. Indeed, according to the polls, Santorum has become the latest conservative flavor of the month (or week) due to the support he’s getting from conservatives and Tea Party supporters. The good news for Romney: He’s been in this position before. After losing in South Carolina and after seeing polls showing Gingrich with momentum heading into Florida, Romney EASILY won the Sunshine State. Less than two weeks from now, we’ll see if he and his campaign can accomplish the same feat. Picking up the endorsement (and endorsement op-ed) of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is a big help.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Kentwood, Mich., Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012.

*** Are we headed for Thunderdome? But the bad news for Romney: He’s been in this position before. And what if the same tricks just simply don’t work. Team Romney may have the ability to throw 100 mph fastballs and most batters swing and miss. But if the ONLY pitch they have is a high hard fastball, then eventually the batter catches up to it. And the batter in this case is both Santorum and the voters. Less than two weeks from now, we’ll see if he and his campaign can accomplish the same feat and put another high, hard one past another conservative alternative batter. Because if he doesn’t, the GOP race for delegates and that nomination could become… well, we’ll let George Costanza say it: “Anything goes. It’s like Thunderdome.”

*** Romney targets Big Labor: As NBC’s Garrett Haake reported last night, Romney made his Michigan strategy clear at his rally in Grand Rapids: pick a fight with organized labor. "The president finally came around to my own view that Detroit needed to go through managed bankruptcy,” Romney said when talking about the auto industry. “But he gave the companies to the UAW [United Auto Workers] when he was finished with the process. That again is something which I think is consistent with the fact that he got a lot of money from organized labor and felt that he should give them a favor." He also said that Obama “got hundreds of millions of dollars from labor bosses for his campaign, and so he's paying them back in every way he knows how. I've taken on union bosses before, and I'm happy to take them on again."

*** But could it hurt him in a general election? This Romney strategy appears to have two components. One, it’s a way to set up a contrast with Santorum, with the Romney camp noting that the former Pennsylvania senator voted on organized labor’s side when he served in the Senate. (We’re betting Team Romney never planned on going this anti-union in their rhetoric, but it’s the best policy contrast they can draw to make Santorum look out of touch with rank-n-file conservatives). And two, the strategy is a way to explain his position on the auto bailout. (However, Romney’s auto talk produced this response from the Obama campaign: “Had Mitt Romney had his way, the government would have not provided the funding that GM and Chrysler needed to stay afloat during their managed bankruptcy and both companies would cease to exist.”) But Romney’s tough words on unions raise this question: Will it be a problem for him in a general election? After all, as Haake notes, 12% of Michigan’s workforce belongs to a union. And in the 2008 general election, per the exit polls, 34% of Michigan voters said that someone in their household was a union member (and Obama won 67% of that vote, though McCain still won 31%). There’s a fine line between bashing UNIONS and UNION MEMBERS, and it’s a tricky line for Republicans in the Rust Belt and Midwest.

*** The GOP united targeting of labor has been a recent phenomenon: And Michigan isn’t the only presidential battleground state with a sizable union population; there’s also Ohio, Wisconsin, and Santorum’s home state of Pennsylvania. It’s worth noting that it’s only been in the last three years that the Republican Party has been united in targeting labor and with such intensity. In recent times, several GOP politicians -- Dick Lugar, George Voinovich, Spence Abraham -- tried to win over union voters. And, of course, those famous “Reagan Democrats” that the nation’s 40^th president won in 1980 and 1984 were always considered to be folks from union households in places like Michigan. But those days are long gone.

*** Romney in ’08: “I actually believe that the union vote is very important to Republicans”: Here’s a final point on Romney and organized labor. When he was campaigning in the state four years ago -- in Jan. 2008 -- he made a pitch to the state’s union workers. "I actually believe that the union vote is very important to Republicans," he told FOX's Neil Cavuto a day before the ‘08 Michigan primary, adding: "We're in this together. The auto industry is going to succeed or fail. And if it fails, it's going to hurt not just the shareholders, but all the employees." A Romney campaign official tells First Read that Romney believes it’s still important for unions and management to work together. But the campaign draws a distinction from “union bosses” and the rank-and-file. “That is why he supports labor law reforms that will take power from union bosses who have no interest in a constructive relationship with management, and return it to workers,” the campaign official says.

*** Santorum releases his tax returns: Today, Rick Santorum campaigns in Michigan by giving a speech at the Detroit Economic Club and then addressing the Oakland County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. And last night, according to NBC’s Andrew Rafferty, he released four years of his tax returns (from 2007 through 2010). They showed the Santorums filed an adjusted gross income of $659,637 in ’07, $945,100 in ’08, $1.1 million in ’09, and $923,411 in ’10. The largest portion they paid in taxes was in 2010, when their effective rate was over 28%. That rate, as Rafferty notes, is larger than Romney’s 13.9% from 2010 but smaller than Gingrich’s 31.5%. The tax returns also tell us something else: Santorum made money off being a former senator, though not to the extent that other ex-politicians have.

