Touting his administration’s new proposals on housing and education policy on Thursday, President Obama also said he had more work to do on both issues -- work that would require another four years in office.

The president today announced a $25 billion deal that requires the five biggest mortgage-lending banks to provide financial help to qualified homeowners and, in a separate speech, declared 10 states eligible for waivers from parts of the No Child Left Behind education law that measures school success.

Praising those 10 states for accepting the administration’s offer of NCLB waivers in exchange for “higher benchmarks for student achievement,” Obama also subtly reminded the audience that these new efforts will take years to implement -- well into what would be his second term, in fact.

“This is not a one-year project. This isn’t a two-year project. This is going to take some time,” he told a group of teachers and school superintendents in the East Room of the White House.

And while he praised the mortgage settlement, part of which funds remittance for improperly foreclosed-upon families, he added that his administration still needs to ensure that the banks fulfill the terms of the settlement, which could take up to three years -- again, the middle of his potential next term.  

“We're going to make sure that the banks live up to their end of the bargain,” Obama said, speaking in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. “If they don’t, we've set up an independent inspector, a monitor, that has the power to make sure they pay exactly what they agreed to pay, plus a penalty if they fail to act in accordance with this agreement.”

While he emphasized his administration’s leadership in the measures he announced today, Obama also urged for Congress to be his partner in future efforts, jabbing his frequent foil for not doing enough to further his priorities.

On the mortgage issue, Obama urged Congress to pass his plan to give more homeowners the option of refinancing their loans, which was announced last week.

“To build on this settlement, Congress still needs to send me the bill I've proposed that gives every responsible homeowner in America the chance to refinance their mortgage and save about $3,000 a year,” he said. “It's only going to happen if Congress musters the will to act.”
And Obama also blamed legislators for making him go it alone on education reform.

“In September, after waiting far too long for Congress to act, I announced that my administration would take steps to reform No Child Left Behind on our own,” he said, referring to his announcement last year that he would allow states to skirt some of the law’s mandates like full proficiency of all students in math and reading by 2014.

While he did give shout-outs to some members of Congress who supported his administration’s plans, Obama added, “We haven't been able to get the entire House and Senate to move on this.”  

WASHINGTON, DC -- Wild applause for talk of "gutter politics," flat taxes, and "stupid people who are ruining America."

Time to party like it's 9-9-9.

Former presidential candidate and current rock-star-reception recipient Herman Cain addressed a packed hotel ballroom at the conservative CPAC conference Thursday, encouraging the audience to back his famed 9-9-9 plan and explaining his rationale for exiting the 2012 contest.

"There were two reasons I dropped out of the race," Cain said. "Gutter politics. And, No. 2, I chose to put family first."

Invoking the biblical tale of the underdog, Cain added: "And in making that decision, I knew that we together could change Washington, DC from the outside and from the bottom up, even if your David didn't make it to the White House."

Cain later said that he did not regret his decision, one that came after weeks of scrutiny for accusations of sexual harassment from numerous alleged victims, because "there is more than one way to skin a cat."

The onetime pizza executive mainly used his remarks to plug his 9-9-9 tax plan, urging conservatives to get federal candidates to "adopt" the idea before winning office.

And he touted his support for one such candidate, "Joe the Plumber," who is running for Congress in Ohio this cycle.

Cain, like earlier CPAC speaker Rick Perry, did not mention Newt Gingrich, the candidate whom both former candidates endorsed after exiting the race.

But he did repeat one of his most popular refrains from his brief tenure as a presidential front-runner.

"We need another revolution in this country! It won't be bombs and bullets, not this time. It will be brains and balance at the ballot box."

"We must outsmart the liberals! We must outsmart the stupid people who are trying to ruin America!" Cain said to raucous cheers. "We outnumber the stupid people. Trust me. I counted em!"

And he promised to stay in the spotlight.

"A lot of people thought that after the character assassination that was launched against me, that Herman was going to shut up and sit down and go away," he said. "Ain't gonna happen."

WASHINGTON, DC -- After his stinging losses to Rick Santorum on Tuesday, Mitt Romney has responded with this message: He’s the only Washington outsider left in the race and, thus, the only one capable of changing its culture.

And he has lumped his two main challengers – Santorum and Newt Gingrich – into the dreaded “Washington insider” category.

"I happen to believe that the American people recognize that if we’re going to see change in Washington, we’ve got to see some new faces," Romney said at a campaign event in Atlanta. "I haven’t spent any time working in Washington. I spent my life out in the real economy."

He added: "Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, they've spent a lot of time in Washington and during their years we spent more money than we were taking in … Actually, during Sen. Santorum's time in Washington, the government grew by 80 percent. And he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times. This may work in Washington, or it may have worked in the past, it will not work in the future."

But Romney's efforts to claim the Washington outsider mantle – including calling for a permanent ban on congressional earmarks this afternoon – are at odds with the deep Washington connections he and his campaign have built, winning the support of dozens of members of Congress, and millions of dollars in donations from the Washington power structure.

The fundraiser being hosted by Romney tonight at Washington’s J.W. Marriott hotel is just the latest example.

The former Massachusetts governor’s top policy advisers, along with a group of top congressional supporters, will brief donors on issues ranging from the economy to energy to foreign policy. Donors had to raise $10,000 for the campaign to score the best tickets to the event.

Romney, like other candidates, has turned to elite bundlers in order to help finance the heavy price tag of waging a run for the White House. While the Romney campaign is not obligated to disclose most of its bundlers (The Obama campaign voluntarily makes public its bundlers.), it is required by federal law to disclose which of those elite fundraisers are registered lobbyists.

Romney's fourteen lobbyist bundlers – including representatives from powerhouse D.C. lobbying firms Dutko Worldwide and Ogilvy Government Relations – raised $1.1 million for his campaign in the second half of 2011, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. Ogilvy chief Wayne Berman, one of Romney's top bundlers, is also a co-chair of his national finance committee.

But Romney’s connection to elite D.C. operatives don’t end with fundraising.

Ron Kaufman, a former Bush Sr. advisers and now one of Romney's top advisers was a top lobbyist for Dutko for years, telling the Boston Globe he decertified as a lobbyist just last year.

Team Romney also includes other top-tier Washington power brokers like Charlie Black, a former top adviser to John McCain began advising Romney earlier this year, and Romney's chief counsel Ben Gingsberg, who held the same role in both Bush-Cheney campaigns, and has represented numerous house and senate campaigns and PACs.

Romney's commanding lead in congressional endorsements, which would otherwise be seen as a sign of strength, also undercuts his outsider message. The former Massachusetts governor's campaign rolled out two new endorsements from Michigan Reps. Fred Upton and Tim Walberg just yesterday, and the Romney campaign has more than double the congressional endorsementsof Paul, Santorum and Gingrich combined.

