*** Wednesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: RGA Chairman Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) on the economy and 2012… A deep dive into Indiana’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate and the candidate hoping to capitalize on it -- Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)… Latest on the Secret Service prostitution probe… More 2012 news with The Financial Times’ Anna Fifield, former DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney and Indiana GOP spokesman Pete Seat.

*** Wednesday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Mother Jones’ David Corn, the Huffington Post’s Amanda Terkel, RNC National Press Secretary Kirsten Kukowski, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

*** Wednesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include former Santorum spokeswoman Alice Stewart, the Daily Beast’s Patricia Murphy, New York Times Magazine Editor Hugo Lindgren, Politico’s Maggie Haberman, Time’s Rana Foroohar, and Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart.

*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), Time’s Radhika Jones, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart and NBC’s Ted Koppel.

*** Wednesday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews GOP strategist Chip Saltsman, The Hill’s AB Stoddard, Michael Smerconish, and the Huffington Post’s Dan Froomkin, as well as covers the president’s remarks from Ohio at 2:30 pm ET.

President Obama and Mitt Romney are tied 46-46% in the latest CBS/New York Times poll. Obama was up 47%-44% last month. Since the unofficial end to the GOP primary, Republicans are consolidating, the poll finds.

A Pew poll out yesterday showed President Obama leading Romney by four points, 49-45%. The president was up big with women (53-40%), young voters, most/least educated, blacks, Hispanics; Romney was up with men (50-44%), people 65 or older, whites, and those with some college.

ROMNEY: Romney on right-wing “Breitbart News” radio show, per the Boston Globe: “There will be an effort by the, quote, vast left-wing conspiracy to work together to put out their message and to attack me. They’re going to do everything they can to divert from the message people care about, which is a growing economy that creates more jobs and rising incomes. That’s what people care about.”

House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are now fully on board the Romney train.

“Mitt Romney on Wednesday plans to travel near the site of this summer’s Democratic Ntional Convention, aiming to give a ‘prebuttal’ to President Obama’s nomination acceptance speech in Charlotte – nearly five months before it is scheduled to occur,” the Boston Globe says. “The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is planning to deliver the speech at A Roof with a View, a reception area that happens to be across the street from the Bank of America Stadium, where Obama will speak in September.”

Looking for precedent… Political Wire notes that Romney tried to say on CNBC that John Kerry only released just two years of tax returns, but “Think Progress points out Kerry actually released 20 years of tax returns when he was a candidate in 2004.”

“The Secret Service is reportedly ‘aware’ of Republican rocker Ted Nugent's anti-Obama rant last weekend,” the New York Daily News notes, citing New York magazine.

Buzzfeed digs up a clip of Mitt Romney talking to 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace about “hormones,” Mormonism and pre-marital sex.

SANTORUM: “The letters recently sent out by the Santorum campaign that ripped into Mitt Romney were ordered before he suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, his campaign manager said,” NBC’s Andrew Rafferty reports.

The AP previews Obama’s Midwest swing today: “In an election season when the economy is king, the central debate between President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney comes down to what is enough. Enough growth in the economy. Enough job creation.  Enough help for those still struggling to get back on their feet. Obama travels to two Midwest states at the epicenter of that debate, hard-hit Ohio and Michigan, on Wednesday to highlight his economic policies and place them in pointed contrast to the sharp budget-cutting proposals of House Republicans -- and by extension Romney.”

The Priorities ad against Romney is now up to $660,000 in four states – Ohio, Florida, Iowa, and Virginia.

“Star witnesses at John Edwards’ tawdry federal trial will include top staffers in President Obama’s administration and on his re-election team, court documents show,” the New York Post writes. “Political insiders say the White House is dreading the unwanted attention. … Included on Edwards’ (inset) witness list are White House deputy press secretary Jennifer Palmieri; Obama’s 2012 deputy campaign manager, Julianna Smoot; and Mark Kornblau, the spokesman for Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the United Nations.”

Romney on CNBC: “I can tell you that the one quality that comes to mind immediately is that you want someone who, without question, could lead the country as president if that were necessary. I think all of the political considerations pale in comparison with the consideration of who has the capacity to lead America at a critical time. And I hope if I'm the president that eventuality would never occur. But that has to be the key consideration.”

Politico’s Burns: “[T]he readiness/leadership-at-a-critical-time side of things does tend to raise the bar for the eventual running mate's background and qualifications, and maybe raise the stock of a Rob Portman- or Bob McDonnell-type selection, as opposed to, say, a Marco Rubio.”

CHRISTIE: He’s very open to talking about being VP. GOP12’s Heinze notes: “Christie and Bob McDonnell have been the only Veep possibilities who've publicly indicated that they'd listen or consider a VP bid. Everyone else is in laugh-it-off mode, although their private machinations are much more serious.”

HALEY: “Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign will pay back thousands to the state this summer for the use of a state-funded security detail in connection with her fundraising trips, the state and the campaign said Monday,” the Columbia State reports. Salon: Is Nikki Haley’s book full of lies?

JINDAL: He’ll sign an education reform bill today at a school. “The wide-ranging measures to be signed at the school also make major changes to teacher tenure rules, while giving more hiring and firing power to school principals and superintendents,” local TV station KLFY reports.

National Review also picks up on it, calling his reforms: “Smart, comprehensive, innovative.”

Jindal’s doing a lot legislatively and building a resume, as his pension reforms move to the state Senate. “It was a battle of legal opinions as the Senate Retirement Committee combed through Gov. Bobby Jindal's proposals to push back the retirement age for about 50,000 rank-and-file state workers and public college employees and to charge them more for their pensions,” AP writes.

But he’s facing some criticism for support of a bill that would not allow expansion of “discrimination” laws. “Current state law bars discrimination against persons based on six factors — race, religion, national ancestry, age, sex or disability,” writes the Best of New Orleans blog. “If Crowe’s bill passes, no other classes of persons (gays, e.g.) could be protected.”

He’ll head to New Mexico next week to help Gov. Susana Martinez raise money.

MCDONNELL: The Washington Post: “Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican who is term-limited but a likely vice presidential contender, plans to air “positive” TV ads in the coming weeks as he looks to bolster his approval ratings and remind viewers of Virginia’s successes following a spate of bad publicity.”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch likes most the Virginia governor’s efforts in his veto fight. The Washington Post notes: McDonnell’s most substantial changes would make it easier to vote on Election Day and allow localities to spread the cost of new pension regulations over five years.