*** Right now: Traveling with President Obama yesterday in Wisconsin, NBC’s Ali Weinberg was struck by this exhortation from the president: Do it now! "Don't wait. Get it done. Do it now. Let's get it done," he said at his event in Milwaukee. Obama added, "This Congress should send me these tax reforms right now. I will sign them right away.” Weinberg recounts that a woman then shouted from the crowd, "Right now!" "Right now!" The president responded, smiling and eliciting cheers. Then, the chant, crescendoing as more of the crowd joined in: "Right now! Right now! Right now!" The Obama campaign has been looking for a sequel to their “fired up” mantra from four years ago that did help create passion at their rallies. Don’t be surprised if they try and reprise this “right now” again, especially since it appears this was actually organic… By the way, the president’s entire public schedule today is all fundraisers. Four separate events (L.A. and San Francisco). That ties for the most fundraising events he’s done in a day as president. In 2010, he had a handful of days where he did four events as well.

*** Payroll tax cut deal appears finalized: “Congressional negotiators gave final approval early Thursday to an economic plan worth more than $150 billion that would extend a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits,” the Washington Post writes. “A key roadblock was overcome when the lawmakers agreed to require new federal workers to contribute more to their pension plans, clearing the way around 12:30 a.m. for a majority of the House-Senate conference committee to begin signing onto the deal.” NBC’s Frank Thorp reports that Democrats in the Senate were able to secure enough votes to pass the plan through conference by changing a provision that would increase the amount federal workers pay into their pension funds. The new provision requires that ONLY new federal employees will have to pay more into their pensions. The provision was a major sticking point for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who had originally held out because the cost to federal workers.

*** On the trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: Romney, remaining in Michigan, campaigns in Monroe and Farmington Hills before heading to Ohio… Santorum stumps in Detroit and Oakland County… Gingrich and his wife are still in California… And Paul makes stops in Idaho and Washington state. 

Countdown to Arizona and Michigan primaries: 12 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 19 days
Countdown to Election Day: 264 days

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*** Thursday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) on the details of the payroll deal… NBC’s Ron Mott on the ground with Santorum in Michigan… Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) on Middle East tensions… The Daily Beast/Newsweek’s Zachary Karabell on what Chinese V.P. Xi’s visit tells us about the future of U.S.-China relations and economies… More 2012 news with USA Today’s Jackie Kucinich, Democratic pollster Fred Yang and the Washington Examiner’s David Freddoso.

*** Thursday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews the Atlantic’s James Fallows, the New York Times’ Jim Rutenberg; Inside Michigan Politics editor Bill Ballenger, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), former CEO of Shell oil’s John Hofmeister, and DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

*** Thursday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Politico’s Maggie Haberman, Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Josh Tyrangiel, The Nation’s Ari Melber, and MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Jon Huntsman, Santorum Super PAC donor Foster Friess, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, the Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus, and National Journal’s Major Garrett.

*** Thursday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews conservative radio talk show host Steve Deace, Michael Smerconish, and the Huffington Post’s Amanda Terkel.

A poll out today shows Santorum leading in Michigan. This one conducted for the Detroit News/local NBC affiliate WDIV shows Santorum leading Romney 34%-30%, with Gingrich at 12%, Paul 9%. (It was conducted by the Glengariff Group and has a margin of error of +/-4.4%)

GINGRICH: “The Super PAC promoting Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign is unleashing radio ads Thursday in three key states as well as nationally on popular conservative talk shows,” The Wall Street Journal writes. The ads go after Romney.

ROMNEY: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder endorsed Romney today. It’s also the same day that former Sen. Rick Santorum speaks before the Detroit Economic Club. Snyder writes in the Detroit News: “Our reinvention of Michigan is under way, and the future of the Great Lakes State is bright. But our state is not an island unto itself. The American economy as a whole remains in difficult straits. Our next president must understand how markets work and know how to get our nation back on track. Mitt Romney is the man for the job.”

The Detroit News: “The Republican governor's backing could give Romney a much-needed boost in what is shaping up to be a tight race with Santorum.”

AP’s Hunt writes: “Snyder's backing caps Romney's significant establishment support in the state, where dozens of local officials have already signed on to back him.”