A little more than two weeks after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords resigned from Congress to focus on her recovery from the shooting in Tucson last year, her former District Director Ron Barber announced his campaign to fill the seat in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District for the remainder of her term.

Barber, who was also injured in the shooting last year, has worked with Giffords since 2006, and he indicated on a conference call with reporters Thursday that he would continue many of her priorities if elected in the special election set for June.

“I think we have a very strong bond,” Barber said of Giffords. “I know what her priorities are. In almost every case, they are my priories too. I feel I'm a moderate like she is.”

Barber said he decided to run after Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly urged him to run a few weeks ago, but he said it is "hard to say" if Giffords would be out on the campaign trail with him in Tucson.

"The Congresswoman looked at me directly and said, ‘Ron, will you run?” Barber recounted. “I have their full support going forward. I'm very fortunate and honored to have that.”

He added, “I hope the Congresswoman's support and Mark Kelly's support will be one way to let the voters know if they elect me they're going to get a similar kind of representation -- a hardworking, problem-solving, moderate in Congress."

State Rep. Matt Heinz had said he would seek the nomination in the April special election primary, but Heinz announced this afternoon that he was endorsing Barber and would focus on the general election for the new second congressional district. That could result in a showdown with Barber, if Barber wins and decides to seek a full term.

Barber said he has not decided whether he would seek a full two-year term in the general election this November in the redrawn 2nd Congressional District.

Once Barber returned to work after the shooting at the Safeway in January 2011, he was working half days up until his resignation, but he said that he feels he is physically and emotionally up to the job.

“I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think I could,” Barber said. “I've never given less than 100% to every job, project, or initiative I've been involved with.”

Rick Perry's back, and doing his best Clint Eastwood impression.

"If it's halftime in America," he said, invoking the "Dirty Harry" actor's recent appearance in a controversial Chrysler ad during last weekend's Super Bowl --  "I'm fearful of what the final score is going to be if we let this president start the second half as quarterback."

In his second public appearance since dropping out of the presidential race, Perry quipped at today's conservative CPAC gathering that the clock ran out on his own presidential campaign as well.

"Aggies never lose," he said, referencing the mascot of his alma mater Texas A&M. "We just run out of time. So you can say that my presidential campaign just ran out of time. But I haven't run out on the ideas."

While he warned against settling for a new president would would simply "tinker" with existing policies, Perry did not mention any remaining GOP candidates by name.

That omission included Newt Gingrich, whom he endorsed when he dropped out of the race in North Charleston on Jan. 19. Perry also didn't mention the former House Speaker during a speech in Austin last week.

In warmly received remarks to the conservative confab Thursday, Perry revisited many of his rhetorical highlights from his campaign, including populist anti-corruption tones and a harsh critique of President Barack Obama's "war on religion."

The Texas governor won limited traction last year when he slammed the Obama administration for its clashes with Catholic bishops over federal funding, but the issue is now the subject of searing debate after the White House's controversial mandate for most employers to provide copay-free health coverage for birth control prescriptions.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann made light of some of her campaign trail missteps in her first major speech since dropping out of the presidential race.

Bachmann said that running for president is "really one series of humiliations after another" in remarks to Republican activists gathered for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

“I learned three things when I was running for president,” Bachmann continued.  “First of all, I learned where John Wayne was born. That's very important. And then second, I learned the day that Elvis Presley was born. These are vital issues to our republic. And third I learned, never forget the three things that you learned.”

The first two things she learned were facts she famously got wrong along the way -- the third thing, of course, is a reference to what Texas Gov. Rick Perry forgot during a CNBC debate in Michigan last November.

But Bachmann did not seem to have forgotten many of the themes that undergirded the last few months of her presidential run, which were marked by daily attacks on President Obama’s foreign policy.

“Without a shadow of a doubt he world is a better off without bin Laden and without Gadhafi," Bachmann said, before adding: "These are tactical successes that don't begin to compare with the mess Barack Obama has made of the Middle East.”

Reviving a major theme of her candidacy, Bachmann attacked President Obama for the events of the Arab Spring, arguing that Obama should have defended Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak against the movement.

“Obama failed to stand by Mubarak,” Bachmann said, “and that helped fuel the revolution in Egypt, and it led to a regime that was based on Sharia Law, with 72 percent of the seats in the lower house in Egypt now occupied by the Brotherhood.”

Turning to another theme Bachmann hit often on the trail, she hit Obama for the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq, and the planned drawdown in Afghanistan.

“Only Obama could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and call it success,” Bachmann said.

NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss how the current argument between the Catholic Church and the Obama administration could affect the Latino vote.

Thanks to Phinephancy-4252115 for the question!

First, there were Freedom Fries.

So, of course, it makes sense that someone somewhere would try this – renaming the “Gulf of Mexico,” what else – the “Gulf of America.”

That’s exactly what Mississippi state Rep. D. Stephen Holland, a Democrat, is proposing.

According to a bill he introduced in the Mississippi Legislature, as of July 1, 2012, H.B. 150 is an act to provide that for all official purposes within the state of Mississippi, the body of water located directly South of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties shall be known as the ‘Gulf of America’; and for related purposes.” (Here’s the pdf of the bill.)

The bill is now before the Marine Resources Committee and is expected to get a hearing. It was referred to the committee Tuesday.

Holland’s office could not be reached for comment.

Holland, a former aide to late-Rep. Jamie Whitten (D) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R), appears to be a brash, blunt pol. (See videos here and here.)

The news was first reported by the BestofNewOrleans.com website.

A former aide to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was himself wounded in last year's mass shooting in Arizona, announced this afternoon that he is running in the special election to replace the congresswoman.

Ron Barber, 66, Giffords' former district director, who was shot twice in the Tucson rampage, will have the backing of the party in the June 12 special election.

It has been reported by other outlets that Barber is believed only to be a placeholder, that Barber will run to serve out Giffords' term and does not plan to seek election when the term is up.

But two party sources tell NBC that Barber very well may, in fact, seek election to a full term, provided he wins the special. It is the party's hope that he does so. Barber is contemplating whether to run in the reshaped second congressional district once redistricting takes effect, which will likely make this Tucson seat even more Democratic than its current swing-seat status.

Barber, a political novice, may also want to see what toll the campaign takes on him and his family.

Prior to joining Giffords' office, Barber was the Tucson District Director for the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities since 1976.

Here's the full release:

Ron Barber Announces Run for Congress in Arizona's 8th District

(Tucson, AZ) - Today, Southern Arizonan and former Gabrielle Giffords District Director Ron Barber announced his candidacy for Congress in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. Barber pledged to continue Gabrielle Giffords' legacy of working across the aisle to solve problems for the people of Southern Arizona such as protecting veterans and seniors, investing in clean energy to create jobs and securing the border.