PORTMAN: “Just a day after the U.S. Senate defeated a measure that would have placed a 30% tax rate upon the nation's wealthiest Americans, a local group picketed outside Senator Rob Portman's Toledo office,” local TV station WNWO reports.

RUBIO: South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is doing his own VP vetting. “DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund is hosting a poll on its website asking supporters who they would like to see as the party’s No. 2 on the ticket this fall…. With 3,000 votes (and counting) in, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is the clear leader with more than 40 percent of the vote, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is second with 23 percent, according to results provided to” the Washington Post.

The Christian Science Monitor notes Romney’s Latino problem, but also posits that Rubio could help Romney without being on the ticket by pushing the GOP version of the “DREAM Act.”  

AP notes similarly: “Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's push for a Republican version of immigration legislation looks like the answer to the election year prayers of the GOP — and Mitt Romney.”

RYAN: “GOP leaders are advancing the House Republican budget and its proposed changes to Medicare despite opposition in the Democratic-led Senate by using used a relatively obscure procedural move -- tucking it alongside an unrelated bill that would allow the importation of trophy polar bears,” Tribune writes.

ARIZONA: Jesse Kelly, Tea Party favorite, won the GOP primary to take on Democrat Ron Barber to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Barber is a former aide to Giffords who was injured in the mass shooting. Kelly, a former marine and construction manager, faced Giffords in 2010 and lost.

FLORIDA: “Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.) will not be charged criminally by state prosecutors despite possible criminal and ethical lapses detailed in a state law enforcement agency report released earlier this week, the Miami Herald reported,” per Roll Call.

MARYLAND: The Democratic challenger in MD-6, John Delaney, released an internal poll showing him up over incumbent Roscoe Bartlett (R) in the re-drawn district.

Call it the "Kevin Bacon Theory of Politics."

The beginning of the general election has spurred the onset of the "silly season," a generally substance-free point in the cycle when rival campaigns lob attacks at each other, in hopes that one sticks. Look no further than the recent countervailing demands by the Obama and Romney campaigns that the other apologize for the words and deeds of its supporters.

It's reminiscent of the parlor game, "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," where a player tries to trace their path to the actor in the fewest possible steps. At this point in the 2012 campaign, politics has turned into an effort to dig up a controversial statement made by a figure and tie them to the rival candidate in as few steps as possible.

Both rocker Ted Nugent (L) and Democratic consultant Hilary Rosen (R) have found themselves ensnared in political controversies, despite their thin ties to the candidates whom they support.

In short, the “Kevin Bacon Theory of Politics” is that the success of a campaign's efforts to tie a rival candidate to a controversial supporter depends on the number of perceived steps between the two, even if that degree of separation is a result of spin.

The manufactured controversies that have overtaken the presidential campaign in recent weeks seem to depend on the strength of each campaign's efforts to tie their opponent to whatever bone-headed thing a supporter or surrogate has said.

Witness Democrats' furious effort on Tuesday to tie Mitt Romney to incendiary comments made by rocker Ted Nugent, who told a National Rifle Association audience that if President Barack Obama wins a second term, he'll "either be dead or in jail by this time next year." He also urged Republicans to "ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November."

The Democratic National Committee circulated a video and a slew of press releases describing Nugent as a surrogate for Romney, and demanding the former Massachusetts governor's condemnation of the musician.

"Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from,” Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul eventually told TPM. “Mitt Romney believes everyone needs to be civil.”

It was a page straight out of the Romney playbook; last week, the Boston-based campaign successfully forced the president himself to disavow the comments of a Democratic consultant -- whose direct ties to Obama are scant at best -- who said that the GOP candidate’s  wife, Ann, had "never worked a day in her life."

But the DNC's attack Tuesday has largely fallen flat, even though the Secret Service acknowledged a routine inquiry into Nugent's comments, and -- as Democrats were eager to point out -- Romney had courted the "Cat Scratch Fever" writer's support. Democrats also pointed to Romney son Tagg's celebratory tweet about Nugent's endorsement.

The reality is that each campaign's efforts to tar the other with the comments of supporters largely involves a (usually willful) distortion of reality.

"There is clearly a connection between Ms. Rosen and the Obama administration," Republican Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said on a conference call last week, referring to the Democratic operative whose comments toward Ann Romney sparked the initial controversy.

(In reality, Hilary Rosen maintained no contracts with the Obama campaign or DNC, though her firm, SKDKnickerbocker, had other ties to the administration. Republicans pointed to Rosen's visits to the White House, though those were hardly eye-popping in total for a Washington, D.C., consultant.)

The attempts to bind Romney to Nugent's remarks have fallen short because the relationship between the two is nebulous at best. To describe the Motor City Madman as a Romney "surrogate" is a specious assertion at best. By contrast, it was Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom's likening of his boss's pivot from the primary to the general election to erasing an Etch A Sketch so politically potent for the Obama campaign and rival Republicans.

So what are the limits? The first lady's office didn't hesitate to call "inappropriate" a joke made by actor Robert De Niro's comments at a fundraiser -- in the presence of Michelle Obama -- that America wasn't again ready for a white first lady.

And Mitt Romney long ago denounced the "birther" theories that had been vocally espoused by Donald Trump, who's now ironically supporting the former Massachusetts governor, and hosting a fundraiser on his behalf on Tuesday. When conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh -- who wasn't exactly an effusive supporter of Romney's -- used incendiary language to describe Georgetown student and contraceptive access advocate Sandra Fluke, Romney distanced himself anyway, saying "it's not the language I would have used." (Democrats nevertheless spun this as a failure to condemn.)

But a pro-Obama super PAC run by a former administration spokesman hasn't budged in the face of Republican demands that it return a $1 million donation from comedian Bill Maher, who used colorful language in reference to both Ann Romney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

But if the silly season tests anything, it will be the number of degrees of separation between Obama or Romney and one of their supporters it will take before a condemnation or apology is rendered unnecessary.

The actor Kevin Bacon might also be well-advised to watch his words, too; after all, he donated to the Obama campaign in 2008.

Mitt Romney is worth as much as a quarter billion dollars. And Democrats are taking every opportunity to remind voters of that fact, and to portray the presumptive Republican nominee as hopelessly out-of-touch with the struggles of everyday Americans.

A nationwide debate on fairness led by President Barack Obama in recent weeks involves a subtext meant to remind voters of Romney’s wealth. It coincides with today’s deadline for Americans to pay their taxes and poses a tricky challenge for the Romney campaign – how to turn that personal economic success into a political virtue while avoiding the perception that the candidate is detached from small-town financial reality.