“A two-month-old Democratic super PAC is trying to make waves with edgy – and misleading - ads attacking Republican candidate Mitt Romney. But the group has little funding, and is relying mostly on social media to disseminate its message,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “American LP’s latest ad [a radio ad] jumps on comments Romney made at the Conservative Political Action Conference, when he said he was ‘a severely conservative Republican governor.’ While many commentators noted the awkwardness of Romney’s phrasing, the 30-second radio ad goes further. ‘The word severely is most commonly used to describe the following: disabled, depressed, ill, limited, injured,’ the ad states. The ad charges that Romney ‘thinks conservatism is like a disease’ and is implying that ‘I’ll pretend to be a diseased extremist even if I think it’s crazy.’” (This is the same group that released the ad of Romney speaking French.)

SANTORUM: “Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum released a string of recent tax returns Wednesday, following similar moves by rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich,” The New York Post writes. “Former Pennsylvania Sen. Santorum, who is currently campaigning in North Dakota, released four years of returns spanning 2007 to 2010. The documents -- filed jointly with his wife Karen Santorum -- show adjusted gross income of $923,000 in 2010, with tax of $263,000 paid in the same year, FOX News Channel confirmed. For the four years combined, the Santorums earned $3.634 million and paid about $1 million in taxes. In 2007 they reported income of $659,000, in 2008 it was $952,000 and in 2009 it reached $1.1 million.”

“House and Senate negotiators announced late Wednesday evening a sweeping deal to extend a payroll tax cut, jobless benefits and Medicare doctor payments, overcoming several last-minute obstacles that appeared to imperil the bipartisan agreement,” Roll Call writes. “The fact that the deal had not been posted online by Thursday means House Republicans would have to renege on their Pledge to America in order to hold a Friday vote.”

The Hill: “House and Senate negotiators early Thursday finalized a deal to extend the payroll tax cut, emergency unemployment benefits and the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the leaders of the committee charged with dealing with the payroll tax cut, told reporters after midnight that a few ‘minor’ details remain to be worked out, but a majority of conferees have endorsed the package.”

“House Republicans stumbled toward a congressional recess Wednesday as Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) delayed his signature highway bill and rank-and-file members grumbled about a tentative payroll tax deal,” The Hill writes. “While the payroll deal appeared poised to pass with Democratic help, the struggle to pass the highway bill, a jobs centerpiece, underscored a rocky start to 2012 for a House GOP hoping to hold its majority in the fall.”

“While acknowledging that ‘change is hard,’ President Obama touted the nation's economic progress on his watch during a celebrity-studded fundraising stopover Wednesday night in Los Angeles,” The L.A. Times writes. And he said when running for president in 2008: "We did not fully comprehend at that point how deep this crisis would be.” Then talking about the jobs created in recent months, he said, "Don't underestimate the changes we made."

“Vice President Joe Biden will be visiting Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island next Thursday to fundraise and campaign for President Obama,” the Boston Globe reports.

MICHIGAN: “The actress featured in a Senate campaign ad for former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) that prompted accusations of racism has apologized and asked her community for forgiveness,” The Hill writes. She wrote on her Facebook page: "I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities. I feel horrible about my participation and I am determined to resolve my actions."

The Hill: “Republicans enjoyed a historic election in November 2010, but when Priebus took over a couple of months later, the RNC was $23 million in debt. Many donors had stopped giving to the RNC, which had been tarnished by various high-profile controversies. Priebus has brought them back, wiping out the RNC’s debt.”

NEW YORK: The New York Times runs this investigative piece on freshman GOP Rep. Michel Grimm: “Shortly before leaving the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2006, after a swashbuckling undercover career that would later help catapult him into Congress, a young agent named Michael G. Grimm went into real estate, investing roughly $1 million of borrowed money in a luxury development in Texas. Seeking a builder to cooperate on the project, Mr. Grimm chose a former F.B.I. agent who had served with him in New York — even though the former agent was under indictment on state racketeering and fraud charges, according to court and property records.”

More: “The former agent, Carlos Luquis, was soon convicted for his role in skimming $2 million from Texans’ electric bills, and served 18 months in prison. Yet Mr. Grimm went on to do business with Mr. Luquis and his wife in two other companies, records show. And during Mr. Grimm’s successful insurgent campaign for Congress in 2010, Mr. Luquis was frequently at his side.” 

As Mitt Romney begins his crucial campaign to win Michigan, his rhetoric about the auto industry is nostalgic and hopeful -- but also somber and even a bit sad.

"How in the world did an industry and its leaders and its unions get in such a fix that they lost jobs, that they lost their future?” Romney says in a new TV ad. “President Obama did all these things that liberals have wanted to do for years. The fact that you’ve got millions of Americans out of work, home values collapsing, people here in Detroit are distressed.”