"Our community needs someone who will put politics aside and solve problems for the people of Southern Arizona," Ron Barber said. "My commitment is to be honest with the people of this district and help restore civility to our public life. My first priority won't be the next election - but the next generation. That means balancing the budget the right way by protecting Social Security and Medicare, creating jobs, and securing our border."

Ron Barber served as District Director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords from 2007 until she retired.  At Giffords' direction and under Barber's leadership, the district offices focused on solving problems for veterans, military families, seniors, and any resident who experienced difficulty with the federal government. In January 2011, Barber was wounded alongside Giffords. After the shooting, he and his family created the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding to help the community heal by supporting survivors of the tragedy, aiding first responders, reducing bullying in schools, and increasing awareness of mental health symptoms.

Before working for Giffords, he ran the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities, where he built one of the top five programs in the nation that helped people with disabilities to get jobs and live successfully in their community.

Barber and his wife, Nancy, owned and ran a small business for 22 years.  He understands the challenges faced by small businesses and will be an advocate for the changes that will make it easier for them to grow and thrive.

"My commitment is to work across the aisle, find common ground and restore civility to our politics so we can strengthen middle-class families of Southern Arizona," Barber said. "My life's work hasn't been politics, it's been about getting results and solving problems for people. I've been honored by the outpouring of support for our campaign. While there will never be anyone who can fill Congresswoman Giffords' shoes, I look forward to continuing her legacy of putting problem-solving before politics."

In announcing his campaign, Barber pledged to focus on balancing the budget the right way, by protecting Social Security and Medicare, creating jobs, keeping our promises to veterans and securing the border.

When Rick Santorum took the stage to deliver his victory speech in Missouri on Tuesday, he was flanked to his right by his daughter and to his left by his wife.

Yet just over his shoulder stood the billionaire whose financial support has helped keep the campaign afloat, even in its darkest days.

Foster Friess, the primary funder for the pro-Santorum Super PAC "Red, White and Blue Fund," travels with the inner circle of the campaign; he has given suggestions to advisers about media strategy; and on Friday, he will introduce the presidential hopeful at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The relationship between Friess and the campaign he supports is one of the clearest examples of how candidates are pushing the limits of the only rule governing their relationship with Super PACs -- no coordination.

Laws prohibit candidates and the Super PAC supporting them to discuss things like how to spend money or campaign strategy. But where the line is drawn between being an outside supporter and being an actual part of the campaign has become increasingly blurry as the 2012 presidential cycle has continued.

Santorum is not the only candidate pushing the limits. Newt Gingrich met with his Super PAC funder Sheldon Adelson in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucus earlier this month.  Mitt Romney has appeared at fundraisers for "Restore Our Future," the Super PAC supporting his candidacy. And earlier this week, the Obama campaign announced that top advisers and even cabinet secretaries would appear at events for a pro-Obama Super PAC.

But no one else this campaign season has been as public as Santorum about his very close relationship between the campaign and the wealthy supporter helping to finance his Super PAC.

The New York Times reported that Friess, as of Dec. 31, had given the Red, White, and Blue Fund $331,000 -- more than 40% of all of its financing.

"I'm very, very fastidious about conversations I've had with him. Foster's been a friend for years and years and years and continues to be a friend. We don't talk about any activity of the Super PAC at all," Santoum said last week in Montrose, Colo. after a rally where Friess cheered him from a front row seat. "I have no idea about what he's doing or how much he's giving and I don't want to know. We talk about family. We talk about other activities. He's very careful in that regard and so am I."

Santorum staffers point to their openness about Friess' involvement as proof they are doing nothing wrong. He is a visible presence on the campaign trail and has done an increasing number of television interviews coinciding with Santorum's resurrgence.

But it is that openness that has caused some observers to scratch their heads and make the case that there really are no rules separating campaigns and Super PAC donors. In front of reporters this week, Friess questioned campaign staffers about why the candidate had not done a local interview he tried pitching them on.

"If you want us to do it, we'll do it," one aide finally told him.

The former Pennsylvania senator's spike in popularity after winning races in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado has brought with it a renewed interest in the campaign and the role of the Wyoming billionaire. It was during an appearance on CNN the morning after his three state victory where Santorum faced a question about Friess' presence on stage with him the night before.

"Foster Freiss doesn't run my Super PAC. He may be a donor to it, but the people who personally runs my Super PAC, I haven't spoken with in about five months. So, no, I mean, as far as the conversations we have, Foster has been a long personal friend for 20 years," said Santorum. 

"And we have spent a lot of time together," he added. "But we also know what the law is and Foster doesn't run the Super PAC and we don't talk about anything regarding those matters. So he's someone, again, who is a friend and will continue to be a good friend."

The response marks a shift in Santorum's defense of Friess. Previously, he described him as nothing more than a friend with whom he converses about anything but campaign matters. Yet now, the candidate says that Friess simply does not run "Red, White and Blue Fund" -- so having him so close to the campaign is no legal issue at all.

"Basically, our lawyers have told us that it's very, very simple. You just don't talk about the Super PAC," Friess said Wednesday on CNN, defending his looming presence on the trail.

And for Friess, the idea that he is pulling the strings of a presidential campaign is laughable to him.

"I have so little control over the Super PAC; all I did was write a check. In fact, Newt came up to me the other day and made some remark about one of the ads. And I said, 'You know, I don't see the ads.'" 

"So I'm not the hands on guy, I like writing the check and then I turn it over to the guys who make it happen."

Conservative Sen. Jim DeMint stressed an unyielding agenda for Republicans during an opening speech Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

DeMint, a South Carolina senator and conservative icon, cast aspersions toward the notions of compromising with Democrats during a time in which political strife has dominated Capitol Hill.

"We don’t have shared goals with the Democrats. The democrats can’t cut spending. Their whole platform is based on promising more from government," DeMint told activists gathered in Washington, D.C.

"Every time we compromise with Democrats, we spend more, we borrow more, we grow government," he said.

DeMint skewered the Obama administration in his speech, the first address as part of the three-day summit.

DeMint dealt mainly in broad strokes, outlining a “decentralized” approach to health care and transportation, DeMint argued for familiar themes to conservatives, including state’s rights and budget prudence.

One hot topic that came up – the Keystone pipeline, which DeMint said would ensure tens of thousands of jobs.

“Who could say no?  Folks, we’re not talking about complicated political philosophy here,” he said.

The House overwhelmingly passed its version of a ban on congressional insider trading on Thursday, moving now to a process of resolving differences with a similar bill in the Senate.

The House voted 417-2 to pass the STOCK Act; two Republican lawmakers opposed it. The legislation now goes to the Senate, which can either decided to vote on it, or can convene a conference where they will meld the Senate and House's versions of the bill.