By demanding that Romney release his tax returns for the past decade, or by pushing for the authorization of the Buffett Rule – the proposal that the wealthiest households pay a minimum 30 percent tax rate – Democrats have fought to define Romney early in his general election battle against the incumbent president.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer said of Romney in a conference call on Monday organized by the Democratic National Committee, “He doesn't want to reveal what his personal income is in any great detail, but it relates to the fact that his plans favor people just like himself, who don’t have to struggle … .”

Romney must figure out a way to battle back against what has become a dog whistle campaign – Democrats and the media have been especially attentive to any cue that reminds voters of Romney’s immense personal wealth. The former Massachusetts governor might push back by turning that argument around, and emphasizing that his proposals would enable others’ success.

“He's going to have to make an argument that his proposed policies are designed to give people an opportunity to attain the same level of success that he has,” said Steve Schmidt, who headed Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Though the general election race has only begun in earnest, there is evidence to suggest that Romney must dig himself out of an early hole in terms of perception. Thirty-three percent of Americans said in a CNN/ORC poll released Monday that Romney is more in touch with the problems facing the middle class, versus 51 percent who said that of Obama.

Romney has blamed his opponents for essentially demonizing his success, a strategy that he says is divisive in nature.

But the Obama campaign has been aided by moments when Romney has appeared awkward in addressing his personal wealth, from noting his wife’s two Cadillacs, to reports about a car elevator being installed as part of an expansion in one of his homes.

DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse summed it up in Monday’s conference call:  “Car elevators – I don’t see most Americans building car elevators.”

Romney’s efforts to combat that narrative center on his private sector resume, which he argues enable him to better understand the economy.

"I can connect with America's economy because I know it," the former Massachusetts governor told ABC on Monday. "I don't connect with President Obama because he doesn't understand the economy; he doesn't understand what it takes to get jobs for the American people."

The challenge for the Republican candidate lies in whether Romney can personalize some of the macro-level factors like the price of oil, unemployment, or the size of the national debt.

“There's a sense that they have to understand [voters’] everyday lives,” said Luke Frans, the executive director of the Republican-leaning opinion research group Resurgent Republic, of the challenge facing Romney and Obama alike.

“The national debt may be $15 trillion, but what does that mean to you when you have to worry about next month's bills?” he said. “The flip side to that is, do they feel that 36 months at above 8 percent unemployment is real progress?”

What’s more, the candidate’s speech to supporters at a top-dollar fundraiser last weekend suggested that there may be instances in which the wealthiest voters might be asked to contribute more as a result of tax reform in a Romney administration.

He suggested, for instance, that he might eliminate a mortgage deduction for second homes as part of a tax reform package. While Romney has said the elimination of deductions and loopholes – especially for the wealthy – would be used to pay for further cuts in tax rates, his plan involves a miniature version of the soak-the-rich rhetoric that might defuse some of the Obama campaign’s attacks.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a longtime advocate for better Republican efforts to reach the middle class and a surrogate for the former Massachusetts governor, also urged Romney to not shy away from his work at Bain.

“Mitt Romney should embrace the fact that one of his strengths is that he has been successful in the private sector,” Pawlenty said Tuesday on CNBC.

And short of that, Romney might take solace in the idea that a candidate’s personal wealth has seldom been made into a central issue in a presidential campaign.

“There's never been a successful presidential re-election on the basis of, 'Vote to re-elect me because my opponent's wealthy,'” Schmidt said. “The bottom line reality is that if the president had been able to do the things he had promised to do, he wouldn't be running a re-election campaign attacking Mitt Romney's wealth.”

President Obama introduced a new round of measures that he said would make it easier for the administration to crack down on oil market manipulation amid persistently high gas prices.

“Today we're announcing new steps to strengthen oversight of energy markets,” Obama said, noting how continued high gas prices have made it hard for families to do things like commute and go to the grocery store.

Most of the new measures would require congressional approval, including a request for more “cops on the beat” for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as more money to update the commission’s technology.

Obama compared the expanding energy market to professional football, which adds more referees if it adds more teams. “Imagine if the NFL quadrupled the number of teams but didn't increase the number of refs. You'd end up having havoc on the field and it would diminish the game. It wouldn't be fair.”

The president also asked Congress to increase the maximum penalties for market manipulators and raise the amount of money required for oil futures traders to back up their trades.

“Congress should do all of this right away,” Obama said, criticizing Senate Republicans for voting down a bill in March that would have stripped oil companies of $24 billion in tax subsidies (four Democrats - Jim Webb of Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Begich of Alaska – also voted against the bill).

He said that Congress’ approval of the steps announced today would be “a chance to make amends” after rejecting the oil subsidy bill. 

The president did announce one measure that does not require approval from Congress: an executive order that will increase data the data shared between the administration’s Council of Economic Advisers and the CFTC on energy market trading.

Senior administration officials today would not estimate how much of an impact these new regulations would have on oil prices or how much speculative activity they would curtail, but said that the measures would boost consumer confidence that prices at the pump were not being influenced by market manipulation.

Before Obama spoke in the Rose Garden, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said that the president already had all the tools available to enforce oil market regulations through the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission.

“So instead of just another political gimmick, why doesn't he put his administration to work to get to the bottom of it,” Boehner said during a briefing with reporters Tuesday morning.

PITTSBURGH, PA -- High above Fifth Avenue this afternoon, some 400 guests will dine on birthday cake prepared by a celebrity chef and toast the 63rd birthday of Ann Romney at a fundraising event hosted by Donald and Melania Trump.

The party is expected to raise more than $600,000 for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

The fundraiser/birthday party will be hosted by Melania Trump, and tickets for the event ranged in price from $1,000 to $2,500. When the 200 person capacity for the Trumps' private home on the 66th floor of Trump Tower was reached within 48 hours of tickets going on sale, the event was broken into two separate shifts to accommodate a total of more than 400 guests across a three-hour event, according to Trump spokesman Michael Cohen.

On the menu at the event, according to Cohen: a special birthday cake prepared by celebrity chef Buddy Valastro, of the TV show "Cake Boss."

The presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney will not attend the Trump fundraiser today, and will instead campaign in Pennsylvania and attend a separate fundraiser in Harrisburg, PA this afternoon.

Both fundraising events are closed to the press.

Updated 3:34 p.m. - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) ended his neutrality in the GOP presidential primary and formally endorsed Mitt Romney on Tuesday.

The top Republican on Capitol Hill told reporters that he was "proud" to support Romney now that it has become clear that the former Massachusetts governor would be the Republican nominee.

"It's clear now that Mitt Romney is going to be our nominee," Boehner said at a press conference. "I think Mitt Romney has a set of economic policies that can put Americans back to work and, frankly, contrast sharply with the failed economic policies of President Obama."