He added in a recent Detroit News op-ed: "The indisputable good news is that Chrysler and General Motors are still in business. The equally indisputable bad news is that all the defects in President Obama's management of the American economy are evident in what he did."

Even days after Obama won the White House, Romney penned a now-often quoted New York Times op-ed -- entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" -- that began:

If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Yet it's striking to compare this tone from Romney from the rhetoric he used when he was campaigning in Michigan's Republican primary four years ago. Back then, before the economic collapse, his message was largely this: The U.S. auto industry -- with Washington's help -- was ready to bounce back.

And instead of somber, the rhetoric was enthusiastic and optimistic.

"Now I know that there are some people who don't think that there's a future for the domestic automobile industry," he said in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club one day before the Jan. 15, 2008 primary, which he won. "They think that the industry and its jobs are gone forever. And they're wrong."

That was while Romney was trying to draw a distinction with his then-chief rival, John McCain, who said in Jan. 2008: "I've got to give you some straight talk: Some of the jobs that have left the state of Michigan are not coming back. They are not. And I am sorry to tell you that."

So that’s largely why Romney, in that Detroit Economic speech, said: "If I am president, I will not rest until Michigan has come back."

He added in the speech: "The auto industry and all of its jobs do not have to be lost. And I am one man who will work to transform the industry and save those jobs."

Romney even said that Washington should play a role in assisting the auto industry. "I am not open to a bailout, but I am open to a workout. Washington should not be a benefactor, but it can and must be a partner."

He called for the federal government to invest in the industry. "If we're going to be the world's greatest economic power, we also have to invest in the future," he said in the address. "It's time for us to be bold. I will make a five-fold increase -- from $4 billion to $20 billion -- in our national investment in energy research, fuel technology, materials science, and automotive technology. Let's invest in our future."

And he called for cooperation with autoworker unions. "I actually believe that the union vote is very important to Republicans," he told FOX's Neil Cavuto a day before the 2008 Michigan primary, adding: "We're in this together. The auto industry is going to succeed or fail. And if it fails, it's going to hurt not just the shareholders, but all the employees."

Four years later? The tone is far different, especially as it pertains to federal assistance and unions.

"The dream of the Motor City is and always has been one of ideas, innovation, enterprise, and opportunity," he stated in his recent Detroit News op-ed. "It started with Henry Ford and continued with visionaries like William Durant, Walter Chrysler, and the Dodge Brothers. These giants never envisioned a role for government in their business, but relied on the hard work and commitment of private individuals."

A Romney campaign official tells First Read that the former Massachusetts governor continues to support federal investment for industry research and development, as he did in that Nov. 2008 New York Times op-ed. "He did not, and does not, support direct government handouts to companies – whether in the form of venture capital investments like the one given to Solyndra, or bailouts like the one given to GM and Chrysler," the official says. "As history has shown, that sort of activity is a recipe for wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money."

Romney's rhetoric toward unions is much different, too. The Romney campaign today issued this press release: "Unlike Obama, Romney will stand up to Big Labor."

The same official says Romney also "believes that it is important for unions and management to work together. That is why he supports labor law reforms that will take power from union bosses who have no interest in a constructive relationship with management, and return it to workers who work closely with management every day and have an equal stake in seeing their companies succeed."

Joseph P. Kennedy III will announce his candidacy for Congress on Thursday, making a bid for the Massachusetts seat held by the retiring Rep. Barney Frank (D).

Kennedy, a Democrat and the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, is slated to make his long-rumored candidacy official tomorrow with a campaign video announcement in the morning followed by a half dozen events throughout the district.

Kennedy has been exploring a bid for the seat since Frank, a veteran congressman, said that he wouldn't seek re-election this fall.

The current Congress marked the first one with no Kennedy member elected to the House or Senate in over 63 years following the retirement of Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI).

As was pointed out in First Read this morning, Mitt Romney won the state where his father served as governor by only nine percentage points, coming up with 39% of the vote compared to John McCain's 30%. (That's 338,316 votes for Romney.) Mike Huckabee came in third place with 16% of the vote in the state.

And here's a little more on Romney's Michigan performance, according to the exit polls.

Let's start with a telling data point: Among the 42% of GOP primary voters who said said that "Romney's ties to Michigan" were "important," 58% backed him. But among those who said home state connection was "not important," only 23% said they voted for him.

Romney performed well among a wide range of demographics in 2008. He won a plurality of born-again evangelicals, beating out Baptist preacher Huckabee. He beat McCain fairly soundly with voters both with and without a college degree. And he won all income brackets, except for those earning less than $30,000 a year.

But one data point that might not make Boston smile was his performance among voters -- about a third of the electorate -- who said that their top criterion for picking a candidate was that he "says what he believes." McCain trounced Romney on that measure by 19 points.