The bill is intended to strengthen the restrictions against members of Congress, their staffs and families, as well as members of the executive branch using information they've gathered in their jobs for insider trading.

While House Democrats had chastised Republicans for writing the bill behind "closed doors," as well as taking out some of the reforms the Senate bill had included, the bill passed with Democratic support, as it would reflect poorly to vote against a bill making it illegal for Congress to use information they gather for insider trading. Democrats are hoping that the bill will go to conference in order to re-introduce some of the reforms contained within the Senate bill.

The House GOP's version of the bill strengthened the restrictions and reporting requirements for the executive branch. It also took out an amendment that was included in the Senate bill that tighten restrictions on people who take information from Capitol Hill and sell it to financial institutions.

Romney retools his message -- with his biography and even his policy… GOPers and conservatives tell Romney to step it up… Dems break ranks on the contraception issue… Yet polling (for now) shows the issue isn’t as controversial as the noise machine suggests… Jim Fallows on Obama’s first three years… CPAC is back... And Chamber up with House and Senate ads. 

Gerald Herbert / AP

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to the traveling press corps after arriving in Atlanta, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012.

*** Romney retools his message: Beginning with Romney’s speech on Tuesday night, we can point to four examples how he and his allies have begun to retool his biographical message, trying to expand it beyond the simple “economic fix-it man.” So in his address on Tuesday night, he talked about his father’s humble roots and past work as a carpenter. (It was a little forced and the “pointy end forward” nails example is not his best stump moment, but we digress). Then the campaign released a statement yesterday commemorating the 10^th anniversary of the Salt Lake City Olympics and reminding everyone of Romney’s role with it. (“I was deeply honored to have been asked to lead the Olympics and am proud that the games were such a memorable success,” Romney said in the release.) Then, campaigning in Atlanta, he talked about his time as a Mormon lay pastor, something he rarely does. (“In that capacity, I had a chance to work with people who lost their jobs, in some cases, or were facing other financial distress.’) And finally, his son Tagg tweeted an article about how Romney rescued a 14-year-old kidnap victim (a story we heard more about in the ’08 race than the ’12 one). You add up these four things, and it’s an obvious attempt in a 24-hour span to humanize Romney and add more texture to his biography -- beyond the guy who’s good at giving a PowerPoint presentation.

*** And the retool is biographical, policy-based, and anti-Washington: But you also get the sense that Romney’s retool after his losses in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri is going to go well beyond biography. He is now set to deliver an economic speech at Ford Field -- where the Detroit Lions play -- on Feb. 24. You don’t create a setting like that unless you have something new to say. Don’t be surprised if this economic speech is used to make a better sale with conservative voters. And when it comes to attacking his GOP rivals, he’s casting both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as Washington insiders. But there’s one problem here: If you’re going to criticize your opponents as being DC insiders, you probably don’t want to come to DC -- as Romney is doing today -- and raising money from these same insiders. As the New York Times writes, “The timing of Mr. Romney’s aggressive assault on Washington was hardly ideal. He is scheduled to spend Thursday in the capital, surrounded by lobbyists and other donors who are each asked to raise $10,000 in contributions before attending a policy discussion. His campaign has designated “Industry Finance Chairs” from the energy, defense and financial sectors.” By the way, don’t expect the same “Empire Strikes Back” style of attacks on Santorum and Gingrich going forward as we saw in Florida. The campaign seems to get that, while effective at defeating Gingrich in Florida, it did damage to Romney as well.

*** GOPers and conservatives tell Romney to step it up: This retooling comes as GOP leaders and conservatives are asking Romney to step up his game. Politico's Martin writes, “A day after Romney was convincingly defeated by Rick Santorum in non-binding contests in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri, high-profile Republicans voiced long-simmering worries that the would-be standard-bearer lacks a compelling message for conservatives — and must be bolder to capture the party’s nomination.” (And don’t miss this quote from Sen. Jon Kyl in the piece: “Every time he defends his health care action in Massachusetts and every time he says something like [indexing minimum wage], conservatives wonder whether he has the instincts to usually take the conservative position on issues.) And today, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page hits Romney’s “inability, or unwillingness, to defend conservative principles. He seems to retreat at the first sound of a liberal moral argument.”

*** Dems break ranks on the contraception issue: You know where the politics are on this contraception brouhaha -- at least for now -- when Republicans are uniting and when some Democrats are breaking ranks. Tim Kaine, the former DNC chair who’s now running in Virginia’s Senate race and has been searching for a way to show some distance from his former boss, said that he disagreed with the Obama administration’s decision. “I think the White House made a good decision in including a mandate for contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act insurance policy, but I think they made a bad decision in not allowing a broad enough religious- employer exemption.” Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who’s up for re-election, also opposes the policy. And West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, also up for re-election, called it “un-American” and a “direct affront to the religious freedoms protected under the 1^st Amendment,” Politico says. If these Democrats running in tough (or potentially tough) races were looking for a way to create some distance from Obama, they certainly found it.

*** Yet polling (for now) shows the issue isn’t as controversial as the noise suggests: That said, supporters of the policy are pointing to polls showing that it isn’t as controversial -- even among Catholics -- as the DC noise machine suggests. A recent Public Religion Research Institute poll found that a majority of Catholics think employers should be required to provide health-care plans covering birth control at no cost. And a Democrat sent First Read a poll conducted by Dem pollster Celinda Lake -- from Aug. 2011 -- showing that 53% of Catholics say that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposition to free birth control in the health-care law makes no difference to them. Also, the Democratic National Committee will hold a conference call at 1:30 pm ET hitting Mitt Romney on this contraception issue with two Massachusetts health-care experts. “Romney is a politically calculating hypocrite, and we're gonna call him out for it tomorrow as a pre-buttal to his appearance at CPAC,” DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse says. Still, the White House is well aware they’ve fumbled the roll-out of this policy, and they know they can’t afford to let this debate linger beyond the weekend. Expect to hear something from them -- perhaps from the president himself -- that indicates they are open to finding compromise to implement this policy. And expect to hear something before the weekend.

*** Obama’s first three years: Here’s a good read today: Jim Fallows’ piece in The Atlantic on the first three years of Obama’s presidency. His conclusion: Obama was unready for the presidency (as almost all new presidents are) and temperamentally unsuited to it in several ways. But he also argues that many of his accomplishments -- as well as how quickly he’s learned on the job and from his mistakes -- has been underappreciated. And Fallows makes another point about the importance of 2012 for Obama: The outcome of the election will determine how his first three years in office will be later viewed. “If a year from now Obama is settling in for a second term, a halo effect will extend back to everything he did during his first four years... Yet if a year from now a just-beaten former President Obama is thinking about his memoirs … the very same combination of missteps and achievements will be viewed as a narrative leading inexorably to defeat.”