"I will be proud to support Mitt Romney and do everything I can to help him win," Boehner added.

Boehner had remained doggedly neutral throughout the primary, partly due to his high-profile position. Even still, many of the other members of the Republican leadership team in the House endorsed Romney. The most visible declaration arguably came from Boehner's deputy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who endorsed Romney shortly before Virginia's primary.

There were points, though, in the GOP primary when Romney didn't make life easier for Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, for instance his eventual opposition to the agreement to raise the debt ceiling last August.

**UPDATE**: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also chimed on Tuesday afternood, saying at a press conference, per NBC's Libby Leist:

Yeah, I support Governor Romney for president of the United States.  And he is going to be the nominee.  And as you have noticed, the party is in the process of unifying behind him.  And I think it's going to be an incredibly close, hard-fought race.  Everybody is banding -- bandying polls around, but just look at the Gallup tracking poll yesterday actually had Governor Romney with a two-point lead.  I think it's going to be a very, very competitive election.  We're all behind him and looking forward to the fall campaign, which is actually already under way.

Romney’s immigration challenge… What Beth Myers heading up Romney’s VP search means…. Three very different polls in the Obama-Romney race… Romney to Obama: “Start packing”… Buffett Rule, as expected, goes down to defeat… Obama to make statement about market manipulation of oil prices at 11:10 am ET… Lugar mailer hits Mourdock… And GOP primary for Giffords’ seat in AZ takes place today.

Tim Shaffer / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney speaks during the Independence Hall Tea Party Association's Tax Day Tea Summit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 16, 2012.

*** Romney’s immigration challenge: Lost in the other statements Romney made at that Sunday fundraiser in Florida was his admission that he needs to move to the center to win over Latinos. "We have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party," Romney said, observing that polls show Latinos breaking in huge percentages for President Obama "spells doom for us." Romney even said the GOP should offer something like a “Republican DREAM Act” to help woo Latinos. But there’s a challenge here for Romney, and it’s the same one Meg Whitman faced in 2010: How do you move back to center on immigration after running so hard to the right during the primary? Indeed, unlike other issues where he simply adopted conservative/Tea Party rhetoric (on health care, taxes, the deficit), Romney often used immigration as a weapon, particularly against Rick Perry. In addition, Romney said he would veto the DREAM Act, called Arizona’s immigration law “a model”, and proudly accepted the endorsement of the man considered the architect of that Arizona law, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

*** Is fixing his female problem easier than his Latino problem? Romney has the potential to fix his problem with female voters; after all, it’s not really his problem but rather the GOP’s. And he does have a story to tell here (wife Ann, the women he appointed in Massachusetts). But when it comes to immigration, this is an issue where he’s been consistent over the past five years as a way to prove his conservative bona fides (first against McCain, then against Perry and Gingrich). These are his words, not just the party's rhetoric being attached to him, and it’s going to be hard to take the back. Again, we’ll remind you that Obama’s Latino path (CO, NM, NV, and VA) is a not-so-hard way for him to get to 270 electoral votes -- without having to win Ohio or Florida (which also has LOTS of Latinos). 

*** What tapping Beth Myers means: That, of course, brings us to veepstakes. Is Romney able to patch up his Latino problem with, say, Marco Rubio as his running mate? Yesterday,  learned that the former Massachusetts governor tapped his longtime aide and ’08 campaign manager, Beth Myers, to lead his VP search. (Interestingly, Myers gave an interview yesterday to conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin. Does this mean Team Romney is going to be more public about this vetting process than past presumptive nominees have been?) Myers means that Romney will probably pick someone he’s VERY comfortable with. Beth Myers isn’t going to get you Sarah Palin; she’s going to get you someone you’ve campaigned with/interacted with quite a bit. And a Beth Myers is a Romney legacy protector -- she's probably not going to get Romney someone who will over-shadow him either (Chris Christie, we mean you). Having Myers lead this search will only reinforce the C.W. that Romney is going to zero in on folks like Portman, Ryan or even a Kelly Ayotte and not be looking for, shall we say, a game-changer.

*** Three very different polls: Boy, the polls were all over the place yesterday in this general election contest that’s barely a week old. First, the Gallup Daily Tracking poll had Romney with a two-point edge over Obama among registered voters, 47%-45%. Then CNN released its own survey showing Obama with a nine-point lead, 52%-43% fueled by his support by female voters. And then Reuters/Ipsos had Obama with a narrow four-point advantage, 47%-43%, after leading him by double digits last month. A little advice when presented with diverging polling data: Shake the Magic 8 ball again. Or better yet, wait for the next reliable national poll. Which brings us to... the latest NBC/WSJ poll will be coming out on Thursday. 

*** Romney to Obama: Start packing: In his interview with ABC yesterday, Mitt Romney was asked what he would say to Obama. Romney’s answer: “Well, start packing. That's what I'd like to-- like to say.” (You think the former one-term governor wishes he worded that a bit differently? seemed to border on OVER-confidence, no?) Also in the interview, Romney side-stepped questions about releasing his tax returns prior to 2010. “The president is going to try and do everything possible to divert from the attention being focused upon his record as president and the failure of his economic policies... We've released all the information required by law and then some.” He also ducked a question about his wealth (the two Cadillacs, the La Jolla house, the car elevator). “I think people want to have a president who knows how to lead, who knows how to create jobs, who can get our economy creating the jobs it should so we can see rising incomes again.” And Ann Romney was asked about Seamus the dog, who she said “loved” traveling on the top of the car. “He would see that crate and, you know, he would, like, go crazy because he was going with us on vacation. It was to me a kinder thing to bring him along than to leave him in the kennel for … two weeks.”

*** Buffett Rule goes down to defeat: Yesterday, as expected, the Buffett Rule was unable to clear the Senate. By a mostly party-line vote, 51 senators (all of them Democrats) voted to invoke cloture and have the measure proceed, while 45 senators (all Republicans and one Democrat, Arkansas’ Mark Pryor) voted against. Four didn’t vote -- Akaka (D-HI), Hatch (R-UT), Kirk (R-IL), and Lieberman (ID-CT). Lieberman released a statement saying he would have voted against had he been present. “I am not opposed to the Buffet Rule because I am opposed to raising income taxes on the wealthiest Americans. I am opposed to the Buffet Rule because it would double to 30 percent the capital gains tax on one group of investors and therefore reduce exactly the kind of capital investments we need to get our economy growing again and create jobs.”