He did soundly win GOP voters most concerned that their nominee "shares my values" (44%). And Romney cleaned up among voters most concerned with "electability," although only 5% of Michigan GOP primary voters in 2008 said electability was the top quality they were looking for.

Romney's best performance was in the Detroit area and surrounding suburbs, with his highest win percentage in Oakland County (47%), where all three auto manufacturers have a strong presence. He also broke the 40% support threshhold in the Traverse City area.

His worst performance was in the sparsely populated Upper Penninsula. In Iron -- his weakest county -- he won just 20% of the vote, versus McCain's 39%.

There's chatter today that some Democrats may vote in the state's "open" primary to make mischief. For what it's worth, 7% of those voting in the 2008 Michigan GOP primary identified themselves as Democrats, and McCain won 41% of those voters compared with Romney's 33%. (There was a contemporaneous Democratic primary going on in 2008, but neither Obama nor John Edwards was on the ballot due to wrangling over the primary date.)

Here's an interactive look at the political events that have taken place between Jan. 2011 and now.

Just how much of a role would the government have played in supporting Chrysler and General Motors if Mitt Romney had been president?

As First Read reported yesterday, the former Massachusetts governor has worked to couch his opposition to President Barack Obama's decision to bail out the two car companies -- a decision which Romney, who was raised in Michigan, is being forced to confront heading into the state's Feb. 28 primary.

Democrats and the Obama campaign have made a big issue of Romney's 2008 op-ed in The New York Times entitled, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," especially in light of the signs of encouragement in the auto industry since the bailout. He penned it just weeks after Obama secured the presidency.

Related: Obama touts manufacturing at Wisconsin plant

The piece, published as the automakers were facing a major cash crunch, called for what he dubbed a “managed bankruptcy.” He said the car companies needed to restructure their labor agreements; replace each company's management and rid them of corporate perks; and increase government spending on alternative energy and fuel economy research, which would benefit the industry indirectly.

Of direct government assistance, Romney wrote: "The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk." He stated, declaratively, “Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.”

Since then, Romney has spoken publicly about the bailout, essentially trying to take ownership for the successes of the auto industry's turnaround while decrying Obama's management of the process.  Romney argues that the administration basically ended embracing a variation of the strategy he originally advocated.

"The indisputable good news is that Chrysler and General Motors are still in business," Romney wrote Tuesday in The Detroit News. "The equally indisputable bad news is that all the defects in President Obama's management of the American economy are evident in what he did."

The separation between Romney and Obama on the issue of the bailout stems from two issues. First, Romney argues that interests of the labor unions were unfairly favored over some of GM and Chrysler's private creditors. The government-supervised bankruptcy did this, he argues, by allowing the autoworkers’ retirees program an equity stake in the restructured GM in exchange for providing financial support for the bankruptcy.

Second, Romney appears to differ with the president over the extent to which government itself should have stepped forward with money to help stave off liquidation of GM and Chrysler and provide for the restructuring process. The administration's approach did this in the case of GM by essentially establishing a new, restructured company in which the government became a majority shareholder. (Romney argued Tuesday for the government to divest itself from the company.)

Romney's position in the past has been that the private sector could have stepped forward to finance and more effectively manage the bankruptcy process -- especially in a way that would have treated private stakeholders in the companies more fairly.

The right-leaning editorial page of The Detroit News weighed in Wednesday:

But on the key question of whether the automakers could have managed themselves through a traditional bankruptcy without assistance from the government, Romney is wrong. The loans provided by Bush and then by Obama allowed the domestic auto industry to survive the darkest hour of its history and return to thriving operations today.

Critics also contend that Wall Street might not have been in the position to give that financial assistance to Detroit in 2009, as Lehman Brothers collapsed and global credit tightened.

But Romney appeared to add more uncertainty into his position surrounding the bailouts in an interview Wednesday on Detroit talk radio station WJR. Romney said that the government should have been available to step in and provide financing during a structured bankruptcy by way of a bridge loan -- the initial way in which the Bush administration propped up GM and Chrysler at the end of 2008.

Romney explained:

They needed to go through bankruptcy, and if, as part of that process, they needed financial help to get out of bankruptcy -- a bridge loan, or guarantees on sales of cars and so forth -- I said the government should be there to provide that. But the point was they took the wrong process, they wasted a lot of money, and ended up giving the companies to the UAW.

That doesn't necessarily mean that Romney would have pursued the exact path as the Obama administration for restructuring GM and Chrysler, but it does indicate some willingness for a more expansive role for the government during bankruptcy. Spokesmen for the Romney campaign didn't immediately respond to an inquiry seeking clarification.