Slideshow: Obama's third year in the White House

*** CPAC is back: The three-day Conservative Political Action begins today in DC, and here are some of today’s more notable speeches, NBC’s Adam Perez reports: Jim DeMint (9:25 am ET), Marco Rubio (10:35 am), Mitch McConnell (11:50 am), Michele Bachmann (12:20 pm), Rick Perry (1:20 pm), House Speaker John Boehner (1:35 pm), Herman Cain (4:25 pm), and Paul Ryan (7:30 pm). The current presidential candidates speak tomorrow, and Sarah Palin delivers the keynote on Saturday.

*** On the 2012 trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: It’s a relatively slow day: Santorum stumps in Oklahoma, rallying in Oklahoma City and Tulsa… Romney visits Washington, DC for a reception with VA Gov. Bob McDonnell… And Paul and Gingrich are off the campaign trial.

*** The Chamber goes up with ads: Turning away from the presidential contest, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is beginning a TV ad blitz in 12 House and eight Senate contests. “The goal is to help Republicans win a majority of seats in the Senate while protecting the GOP majority in the House,” the Wall Street Journal writes. The ads are here. 

Countdown to Super Tuesday: 26 days
Countdown to Election Day: 271 days

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*** Thursday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on the birth control coverage fight… Latest on the violence in Syria and today’s Mississippi Supreme Court hearing on the controversial Barbour pardons… More 2012 news with TIME’s Michael Scherer, National Review/Bloomberg View’s Ramesh Ponnuru and Democratic strategist Tracy Sefl.

*** Thursday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’S Thomas Roberts talks with Jackie Kucinich, Charles Blow, Ezra Klein, RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, & GLADD’s Corey Johnson.

*** Thursday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include MSNBC Contributor Mike Barnicle, the Huffington Post’s Janell Ross, MSNBC Contributor Robert Traynham, MSNBC Political Analyst Richard Wolffe, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and “The Last Word’s” Lawrence O’Donnell

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up (guest hosted by NBC’s Luke Russert): NBC’s Luke Russert interviews DCCC Chair Steve Israel, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, Sen. John Barrasso, Hotline’s Reid Wilson, and the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart.  

*** Thursday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews commentator Michael Smerconish.

GINGRICH: “Newt Gingrich, suddenly in danger of losing his perch as Mitt Romney's strongest GOP challenger, is fine-tuning his presidential campaign to place more emphasis on raising money, guarding his home turf and trying to avoid nasty quarrels with the front-runner,” the AP writes. “Gingrich … again faces a dilemma that has dogged him for much of the election. Should he show his feistier, meaner side at the risk of turning off voters who want pragmatic solutions more than expressions of anger? Or should he use a tamer, high-minded tone and risk losing economically anxious, resentful Republicans such as those who handed him his only victory, in South Carolina? His aide R.C. Hammond said Gingrich favors the second option, at least for now.”

Despite Karl Rove saying he was “offended” by the Clint-Eastwood-Chrysler ad, Newt Gingrich liked it, GOP 12 notes. "While there's some controversy about it, I have to confess, I liked the Clint Eastwood halftime ad,” he said in Cleveland. “I mean, I liked the tone of that ad, I like the idea that the world has counted us down before, we're just regrouping. I believe with your help in the primary, with your help in the general election, we can, in fact develop an approach that will put America back on the right track.”

“Newt Gingrich asserted on Wednesday that an Iranian nuclear attack on the United States was ‘a real danger’ and that it could kill and wound hundreds of thousands of Americans,” the New York Times writes.

ROMNEY: “It is still the case that Romney will almost certainly be the GOP nominee,” John Podhoretz writes in the New York Post. “But if Romney handles the next six weeks badly, he’ll do himself a great deal of damage on the way to accepting the nomination. And it’s not beyond imagining he could cause so much harm to himself that someone else will limp into the nomination…  [I]f Romney devotes most of his energies to keeping Gingrich down and leveling Santorum at the same time, he will simultaneously suck whatever life is left out of the Republican primary season in an effort simply to drag himself across the finish line.”

To that point, here’s a rough headline from the New York Post: “All Mitt’s money can’t buy GOP core.”

The New York Times’ Zeleny: “The Republican Party may never have been destined to fall in love with Mitt Romney, but even persuading voters to fall in line behind his candidacy is proving far more taxing than he had once hoped. The rejection from Republican voters in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Tuesday is more likely to slow, rather than derail, his path to the party’s presidential nomination. Yet a new competition with Rick Santorum and a lingering feud with Newt Gingrich will consume the attention of Mr. Romney, forcing him to guard his right flank rather than turn his attention to President Obama.”

“Rick Santorum may have swept Tuesday's GOP nominating contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, but on Wednesday all eyes were on Mitt Romney,” the New York Daily News writes. “Political analysts say Santorum's wins says more about the ex-Massachusetts governor and solidifies the notion that voters are unsettled about Romney and that he's not the inevitable Republican presidential nominee.”

Michele Bachmann on CNN: "I think what we saw is that the voters haven't made up their mind yet on who the Republican nominee should be.”

Stu Rothenberg writes that despite Santorum’s sweep Tuesday, “the dynamics of the Republican presidential race have changed little. While former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney seems unable to actually win the nomination, it is still awfully difficult to see him losing it. As others have already noted, Santorum becomes relevant again, which is a bigger problem for former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) than it is for Romney. … Of course, while Romney remains the favorite to win his party’s nomination, his strategists can’t afford to delude themselves about their candidate’s appeal. The Romney campaign’s observation in a pre-primary memo that no delegates were selected on Tuesday is both accurate and totally irrelevant.”

“Mitt Romney is headed into the conservative lion’s den just as concerns about his appeal to the Republican Party’s right flank are reaching a fever pitch,” The Hill writes of his Friday speech at CPAC, which begins today. More: “In the audience will be a high-octane crowd of party insiders, many of whom are deeply suspicious of the former governor of Massachusetts, whose state has legalized gay marriage, and passed healthcare reform strikingly similar to that of Obama while Romney was governor. And, as his GOP rivals love to point out, he was for abortion rights before he was against them.”

SANTORUM: NBC’s Andrew Rafferty reports that Santorum says he’s raised $1 million in the past 24 hours, $800,000 of which in online donations.

The Washington Post’s front page today features an above-the-fold photo of Santorum in a chapel in Texas, head bowed with a man’s hands on his shoulders, flanked by oil paintings of angels.

“With former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum scoring victories in all three non-binding nominating contests on Tuesday, the next question will be whether the candidate can boost his fundraising to match the organizations of his rivals,” the Boston Globe writes before looking at the donors to his Super PAC.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), who endorsed Romney in 2008 but hasn’t this time around, accused Santorum of flip flopping on earmarks.