*** Obama to tackle market manipulation of oil prices: The AP: “Under pressure to take action on rising gasoline prices, President Barack Obama wants Congress to strengthen federal supervision of oil markets, increase penalties for market manipulation and empower regulators to increase the amount of money energy traders are required to put behind their transactions.” The president will make a statement about this at 11:10 am ET from the White House.

*** Reminder: Santorum still hasn’t endorsed Romney: Rick Santorum still hasn’t endorsed Romney, the LA Times notes. He “pointedly declined Monday night to endorse presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, instead pointing out that he has not backed a candidate in the race and urging his supporters to vote their conscience. ‘As far as how you vote, that’s up to you,’ Santorum told thousands of supporters during a conference call. ‘I haven’t supported any candidate at this point, so that’s really up to you.’” NBC’s Andrew Rafferty also reported on that conference call, writing that Santorum explained his decision to drop out had less to do with money and more with the inability of 1) Gingrich to exit the race and 2) of Texas to change its rules to be a winner-take-all contest. "I know there's been a lot of articles written that somehow we dropped out because we ran out of money. That just is a little, very, very small piece of the story," Santorum said. "The bottom line is we wanted to take this race as far as we could to the point where we felt that we could be successful."

*** On the GOP trail: Both Romney and Gingrich, in Pennsylvania, speak at a Lancaster County GOP… Gingrich also stumps in Harrisburg…. And Romney tapes an interview with CNBC’s Larry Kudlow.

*** ‘Take a closer look’: Longtime Sen. Richard Lugar, in the fight for his political life, is taking on challenger state Treasurer Richard Mourdock in a new mailer going out today. The mailer, strewn with $100 bills, focuses on the federal budget, goes after President Obama – someone he worked closely with in the Senate – for the federal debt, and urges Indiana Republicans to “take a closer look” at Mourdock’s budget proposal. That phrase -- “take a closer look” -- appears twice, once with a magnifying glass near an ashen-looking Mourdock. The mailer quotes the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which said, “Mourdock’s budget fails honesty test.” Lugar operative Andy Fisher said, “The mailer contrasts Senator Lugar's thoughtful approach to cutting federal spending - like supporting both the Ryan budget and 'Cut, Cap and Balance' - versus Richard Mourdock's irresponsible plan to cut Social Security benefits for current beneficiaries and put our national security at risk.”

*** GOP primary for Giffords’ seat: Lastly, today is the GOP primary in the contest to fill Gabby Giffords’ seat in Congress. The AP: “Voters in southern Arizona's 8th Congressional District are heading to the polls to choose who will face former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber in a special election to replace the wounded ex-congresswoman. Four Republican candidates are battling in Tuesday's special primary election called after the Democrat resigned in January to focus on recovering from a gunshot wound. The four include 2010 Giffords opponent Jesse Kelly , a businessman and tea party favorite; state Sen. Frank Antenori ; retired U.S. Air Force pilot and political newcomer Martha McSally ' and businessman and broadcaster Dave Sitton.” The general takes place on June 12. 

Countdown to the CT, DE, NY, PA, and RI primaries: 7 days
Countdown to Election Day: 203 days

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*** Tuesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up (with guest host Luke Russert): Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) on what he learned from his visit to Fukushima and lingering concerns during this Earth Week… Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on the tax fight and the outlook for 2012… NBC’s Peter Alexander on Romney’s vet for a virtuous vice… One of us (!!!) on new November numbers… NBC’s Mike Isikoff with the latest on the Secret Service scandal… More 2012 news with Politico’s Manu Raju, the AP’s Kasie Hunt and The Hotline’s Reid Wilson.

*** Tuesday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Richard Lui interviews DNC Chair Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf; theGrio.com’s Perry Bacon, American Urban Radio’s April Ryan, and the Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty.

*** Tuesday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’S Thomas Roberts talks with Buffett Rule Bill co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), AZ Congressional Candidate Ron Barber, former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino,  USA Today’s Susan Page, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, and the Huffington Posts’ Ryan Grim.

*** Tuesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include Rolling Stone Executive Editor Eric Bates, pro-Gingrich Super PAC adviser Rick Tyler, National Review’s Robert Costa, “The Hill” Columnist Karen Finney, and Carole King.

*** Tuesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Politico’s Maggie Haberman, Obama 2012 Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter, former Ambassador to Syria Theodore Kattouf, former Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Karim Sadjadpour

*** Tuesday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Sen. Ben Cardin and  Michael Eric Dyson (on house racial profiling hearing) and Michael Smerconish (on 2012).

ROMNEY: His message for Obama yesterday in an interview with ABC was “start packing.” By the early evening, the Obama campaign had sent out an email trying to raise money off it.

The New York Daily News asks, “[A]way from the microphones, TV cameras, rapid response press releases and Twittersphere, where do the candidates stand when it comes to supporting stay-at-home mothers with policy?” It notes that Romney appears tied to the Paul Ryan budget, but “while Ryan's budget is quite popular among fiscal conservatives on, it's not the sort of spending blueprint that excites U.S. moms struggling to balance a household budget amidst skyrocketing gas prices and ballooning grocery bills, say some analysts,” especially considering it “would slash funding to many social programs that help families and mothers -- particularly single mothers -- including Head Start, child care subsidies, Pell grants for college and a variety of health-care programs.”

Romney leads in the debut of the Gallup Daily Tracking poll for the general election (47-45%), and trails in CNN and Reuters/Ipsos (though he made up ground in Reuters/Ipsos from the last time the poll was conducted).

“Stepping closer to becoming the Republican Party’s standard bearer, Mitt Romney will address GOP state party chairmen Friday at a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Arizona,” the Washington Post writes.

SANTORUM: “Rick Santorum pointedly declined Monday night to endorse presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, instead pointing out that he has not backed a candidate in the race and urging his supporters to vote their conscience,” the L.A. Times writes.

Like a broken record, a new poll shows Obama leading Romney (this one by nine points); he’s seen as more likable; there’s a gender gap; but Americans are divided on whether he or Romney is better to handle the economy. In the CNN poll, Obama leads Romney 52-43% and lead with women 55-39%, essentially unchanged since the last poll. It was conducted two days after the Hilary Rosen flap. Obama also leads 48-43% among independents.

And likability is important: “Obama's likeability and strong performance on personal characteristics helps explain why three-quarters of his supporters questioned say their vote will be a vote for Obama, not a vote against his opponent. By contrast, more than six in ten Romney supporters say their choice will be mostly be a vote against Obama,” CNN writes. Pollster Keating Holland: "That's a significantly higher level of anti-incumbent voting than polls found in previous years. In 2004, for example, 55% of Democratic nominee John Kerry's supporters said their choice of Kerry was really a vote against President George W. Bush. The question for 2012 is whether Romney has to provide his supporters with more reasons to vote for him in order to win, or whether a negative anti-Obama message is enough, given that historically high level of anti-incumbent voting.”