But in addressing some of the political flak he's taken over the bailout, Romney added on WJR: "I don't imagine that anyone could think I had any interest other than to see the companies to thrive and survive, and that's why the original op-ed piece I wrote describes what I thought was the best way to get that done."

With the conclusion of Saturday's Maine caucuses, there are now 13 days until the next GOP presidential nominating contests, in Arizona and Michigan. That's the biggest gap since the Republican race kicked off in Iowa on Jan. 3 -- and it means the candidates' travel schedules are more varied than they've been so far this primary season.

They are traveling to 18 states holding contests between Feb. 28 and March 13, as well as using this time for all-important fundraising.

For example, Washington state -- which holds its caucuses on March 3 -- saw the first campaigning of the cycle as Rick Santorum held a public event in Tacoma this week. (That's compared with the 90 days that Santorum alone spent in Iowa.)

Washington doesn’t traditionally attract many presidential-primary visits ahead, but state GOP Political Director Caleb Heimlich said the party hoped to change that when this year’s caucuses were scheduled for early March.

Idaho -- which holds its caucuses on Super Tuesday, March 6 -- also is seeing visits this week from Santorum and Mitt Romney. Jonathan Parker, the executive director of the Idaho Republican Party, called the state party’s decision to schedule a caucus for Super Tuesday a “gamble” hoping to attract more attention.

“So far it appears to be paying off,” he said of the decision.

Up until now, most of the GOP candidates have barely visited the states with upcoming contests, aside from Newt Gingrich’s two-day stop in Ohio last week. Romney made stops in both Georgia and Virginia in recent days. But he's has yet to campaign in the majority of Super Tuesday states. The same is true for Santorum (who stopped in Oklahoma Thursday) and Paul (who has yet to visit a Super Tuesday state in 2012).

Here is NBC's tally of the days that the remaining four GOP candidates have spent in states up until the March 13 primaries: 

IOWA:  Gingrich (52), Romney (17), Paul (39), Santorum (90)

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Gingrich (33), Romney (54), Paul (36), Santorum (48)
SOUTH CAROLINA: Gingrich (33), Romney (21), Paul (10), Santorum (40)
FLORIDA: Gingrich (20), Romney (26), Paul (6), Santorum (16)
NEVADA: Gingrich (3), Romney (9), Paul (9), Santorum (3)
COLORADO: Gingrich (1), Romney (3), Paul (1), Santorum (5)
MINNESOTA: Gingrich (1), Romney (1), Paul (3), Santorum (4)
MISSOURI: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (2)
MAINE: Gingrich (0), Romney (2), Paul (3), Santorum (0)
ARIZONA: Gingrich (0), Romney (1), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
MICHIGAN: Gingrich (1), Romney (6), Paul (1), Santorum (1)
WASHINGTON: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (1)
ALASKA: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
GEORGIA: Gingrich (0), Romney (1), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
IDAHO: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (1)
MASSACHUSETTS: Gingrich (0), Romney (1), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
NORTH DAKOTA: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (1)
OHIO: Gingrich (2), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
OKLAHOMA: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (1)
TENNESSEE: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
VERMONT: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
VIRGINIA: Gingrich (0), Romney (1), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
KANSAS: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
ALABAMA: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
HAWAII: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)
MISSISSIPPI: Gingrich (0), Romney (0), Paul (0), Santorum (0)

*** Note: Counts for Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Nevada began on January 1, 2011 and end edon that state’s caucus/primary day.  Counts for all other states began on January 1, 2012.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann suggested she may wait to endorse whomever wins the Republican nomination in her first appearance Wednesday on MSNBC since dropping out of the presidential race.

"My decision’s already made. I’m on board with whoever the nominee will be, because I’m all in for defeating Barack Obama in the upcoming election," Bachmann said, adding later, "I just think it’s very clear that we haven’t seen any of the candidates make the final sale."

The remarks cast further doubt that Bachmann will make an endorsement in the coming weeks.

(A report in the Boston Globe that Bachmann was in “negotiations” to endorse Mitt Romney days before the Minnesota caucuses won pushback from the Congresswoman herself, who declared the story “completely false.”)

Asked whether her resistance to endorsing is a signal that the field is weak, Bachmann deferred, drawing a parallel to 2008.

"We saw Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton literally giving each other black eyes,” Bachmann said.
 
“It wasn’t pretty four years ago, on the Democrat side of the ticket,” she continued, adding, “I think once our side decides on a candidate, then we’ll lock arms, we will be all-in together.”

The payroll tax cut fight also came up during her interview.  Bachmann reiterated her opposition to the cut, insisting as she often did during her run that the money was drawn from a “social security trust fund.”