Santorum on the overturning of Prop 8 in California: “They are taking faith and crushing it. Why? When you marginalize faith in America, when you remove the pillar of God given rights, then what’s left is the French Revolution. What’s left is a government that gives you rights. What’s left are no inalienable rights. What’s left is a government that will tell you who you are, what you do and when you'll do it. What's left in France became the guillotine. Ladies and gentleman, we're a long way from that, but if we do and follow the path of President Obama and his overt hostility to faith in America, then we are heading down that road.” (Hat tip: GOP 12.)

ARIZONA: Gov. Jan Brewer says she’ll endorse after the Feb. 22 debate in her state hosted by CNN.

“Jim Messina, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager, assured a group of Democratic donors from the financial services industry that Obama won’t demonize Wall Street as he stresses populist appeals in his re-election campaign, according to two people at the meeting,” Bloomberg reports. “At the members-only Core Club in Manhattan, Messina provided a campaign briefing last night for some of the president’s top donors…  In response to a question, Messina told the group of Wall Street donors that the president plans to run against Romney, not the industry that made the former governor of Massachusetts millions, according to one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.”

“President Obama has message for Wall St.  — I will not demonize you, just Mitt Romney and his ties to you,” the New York Daily News writes.

“The White House struggled Wednesday to contain the growing uproar over its birth-control mandate, with Democrats peeling off one by one in what has become an increasingly divisive election-year controversy,” The Hill writes. “Pressure to roll back the new contraception policy mounted quickly as the day wore on, driven by divisions among Democrats, mixed messages from President Obama’s advisers and a constant drumbeat from the GOP.”

“White House press secretary Jay Carney accused House Republicans of ‘caving to pressure from Wall Street lobbyists’ by removing a provision from upcoming legislation that would require political intelligence firms to be registered as lobbyists,” The Hill writes. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office defended the move, while Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley criticized the House GOP for it.

“House Speaker John Boehner yesterday blasted President Obama for waging an ‘unambiguous attack on religious freedom’ by requiring schools and hospitals affiliated with religious groups to provide workers with free birth control,” The New York Post writes, calling it Boehner’s ‘holy war’ in its headline.

Roll Call calls it the “New Chapter in Culture Wars.” “GOP leaders Wednesday launched a coordinated assault on the Obama administration's controversial birth control rule, accusing the White House of trampling on religious freedoms and vowing to overturn the new rule,” it writes, adding, “By late in the day, House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton said he would "probably have something tomorrow" to introduce in the House, but he noted he was continuing to work on his legislation.”

More: “The barrage of Republicans attacks appeared to catch Democrats off guard; Senate Democrats were holding their annual retreat at Nationals Park while House Democrats were initially slow to respond. … A few Democrats swung into action by late afternoon, including a handful of female Senators who left the retreat early to denounce the GOP attacks. ‘Attacks on women's rights never come without being disguised as something else,’ Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) said at a hastily called press conference with Sens. Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.). ‘Women in this country are tired of being treated like a political kickball by [Republicans] who have tried continually — and are continuing to try — to take away their benefits, to take away their rights,’ Boxer said.”

“As talks stalled Wednesday, Members of Congress on the payroll tax cut conference committee began to acknowledge that negotiations might have to go behind closed doors for any real work to get done,” Roll Call writes.

White House press secretary Jay Carney engaged in a rare back-and-forth with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney from the podium of his briefing room on Wednesday.

Carney, who hasn’t mentioned Romney by name in almost a month, was asked to comment on the former Massachusetts governor’s condemnation of the Obama administration’s new contraceptive coverage plan, after he slammed it Tuesday as an “an assault on religion.”

Noting that Massachusetts has the same contraceptive requirements and exceptions for churches as the proposed national rule, Carney called Romney an “odd messenger” for criticism. 

“The services that this rule would provide for women around the country are the same that are provided in Massachusetts and were provided under when he was governor, including contraception, including covered with no co-pay or deductible, and a religious exemption for houses of worship and churches and to church-controlled organizations such as parochial schools, but not to universities and hospitals.”

“This is, I think, ironic that Mitt Romney is… criticizing the president for pursuing a policy that's virtually identical to the one that was in place when he was governor of Massachusetts,” Carney said.

Carney has lately avoided criticizing the presumptive Republican frontrunner by name, responding to reporters’ questions about him only in general terms. He last mentioned “Governor Romney” in a briefing on January 12^th, when he noted Romney’s opposition to the federal automobile bailout.

But Romney, who has made President Obama his chief target since announcing his presidential bid, shot back immediately at Carney, saying the spokesman should “check his history” and that the Massachusetts law mandating contraceptive coverage was put in place before he was governor and that he “worked very hard to get the legislature to remove all of the mandated coverages, including contraception.” (The White House noted that Carney did not, however, say Romney was responsible for the policies, only pointing out that they existed under his tenure). 

Romney did, in fact, veto a bill in 2005 that sought to expand access to the emergency contraception pill by allowing pharmacists to dispense it without a doctor’s prescription. But the bill became law anyway after a wide statehouse majority overrode the veto.   

Just a few months later, however, Romney’s public health commissioner ruled that Catholic and other privately run hospitals could opt out of the new law, which prompted Romney to say that he believed rape victims should always have access to emergency contraception.

“My personal view, in my heart of hearts, is that people who are subject to rape should have the option of having emergency contraception or emergency contraception information,’’ he said at the time according to the Boston Globe.

ATLANTA —Predicting an extended nominating fight, Mitt Romney said Wednesday he didn't expect the GOP primary season to result in a "coronation," all while downplaying a sweep of three nominating contests last night by Rick Santorum. 

Romney said he still expected to become the Republican Party's nominee against President Obama this fall, but seemed to brace for a longer-than-expected path to the nomination. 

“We think we can beat Sen. Santorum where we compete head-to-head in an aggressive way, and we obviously didn’t do that in Colorado or Minnesota to the extent that the other campaign did," Romney said on an airport Tarmac here in Georgia. "There will certainly be places where he wins, and there will be places where I win. There’s no such thing as coronations in presidential politics. It’s meant to be a long process. It’s not easy to get the nomination, it’s not easy to be elected president and this is a testing ... a testing approach. And so far we’re doing pretty well.”

Last night's contests — in which no delegates were awarded, Romney's campaign was quick to point out — did not, however, go so well for Romney. He suffered double digit defeats in Minnesota, where he won four years ago, and in Missouri, where Newt Gingrich did not appear on the ballot. In Colorado, a state where Romney competed actively and where the campaign seemed confident of a win, he lost by five points to Santorum.