But: “President Barack Obama's lead over Mitt Romney has narrowed to 4 percentage points from 11 points a month ago, now that Romney has established himself as the probable Republican presidential nominee, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday,” Reuters writes. Obama leads 47-43%.

The pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action went up with a 30-second TV ad in swing states hitting Mitt Romney and targeting his wealth, using that now-famous Bain Capital photo of Romney holding up money. The buy is $585,000 and will air in Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Virginia beginning yesterday.

“Republican front-runner Mitt Romney has begun his search for a running mate in the race for president, and he will be guided in part by the lessons his party learned from Sarah Palin's selection four years ago,” AP writes. As he prepares for the chance to challenge President Barack Obama in November, Romney wants to avoid the blowback Republican John McCain faced in 2008 with his surprise choice of the little-known Alaska governor as the vice-presidential candidate. Questions about Palin's readiness to serve and McCain's decision making came to define his flawed campaign. Romney will put experience at the top of his list of qualities as he chooses a No. 2, according to senior advisers and Republican operatives familiar with his thinking.”

Romney tapped longtime aide Beth Myers to head up his vice-presidential search. The Boston Globe profiles her. Romney told ABC he has a deadline in mind for making the pick, but isn’t sharing yet. "It would certainly be by the time of the convention," he said. "I don't think we've chosen the time we'd actually make an announcement."

Romney “denied that the campaign already has a shortlist,” The Hill writes. He said, "I think it's way too early to begin narrowing down who the potential vice presidential nominees might be. But we're beginning that process."

Al Hunt warns: “It’s the time of the political season when conjecture runs wild, much of it ill-informed. Mr. Romney’s choice of a vice-presidential candidate will evolve, in ways unforeseeable today, over the next four months.”

AYOTTE: The New Hampshire senator pens an op-ed in the New Hampshire Union Leader. “April 15 is famous for being ‘tax day,’” she writes. “But this date is significant for another reason — it's also the legal deadline by which Congress is supposed to have approved a budget resolution. Unfortunately, the Democratic-controlled Senate hasn't just missed it this year — the chamber has now gone 1,084 days without passing a spending plan. I ran for the Senate to get America's fiscal house in order. That's why I was so excited to be named to the Budget Committee.” (She touts Ryan’s plan.)

MARTINEZ: It’s looking more and more like New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is a non-starter. The Weekly Standard in a profile and interview with her: “Martinez has a simple, one-word answer when I ask if she would consider accepting the vice presidential nomination: ‘No.’ Emphatically no? ‘Emphatically,’ she says. What will she say if Romney calls her in late July to ask her the same question? ‘I am going to say that I am very honored and very humbled but I must decline,’ she says.”

And: “She and Franco are the primary caretakers for her developmentally disabled sister, and Martinez recently told the Albuquerque Journal she ‘just couldn’t’ consider moving her sister to Washington. She’s a little more than a year into her first term, and there’s plenty left to do in Santa Fe: education reform, tax reform, bringing ‘the people to the process’ (a populist trope she repeats often). She’s also no doubt haunted by how New Mexicans perceived the national ambitions of her predecessor, Democrat Bill Richardson, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2008.”

MCDONNELL: Something to run on… “Gov. Bob McDonnell is promoting legislation that he says will help Virginia become the ‘energy capital of the East Coast,’” AP writes. “McDonnell will add his signature Tuesday to 13 pieces of energy-related legislation. The legislation promotes development of the state’s energy resources and supports alternative and renewable energy strategies, according to the governor’s office.”

RUBIO: Not everyone’s convinced Marco Rubio would be Romney’s Latino answer.

But at least one immigration advocate is warm to Rubio’s DREAM Act.

RYAN: Ryan’s got $5 million in the bank for his reelection bid.

Not every conservative might be happy with Ryan’s plan. But plenty do.

ARIZONA: “Republicans in southern Arizona's 8th Congressional District go to the polls Tuesday to choose who will face former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber in a special election to replace the wounded ex-congresswoman,” AP writes, adding, “The four include 2010 Giffords opponent Jesse Kelly, a businessman and tea party favorite, state Sen. Frank Antenori, retired U.S. Air Force pilot and political newcomer Martha McSally, and businessman and broadcaster Dave Sitton.” Kelly is the favorite in the primary.

MASSACHUSETTS: “An attempt by Senate Democrats to pass a higher tax on millionaires failed Monday night, but the legislative defeat may prove to be a political gift to Democrats eager to counter Scott Brown’s image as a bipartisan everyman,” the Boston Globe writes.

UTAH: AP previews Utah’s convention Saturday, which could determine incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch’s fate. “To avoid a primary, Hatch needs at least 60 percent of the 4,000 delegates expected to vote. In spite of Hatch having spent more than $5 million since the beginning of 2011 to defend his seat, the fate of one of the most powerful senators in the country is coming down to just a few hundred votes,” it writes, adding, “Hatch is urging delegates to back him so he can focus on helping likely presidential nominee Mitt Romney defeat President Barack Obama and on raising money for other Republicans running for the Senate.”

A couple of national polls released Monday provided a snapshot of the general election between President Obama and Mitt Romney at its infancy.

One poll by CNN/ORC showed a healthy advantage nationally for the incumbent Democratic president over the former Massachusetts governor.

In that poll, 52 percent of registered voters said they would choose Obama if the election were held today, versus 43 percent who would vote for Romney.

Two other polls -- one by Reuters/Ipsos, the other the new Gallup daily tracking poll -- suggested a much closer race.

Obama leads, 47 to 43 percent, among registered voters in the Reuters/Ipsos poll. The Gallup number, which uses a slightly different methodology that relies on a continuous daily sample of voters in the past five days, found Romney leading among registered voters, 47 to 45 percent.

At the same time, a different poll released Monday by the Washington Post and ABC suggested Romney has a disadvantage versus Obama in terms of how voters view the two men.

Just 35 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of Romney in that poll, versus 47 percent who expressed an unfavorable opinion of the presumptive GOP nominee. By contrast, Obama is in positive territory in the poll, with a 56-40 favorable/unfavorable rating.