“When you go to the general treasury and open the door to that vault, only moths and feathers fly out.  There’s nothing in there.  We’re broke,” Bachmann said.

Bachmann dropped out of the race on Jan. 4, one day after finishing last among the Republican candidates competing in the Iowa caucuses.

Sweet Home Michigan for Romney?... The contest there on Feb. 28 will likely be an inflection point -- the place where either Romney rights his ship or where it becomes obvious he might not be the GOP nominee… Restore Our Future and Santorum camp spar over the airwaves in Michigan… A reminder: Romney won the state in ’08 by just nine percentage points and with less than 40%... Quinnipiac poll: Santorum leads in Ohio… Texas primary won’t occur until at least May… More problems associated with Maine’s caucuses… A tentative deal on the payroll tax cut (but is it a done deal?)… And Obama talks manufacturing in Wisconsin at 1:40 pm ET.

Joshua Lott / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event in Mesa, Arizona February 13, 2012.

*** Sweet Home Michigan? The good news for Mitt Romney as several national polls now show him tied or even slightly trailing a surging Rick Santorum: The next major contest, on Feb. 28, is in Michigan. But the bad news is the same: It's Michigan. Indeed, the state where he grew up, where his father was governor, where his mom ran for the U.S. Senate, where he launched his '08 campaign, where he won in 2008, where he's airing a new TV ad, and where he campaigns today could be the inflection point in this Republican nominating contest. Either Michigan is the place where he rights his campaign's ship and continues his methodical march to the nomination. Or it’s the place -- because of all the advantages he enjoys in the state -- where we all realize he might not recover to become the GOP nominee. (And trust us, if Romney loses Michigan, the GOP noise about finding a new candidate will become deafening.) That's what's at stake in Michigan two weeks from now. There’s no overstating the importance of this race.

*** Restore Our Future vs. “Rombo”: And given the stakes, the TV ads are getting more aggressive. The pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future is up with a hard-hitting advertisement against Santorum in Michigan (as well as in Arizona and Ohio), which charges that Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling five times, voted to increase spending, and joined Hillary Clinton to let convicted felons vote. In response, Politico is reporting that the Santorum campaign is up with its own ad -- entitled “Rombo” -- showing a Romney lookalike firing mud from a gun. “Mitt Romney’s negative attack machine is back,” the ad says. “This time, Romney is firing his mud at Rick Santorum… Why? Because Romney is trying to hide from his big government RomneyCare and his support for job-killing cap-and-trade.”

*** What Gingrich never really had -- an effective response: This kind of response ad is worth watching (and seeing how much money is actually behind it), because it’s what Gingrich NEVER really had in Iowa or Florida. Meanwhile, turning back to that Restore Our Future ad, we’re not quite sure that Santorum is MOST vulnerable on spending and pork. Santorum’s biggest vulnerability might be that he’s simply too conservative (even for some Republicans) on social issues and that it makes him potentially unelectable in a general. But can Romney and his allies really go there, especially in a GOP primary? By the way, don’t miss Romney’s answer about Santorum’s surge this morning on FOX when he was asked if the two of them could envision running together. Romney said sure -- and added that he and Santorum actually agree on most issues; Romney said what makes them different are their backgrounds.

*** A reminder: Romney won Michigan in ’08 with just 39%: Here’s one final point we’re going to make about Michigan: Do note that Romney won the state in 2008 by just nine percentage points (39%-30% over McCain) and never cracked 40%. Yes, Romney was no longer the front-runner at that time in the race. And, yes, McCain had won the Michigan primary in 2000. But those results are a reminder that Romney might not be as formidable in the state as everyone thinks…

*** Q-poll: Santorum leads in Ohio: And Michigan isn’t the only state in the industrial Midwest that Romney might be sweating. A brand-new Quinnipiac survey of Ohio -- which holds its primary on Super Tuesday, March 6 -- finds Santorum leading Romney among likely GOP primary voters by seven points in the state, 36%-29%; Newt Gingrich gets 20% and Ron Paul 9%. Also in that poll, Obama leads Romney by two points in Ohio (46%-44%), Santorum by six (47%-41%) and Gingrich by 12 (50%-38%). And Obama’s approval rating in the state is 47%-48%; it’s actually the president’s best score in that poll in the past year, despite being upside down.

*** Texas primary won’t occur until at least May: The AP reports that Texas -- because of the divisions over its redistricting map -- will unlikely hold its presidential primary in April. “Texas was originally scheduled to be a part of next month's slate of Super Tuesday primaries, but the redistricting clash forced the state to reschedule its contest to April 3. With that date now all but dead, too, elections workers who squeezed into a packed San Antonio courtroom Tuesday advocated a new date of May 22, which could be long after Republicans settle on a nominee to face President Barack Obama.” So Texas won’t play a role in this GOP presidential race -- until it does. Consider: If a Republican decides to run for president at the last second, that person could plant his/her flag in Texas.