Asked today about lessons learned in the defeat, Romney came out swinging, lumping Santorum together with Gingrich as a creature of Washington, and blaming both men for fostering a spending and earmark culture that ultimately hurt the Republican party, and spawned the Tea Party movement. The former Massachusetts governor said he did not respond to attacks while campaigning in Nevada, but that going forward he would make differences between himself and his opponents "very clear."

"Under Newt Gingrich earmarks doubled. Rick Santorum was a major earmarker and continues to defend earmarks. Under Rick Santorum he voted to raise the debt ceiling I believe five different times to a tune of about an addition $3.5 trillion," Romney said. "I believe that while Sen. Santorum was serving in congress and the Senate, government spending increased by some 80%.  Republicans spent too much money, borrowed too much money, earmarked too much, and Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have to be held accountable."

Romney followed up with a spending-based attack on Santorum at a rally later on: "During Sen. Santorum's time in Washington, government grew 80 percent. And he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times."

Perhaps looking to reclaim his economy-oriented message, Romney turned his attack on Santorum and Gingrich into an attack on borrowing and spending more broadly, and hammered his point home.

"When Republicans act like Democrats, they lose.  And in Newt Gingrich’s case he had to resign.  In Rick Santorum’s case, he lost by the biggest margin of any Senate incumbent since 1980. Again, borrowing, spending, and earmarking is not a good combination if you’re a Republican and not a good combination, in my view, for America," Romney said. 

A former Florida congressman who has been a top campaign bundler for President Obama said Wednesday he is taking immediate steps to de-register as a lobbyist for a Florida-based airline so he can continue to raise funds for the president.

Ron Klein, who has raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for the president, was registered as a lobbyist last month for Spirit Airlines, a low-cost airline that has been fighting new Obama administration airline regulations. But the Obama campaign has a rule against accepting campaign contributions from federally registered lobbyists.

After the Washington Free Beacon website reported on his lobbyist role today -- noting that he is listed on the Obama campaign's website as one of its bundlers -- Klein told NBC News that his registration with the Secretary of the Senate last month was a "clerical error" by an employee of Holland & Knight, the Washington law and lobbying firm where he currently works. He will "de-register" with the Secretary of the Senate today, he said.

Klein said he had brought in Spirit Airlines as a client for Holland & Knight in keeping with his role of "business development" for the firm. But, he added, "I'm not a lobbyist" even thought he was listed as one of the three Holland & Knight lobbyists who were registered last month to work on issues relating to "Department of Transportation aviation regulations" and "customs and border protection" at Ft. Lauderdale airport.

The case illustrates the fuzzy rules of what constitutes lobbying in Washington. Spirit Airlines recently launched a campaign to overturn a new Transportation Department regulation allowing passengers to change flights within 24 hours of booking without paying a penalty.

The airline has launched a website to fight the new rule -- KeepMyFaresLow.org -- urging customers to contact their congressmen and senators and imposed a $2 fee on its customers it calls the "Department of Transportation Unintended Consequences Fee."

Klein said he knew Spirit Airlines, because it's located in his former district, resulting in his recruitment of the company for Holland & Knight.

"They want to express their story on Capitol Hill," he said.

When first contacted about Klein, an Obama campaign official said by email, "All of the funds he raised for the campaign were raised last year. At the moment, he became a federal lobbyist he stopped raising for the campaign."

But Klein said he had not heard from anybody in the Obama campaign. And, he added, he fully expects to continue raising money for the president's re-election. 

"I understand the rules," he said.

A recent ruling by the Obama administration -- requiring health insurance plans sponsored by religious-affiliated employers to provide contraception as part of their basic benefit package -- has fired up the blogosphere, drawing criticisms from both sides. Not surprisingly, many on the left are taking a firm position in supporting the administration's decision, while the right is opposing it.

Liberal blogger Steven Benen states that most Roman Catholics agree with the White House, citing a recent poll.

While the Obama administration's recent decision on contraception has caused a stir, it's worth pausing to appreciate the fact that most Roman Catholics already agree with the White House... Support, not surprisingly, is fairly broad among most groups. The only constituency opposed to the coverage in this poll was self-identified white evangelicals.

Igor Volsky at the liberal ThinkProgress suggests Catholic leaders and the GOP presidential candidates have “intentionally distorted” the issue and ignored the numbers that show most Catholic universities and hospitals already offer prescription insurance to cover contraception.

Conservatives are seeking a way to politically unite Republican voters around a social issue and portray the regulation as a big government intrusion into religious liberties. In reality, the mandate is modeled on existing rules in six states, exempts houses of worship and other religious nonprofits that primarily employ and serve people of faith, and offers employers a transitional period of one year to determine how best to comply with the rule.

Sarah Posner, a blogger at Religion Dispatches accuses three liberal Catholic pundits of wrongfully criticizing and misunderstanding the issue at hand.

First there was Michael Sean Winters, writing "J'Accuse!" in the National Catholic Reporter. "President Barack Obama," Winters wrote, "lost my vote yesterday when he declined to expand the exceedingly narrow conscience exemptions proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services. The issue of conscience protections is so foundational, I do not see how I ever could, in good conscience, vote for this man again."

Next up was E.J. Dionne, a good liberal Democrat (and Catholic), who used his Washington Post column to assail the President for how he "utterly botched the admittedly difficult question of how contraceptive services should be treated under the new health-care law."

Mark Shields, also Catholic, opined on the PBS NewsHour: "The fallout is cataclysmic for the White House and for the president."”

…

Did someone like Doug Kmiec help win Republican-leaning Catholic voters to Obama—or did Obama win them over himself? Will Winters and Shields and Dionne cause Catholic Democrats to flee Obama en masse? Maybe we'd know if any of the media outlets that published their opinions had asked a Catholic with ovaries.

On the right, meanwhile, Grace-Marie Turner at National Review Online, framed the ruling as an “assault on the Constitution and the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.”

“..There is a war on religion from the Left, and it is very dangerous to the institutions that make our civil society function.

The Catholic Church historically has been a vital part of the safety net — providing aid for the poor, care for the sick, shelter and food for the homeless, and care for mothers in need, as a few examples.

The health-care law threatens to tear gaping holes in that safety net by forcing Catholic health plans to cover contraception, by denying funds to Catholic adoption agencies, and ultimately by forcing taxpayers — including Catholics — to fund abortion. 

And Robert Morrison, also at NRO, believes Americans must resist “any connection with the culture of death.”

This administration wants to compel these hospitals to join the culture of death by forcing them to provide insurance coverage for their employees for sterilization and drugs that cause abortions. In so doing, the Obama administration violates not only the conscience rights of practicing Catholics, but also the conscience rights of millions of “separated brethren,” protestants like us, who rely on Catholic health care to uphold the sanctity of life.

….

All Americans have a stake in this conflict. The Obama administration views pregnancy as a disease, and they want to force all of us to see it as a disease, too. They view this great human blessing as a curse. No wonder we are at odds with them over this menacing move.”