The CNN/ORC poll was conducted April 13-15 and has a 3.5 percent margin of error. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted April 12-15 and has a 3.3 percent margin of error. The Gallup sample represents the pollster's sample from April 11-15 and has a maximum margin of error of 3 percent. And the Washington Post/ABC poll was conducted April 11-15, and has a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Families of the victims of gun violence gathered Monday -- five years to the day since the Virginia Tech massacre -- on Capitol Hill to warn against expanding concealed carry laws.

Thirty-two family members of individuals who were victims of gun violence joined Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence, and Virginia Rep. Jim Moran (D), all of whom spoke passionately outside the Capitol about their belief that the nation lacks levelheaded gun laws.

They were pushing specifically against a recently-introduced bill in the Senate that would expand the legality of carrying concealed weapons across state lines.

“They have wanted to and have been successful in this Congress in expanding concealed carry laws…here in Congress and in far too many statehouses across the country, their side is in fact winning," Moran said, warning that passing the new legislation would risk "loosening already porous gun laws."

Centrist Democratic Sens. Mark Begich (AK) and Joe Manchin (WV) last month introduced the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012.”

The legislation would mandate that each state that allows for concealed weapons consider the permit of another state valid. For example, if a Florida resident came to New York, their Florida permit to carry a concealed weapon would be considered legal. Presently, each state dictates their own concealed permit laws; however, some states have pre-existing reciprocity agreements with others.

The Senate bill is a companion to a law the House passed, 272-154, last November.

The Brady Campaign has sought to frame the argument through the recent shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.  They call the law introduced by Begich and Manchin the “George Zimmerman Armed Vigilante Act” after Martin’s shooter, George Zimmerman, who despite past arrests for domestic violence was legally able to have a concealed weapons permit in Florida. The Brady Campaign and gun control Democrats have suggested that a national law dictating each state honors the concealed permit of others will lead “to a race to the bottom” regarding gun laws.

“Arming dangerous people just to support a lobby that sells guns, that is shameful, it’s immoral and it’s almost criminal," the Brady Campaign's Gross said. "That’s why we’re here in DC this week to demand Congress make abundantly clear whose vision they support. The NRA’s dark paranoid vision of guns just about anywhere in anyone’s hands? Or our vision of an America where tragedies like ours or the 32 others that will happen today no longer happen.”

The NRA counters these assertions in a statement: “A state's laws governing where concealed handguns may be carried would apply within its borders.

They added: “In contrast to dire predictions from anti-gun groups, Right-to-Carry laws have been enormously successful. Interstate reciprocity will serve as a fundamental protection of the right to self-defense by providing people with the ability to protect themselves not only in their home states, but anywhere they travel where carry concealed carry is legal.”

So far there is no scheduled debate on the bill in the Senate.

Despite some high-profile incidences of gun violence over the past two years, specifically one in Tucson Arizona that killed six and critically wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), gun control advocates have had a tough time in the 112th Congress. A bill proposed by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) that would have outlawed long magazine clips, similar to the ones used in the Tucson shootings, never saw the House floor as the House GOP leadership declined to move forward toward a vote.

The 32 family members of victims of gun violence, including those who were killed at Virginia Tech, have a busy day on Capitol Hill. They’re scheduled to meet with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), both of whom hold an “A” rating from the NRA.

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL -- Mitt Romney has asked Beth Myers, the manager of his 2008 campaign and a longtime trusted aide, to head up his search for a running mate, Romney advisers told NBC News on Monday.

Myers, who served as Romney's chief of staff during his tenure as Massachusetts governor and ran his 2008 campaign, is one considered to be one of Romney's closest -- and most tight-lipped -- political advisers.

"I've asked her to be the person who oversees the process of the vice presidential selection and vetting an analysis and so she's begun that process and is putting together the kinds of things you need to do to vet potential candidates," Romney told ABC News in an interview Monday.

Brian Snyder / Reuters

Mitt Romney has asked Beth Myers, the manager of his 2008 campaign and a longtime trusted aide, to head up his search for a running mate, Romney advisers told NBC News.

Romney also said in the interview that he only began seriously talking about selecting a vice president this weekend, while fundraising in Florida.

The presumptive Republican nominee declined to reveal names on his shortlist, but has in the past praised the deep bench of Republican governors and other legislators -- and said that his primary concern in selecting a running mate would be that the person be able to assume the presidency immediately, if necessary.

At a town hall event last September in Arizona, Romney praised former Vice President Dick Cheney, and suggested the former head of the Defense Department and one-time White House chief of staff had the kind of experience he would look for in selecting his own running mate.

"That's the kind of person I'd like to have --  a person of wisdom and judgement," Romney said of Cheney.

Romney’s own hot-mic moment… At Florida fundraiser (overheard by NBC’s Garrett Haake), Romney singles out HUD for possible elimination and says he wants to cut the Education Dept… He and his wife also were giddy about the Hilary Rosen flap… And Romney revealed he wants a “Republican DREAM Act” to help woo Latinos… Senate to vote on Buffett Rule at 5:30 pm ET… Team Obama rakes in $53 million in March… Anonymous donor writes Crossroads $10 million check… NYT on White House’s access to big donors… Romney, meanwhile, promises his own donors access at “Presidential Inaugural Retreat!!!

*** Romney’s own hot-mic moment: In an interview with the Weekly Standard earlier this year, Mitt Romney said he learned this advice from his unsuccessful 1994 Senate race against Ted Kennedy: don’t get too specific. “One of the things I found in a short campaign against Ted Kennedy was that when I said, for instance, that I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, that was used to suggest I don’t care about education,” he said. “So I think it’s important for me to point out that I anticipate that there will be departments and agencies that will either be eliminated or combined with other agencies.” But at a Florida fundraiser Romney attended last night -- which NBC’s Garrett Haake overheard because he was sitting on a seawall outside the home -- the former Massachusetts governor got MUCH MORE specific. Indeed, it was in a way Romney’s own hot-mic moment, where he was more open about his plans than he’s been to voters and reporters to date.

*** Eliminate HUD, cut Education Department: He singled out HUD for possible elimination. "I'm going to take a lot of departments in Washington, and agencies, and combine them. Some eliminate, but I'm probably not going to lay out just exactly which ones are going to go," Romney said. "Things like Housing and Urban Development, which my dad was head of, that might not be around later.” He said he’d cut the Education Department, though not eliminate it entirely, referring again to that 1994 Senate defeat. "The Department of Education: I will either consolidate with another agency, or perhaps make it a heck of a lot smaller. I'm not going to get rid of it entirely." Romney also identified specific loopholes and deductions that he’s eliminate to finance his across-the-board tax cut. "I'm going to probably eliminate for high income people the second home mortgage deduction," Romney said, per Haake, adding that he would also likely eliminate deductions for state income and property taxes as well.