*** Remember the Maine! The additional news coming out of Maine -- that one county turned in its results on Feb. 7 but weren’t included -- is a disaster for the GOP and the entire caucus system. (And this news is on top of that other county that postponed its caucuses due to snow and wasn’t counted, either.) The GOP caucuses (in Iowa, Nevada, and now Maine) have really taken it on the chin and raise real doubts about the integrity of the voting results. And Nevada is lucky its outcome wasn’t close…

*** On the trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: Gingrich travels to Palo Alto, CA…Santorum visits North Dakota, campaigning in Tioga and Fargo…Meanwhile, Romney hosts a rally in Grand Rapids, MI

*** We have a deal: Off the campaign trail, it looks like Hill Democrats and Republicans struck a tentative deal on extending the payroll tax cut, as well as unemployment insurance and the Medicare “doc fix.” NBC’s Libby Leist and Frank Thorp have the details: The payroll tax cut gets extended through 2012, unemployment insurance goes for 75 weeks in the hardest-hit states and 63 weeks in the others (versus 93 weeks now), there’s no drug test or GED requirements for the unemployment assistance, and there are no Medicare benefit cuts. In addition, the payroll tax cut IS NOT paid for, but the unemployment insurance and “doc fix” ARE. Those offsets, with a price tag of about $50 or $60 billion, come from government spectrum sales, federal pension reform, and a few billion from Fannie/Freddie fees. NBC’s Leist adds that the tentative deal, which could be inked as early as today, was negotiated by House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R) and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D).

*** But is it a done deal? Yet Politico reminds us that it’s not a done deal yet. “As of Tuesday night, there was still some selling left to do on the basic agreement — history has taught congressional leaders not to call a deal done until House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has had a chance to vet it with rank-and-file Republicans...  ‘I just can’t. I just can’t,’ Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said when asked if he would vote for a payroll tax cut without offsetting spending cuts or tax increases. ‘I gotta stand on principle. How can I criticize the president for his budget where he’s increasing the debt and deficit if we’re going to come here and vote to do the same?’ Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) was one of the loudest critics Tuesday night, calling the proposal a ‘welfare payment’ and saying he is going to vote against the deal.”

*** Obama travels to Wisconsin: President Obama hits the road today, giving a speech on manufacturing in Milwaukee, WI at 1:40 pm ET. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, per NBC’s Ali Weinberg, that Obama’s trip to the state “is his first to Wisconsin since the labor wars erupted a year ago, and comes at a time when the state has more wild cards in its political deck than perhaps any other presidential battleground.” And do note: There will be an official meet-and-greet between Obama and Gov. Scott Walker.

*** Villaraigosa to chair Dem convention: Lastly, the Los Angeles Times reported last night that Democrats have tapped L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to chair the Democratic National Convention. “As convention chairman, Villaraigosa will wield the gavel during the event in Charlotte, N.C., which opens with a festival on Sept. 3 and continues for three days of official business, including the nomination of Obama and his acceptance speech... Villaraigosa is one of the nation's most prominent elected Latino officials and envisions an active role in Obama's reelection effort. The White House, in turn, is counting heavily on strong Latino turnout, especially in battleground states such as Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Florida.”

Countdown to Super Tuesday: 20 days
Countdown to Election Day: 265 days

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*** Wednesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, on the developing payroll tax deal… Latest on Iran's actions and nuclear news with Robin Wright of the U.S. Institute of Peace… The Atlantic's James Fallows on his big piece called "Obama, Explained"… And more 2012 news with NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, Bernard Center President Michelle Bernard and Democratic strategist Steve McMahon

*** Wednesday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC's Chris Jansing interviews Santorum senior adviser John Brabender, Politico’s Maggie Haberman, Salon’s Steve Kornacki; former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, Variety’s political writer Ted Johnson, and Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Karen Hunter.

*** Wednesday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviews Politico’s Jim Vandehei, MSNBC analyst Richard Wolffe, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dem pollster, Anna Greenberg, GOP strategist Boris Epshteyn, and White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske.

*** Wednesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, New York Magazine's John Heilemann, S.E. Cupp, New York Times Magazine Editor Hugo Lindgren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and The Nation's Ari Berman.

*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, GOP strategist Phil Musser, Santorum spokesperson Alice Stewart, Ron Barber (who is running for Gabby Giffords’ House seat), and NBC’s Stephanie Gosk and Ali Arouzi.