This “unconscionable” move — as New York’s Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan calls it– must be resisted by all Americans who value our God-given rights of conscience. On this vital question, there should be no separation among us. The Lord we serve came that we may have life and have it abundantly. We must resist any connection with the culture of death.

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*** Wednesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Romney Campaign Senior Adviser Eric Fehrnstrom… The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza and Politico’s Jonathan Martin… AFT President Randi Weingarten on her group’s backing for President Obama in 2012 and what labor can do for him this time around… More 2012 news with former Bush 43 White House Political Director Sara Taylor Fagen, Roll Call’s Shira Toeplitz, and Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress.

*** Wednesday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks with USA Today’s Susan Page, Karen Finney, Maggie Gallagher, NOW President Terry O’Neil & AZ State Rep. Matt Heinz who’s running for Gabby Giffords’ seat.

*** Wednesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include Rolling Stone Editor Eric Bates, NBCLatino.com Political Commentator Alicia Menendez, Politico’s Maggie Haberman, New York Times Magazine Editor Hugo Lindgren, Obama Super PAC head Bill Burton, and New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman

*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up (guest hosted by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews): MSNBC’s Chris Matthews interviews Chuck Todd, Politico’s Jim Vandehei. Dem Rep. John Larson, Gillian Tett of the Financial Times, New York Magazine’s John Heilemann, Anjelica Huston, and the Washington Post’s Anne Kornblut.

“Rick Santorum catapulted back into the primary limelight last night, stunning presumed Republican front-runner Mitt Romney in the Colorado caucuses while handily winning in Minnesota and Missouri. Although none of the votes were binding, the trio of losses sows doubts about the former Massachusetts governor’s ability to win over conservatives in the nation’s heartland,” the Boston Globe writes. “Santorum’s close victory in Colorado, considered the prize of the night, came despite aggressive campaigning by Romney in a state where he dominated eventual nominee John McCain in 2008 by more than 40 points.”

The New York Times: “The results on Tuesday shook the political world, which appeared to once again make the mistake of believing the Republican race for the presidency was finally set on a stable trajectory. But it was an open question whether the defeats were a momentary embarrassment or a prolonged setback for Mr. Romney. The triple result amounted to a stinging denial of Mr. Romney’s candidacy from three states where Republicanism is defined by the evangelicals and Tea Party adherents he has struggled to court this year.” 

“Mitt Romney just can't shake his difficulty attracting conservatives. And that reality is undercutting his effort to cast himself as the inevitable Republican presidential nominee and prolonging a race that each day exposes deep divisions within the party,” AP’s Peoples adds.

The New York Daily News’ headline: “'Fear the sweater vest': Rick Santorum pulls off hat trick with primary victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado.”

The New York Post: “Santorum whips Mitt in Colo., Minn. & Mo.” From the story: “Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign took off last night as he swept GOP primary contests in three crucial battleground states. … Santorum’s victory in Colorado was a stinging blow to Romney, who carried the Rocky Mountain state with 60 percent of the GOP vote in 2008.”

The Daily Beast: “Newt’s Two-Man-Race Narrative Collapses After Santorum Victories.”

National Review Online’s Corner blog picks up a similar narrative of moving past Gingrich: “Winning the Tuesday trifecta gives Rick Santorum a second chance to make a first impression. This will give him the momentum that his delayed Iowa victory could have given him,” Henry Olsen writes.

But Charlotte Hays with the Independent Women’s Forum on Corner blog has this warning: “If you think Rick Santorum can get independents, go for it, folks. Senator Santorum, who enjoyed a magnificent triumph in three states last night, deserves a lot of credit, as he would no doubt be the first to tell you, for hanging in there. He has been impressive in recent debates. And a grateful nation thanks Mr. Santorum for seemingly having dispatched Newt Gingrich back under his bridge, at least for the time being. But last night was not good for the Republican party.”

A round up of front pages:

The Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Santorum sweeps to victory in 3 states.”

St. Paul Pioneer Press: “Santorum on a roar.”

The Denver Post: “Santorum upsets race’s predictability.”

The Durango Herald: “Santorum comeback stuns rivals.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Big Missouri win makes statement for Santorum.” (That’s the top front page headline despite no delegates being awarded in what was one of the closest states of the 2008 presidential election.

The Kansas City Star: “Santorum takes his turn in spotlight.”

COLORADO: Santorum won 40%-35% over Romney, Gingrich 13%, Paul 12%.

Turnout was down 6.7% from 2008. The total that voted this time around was 65,489 with 100% reporting, according to the Colorado Republican Party; 2008 was 70,229. Santorum won 44 of 64 counties. Romney won 19, Gingrich one (Bent which had a total of 51 votes.)

MINNESOTA: Santorum cleaned up with an 18-point win, 45%-27% over Paul, Romney third with 17%, Gingrich 11%.

Turnout was off in Minnesota also by about a quarter (24%). In 2008, 62,828 came out. This time around, just 47,801 turned out. And Romney got less than a third of the votes this time than in 2008. Santorum won 78 counties, Paul five, Gingrich four, and Romney zero.

MISSOURI: Santorum blew away the field in this largely uncontested beauty contest. He took a whopping 55%, with Romney second at 25%, Paul third with 12%. Gingrich wasn’t on the ballot.

Missouri wasn’t contested this time around, and it was a beauty contest, awarding no delegates based on last night’s results. But for the sake of numbers. Turnout was down 134% with 251,868 coming out in 2012 and 588,844 voting in 2008. Romney didn't even get half the vote he got in 2008, closer to a third. And Santorum won every single county.

ROMNEY: “[Yesterday], Restore Our Future, the so-called super PAC supporting Romney’s presidential candidacy, amended its latest report to the Federal Election Commission, solving the mystery of a $250,000 contribution last August from a California limited liability company that appeared to exist only on paper,” the Boston Globe writes. “The donation from ‘Glenbrook LLC’ of Redwood City was replaced with a pair of $125,000 donations from Jesse Rogers, a Palo Alto investment fund manager, and his wife, Melinda.”

“Mitt Romney’s tax returns have drawn political scrutiny on multiple fronts, like his relatively low tax rates and the money parked in a Swiss bank account. But on Capitol Hill, his returns have caught the eyes of members of both parties for what appears to be his use of a type of complex shelter that has been debated for years in battles over evasion and fairness in the tax code,” the New York Times says. “The technique in question allows nonprofit institutions and large retirement funds to exploit the advantages of shell companies set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands by investing money with private equity firms like Bain Capital, which Mr. Romney ran. Ordinarily, such private equity investments are frequently subject to something called the unrelated business income tax. But by going offshore, pension funds, universities, foundations and even large individual retirement accounts can structure those investments to avoid that heavy tax.”