*** Giddy over the Rosen flap: At the fundraiser, Haake adds, both Romney and his wife Ann remained absolutely giddy about last week’s Hilary Rosen flap. "It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother, and that was really a defining moment, and I loved it," Ann Romney said. The candidate went further, calling the episode a "gift" that allowed his campaign to show contrast with Democrats in the general election's first week. But while Romney said last week that “all moms are working moms,” that doesn’t apply to mothers who are welfare recipients, the Boston Globe says. Romney said at a Jan. 4 campaign stop in Manchester, N.H.: “Even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work,” Romney describing his position as Massachusetts governor. “And people said, ‘Well that’s heartless,’ and I said ‘No, no, I’m willing to spend more giving daycare to allow those parents to go back to work. It’ll cost the state more providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.’”

*** Romney wants a “Republican DREAM Act”: Here’s a final bit of news from last night’s Romney’s fundraiser: He said the GOP must offer its own policies to woo Hispanics, including a "Republican DREAM Act," to give Hispanic voters a real choice between the two political parties. So Romney here is admitting the obvious: He and his party have A LOT of work to do with Latinos. Why? Consider this: Obama can get to 270 electoral votes (275 to be specific) by winning the following battleground states: Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Virginia. Under the scenario of this Hispanic path (CO, NM, NV, and VA), Obama doesn’t need to win Florida, Ohio, Iowa, or New Hampshire. That’s right -- this is a viable path to 270 that does not include EITHER Florida or Ohio. It’s pretty stunning.

*** Senate to vote on Buffett Rule: Congress is back from its Easter/Passover break, and the Senate today votes -- at 5:30 pm ET, per NBC’s Libby Leist -- on the so-called Buffett Rule, under which millionaires would have to pay an effective tax rate of at least 30%. We’ve talked plenty about the presidential politics of the Buffett Rule, but here’s something additional to consider: How do the individual senators vote? We’re looking at five running for re-election/election in November: Jon Tester (D-MT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Scott Brown (R-MA), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Bill Nelson (D-FL).

*** Team Obama rakes in $53 million-plus in March: In a video, the Obama campaign announced this morning that it raised more than $53 million in March -- the campaign, DNC, and other committees. It added that 567,000 contributed to the campaign last month, and the average donation was $51. We won't know until April 20 -- the filing deadline for March -- how much of that $53 million was from the campaign, DNC, etc. But for February, the campaign announced raising $45 million, and the split was $21.3 million for the campaign and $24 million for the other committees. To put these new Obama numbers into perspective, for March of 2004, the Bush-Cheney campaign raised $26.2 million, and the RNC brought in $18.8 million. That's a total of $45 million. To date now, the Obama campaign and DNC have raked in nearly $370 million this campaign cycle.

*** An anonymous $10 million check: But that campaign money is only part of the story. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that an anonymous donor gave the Karl Rove-backed Crossroad GPS a $10 million contribution late last year. Unlike American Crossroads, which is a Super PAC and which has to disclose its donors, Crossroads GPS is a 501c4 and doesn’t have to reveal the identity of its donors. So with one check, an anonymous donor gave this conservative outside group about half ($10 million) of what the Obama campaign raised in February ($21.3 million).

*** White House access for big donors: There are a couple of other fundraising stories. First, the Sunday New York Times reported on the White House access that big Obama donors have received. “[T]he review showed that those who donated the most to Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party since he started running for president were far more likely to visit the White House than others. Among donors who gave $30,000 or less, about 20 percent visited the White House, according to a New York Times analysis that matched names in the visitor logs with donor records. But among those who donated $100,000 or more, the figure rises to about 75 percent.” It’s worth noting that for all the reforms Team Obama has instituted – not taking lobbyist money, making the White House visitor logs open to the public, efforts to rein in the lobbyist revolving door – it’s received very little political gain. In fact, you could argue that it’s created more pain… (The fact is most Democratic lobbyists and big donors don’t believe they get any special treatment from this White House, and they complain loudly about this. As the re-election has geared up, Team Obama has tried to make these folks feel better, only to have their efforts get correctly flagged for coming across hypocritical.)

*** Romney camp promises donor access at “Presidential Inaugural Retreat”: The Romney campaign pounced on yesterday’s New York Times story. “Less than four years after promising to drive special interests out of Washington, President Obama has done the exact opposite—granting top donors special favors and access to his White House,” said spokeswoman Andrea Saul. “This is just another example of President Obama’s failed record, which he’ll be desperate to hide from voters this November.” But get this: Buzzfeed reports that Romney “is already offering top donors access to a special ‘Presidential Inaugural retreat,’ planned on the assumption that he will be elected president this November. The offer, in a fundraising email circulated by a top Georgia supporter to fellow Republicans and obtained by BuzzFeed, is one of several goodies offered to those who contribute more than $50,000 to the joint fundraising committee known as ‘Romney Victory.’ Those donors will be named ‘Founding Members’ of Romney Victory and invited to a California retreat with Romney and offered ‘yet to be determined access at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August.’”

*** On the GOP trail: Romney attends a Red Sox game at 11:00 am ET and also gives an interview to ABC. Later in the day, Romney heads to Philadelphia, where he speaks to a Tea Party group… Also, Gingrich attends a fundraiser in Texas.

Countdown to the CT, DE, NY, PA, and RI primaries: 8 days
Countdown to Election Day: 204 days

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Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
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*** Monday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on the tax fights… TIME’s Mike Duffy on his new book “The Presidents Club”… Latest on the Secret Service probe with NBC’s Pete Williams… More 2012 trail news with The Washington Post’s Dan Balz, USA Today’s Susan Page and American Bridge’s Rodell Mollineau.

*** Monday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews former Secret Service agent Dan Emmett, the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank, NBC Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff, Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch, Columbia business professor & Buffett Rule millionaire Eric Schoenberg, the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof, and Col (ret.) Jack Jacobs.

*** Monday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks with Ronald Kessler, Author of “In the President’s Secret Service,” AB Stoddard, Susan Del Percio, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, and “Patriotic Millionaires” Author Daniel Berger. 

*** Monday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe, Catherine Crier, the Huffington Post's Sam Stein, Pro-Obama Super PAC head Bill Burton, and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, in Denver for the Education Nation summit, interviews the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, NBC’s Michael Isikoff, NBC’s Atia Abawi, NBC’s Rehema Ellis, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, National Journal’s Reid Wilson, and former Iran Hostage Sarah Shourd.

*** Monday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Michael Smerconish, Steve Deace, and NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell.