Iowa's senior senator and prolific Tweeter, Republican Chuck Grassley, sent a harshly worded message Saturday that intentionally slighted the president.

Aides say Grassley personally Tweeted: "Constituents askd why i am not outraged at PresO attack on supreme court independence. Bcause Am ppl r not stupid as this x prof of con law."

While Grassley's Twitter account had been previously hacked, this time the use of the word "stupid" was his own. Aides say, "The Tweet is Sen. Grassley's. He is saying that it doesn't speak well of any constitutional law professor to not understand Marbury v Madison. The people understand the independence of the judiciary. So he thinks most Americans are smarter on the Constitution."

In a second Tweet, Grassley wrote,"Possibility of peace and freedom for Syria gets more remote as PresO plays along w the farce of Kofi Annans negotiatios (sic) there Barack wakeup."

With Mitt Romney's big wins last week and the political world declaring the GOP race over, all eyes have shifted to Rick Santorum.

Santorum, a devout Catholic, is taking a few days off for the Easter holiday. His campaign, though, says he is not rethinking his plans, and he will fight to win Pennsylvania, which holds its primary April 24th. But we'll see if that changes. Polls in the Keystone State are tightening between him and Romney, and Santorum can't afford to lose his home state.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney and President Obama are now targeting each other. Expect more of that in the Week Ahead.

On Sunday... David Gregory's guests on Meet the Press are Governor John Kasich, a Republican from Ohio, and Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois. They'll be talking about the general election.

On Monday... Santorum campaigns in Pennsylvania. He will STAY in the state all week trying to maintain his lead.

On Wednesday... First Lady Michelle Obama will appear on The Colbert Report. It will be her first time on the show since April 2008. Longtime Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, who is in a fight for his political life, faces off in a Republican primary debate with state Treasurer Richard Mourdock.

On Thursday... In New Hampshire, it will be the fourth in a series of swing-state addresses for Vice President Joe Biden.

With Mitt Romney's win in Wisconsin, perception shifted in this campaign -- from Romney as struggling front runner to likely nominee.

The question then became if and when Rick Santroum would drop out.

But Santorum, who met with conservatives at his home in Virginia Thursday, showed no signs of ending his campaign.

Instead, in that meeting, Santorum backers were trying to chart a way forward. The strategy they came up with hinges on: (1) getting Newt Gingrich out of the race, and (2) getting Texas to change its rules on how it allocates delegates from proportional to winner take all.

Well, if that that sounds like a lot, that's because it is. And it's not likely to happen.

Gingrich said there's no chance he's dropping out and telling his delegates to go to Santorum, and Texas would need a waiver from the Republican National Committee to change its rules. But RNC sources tell NBC News there is little change of that happening.

Speaking to a gathering of women brought to the White House to discuss economic issues, President Obama said he believed conversations about women’s issues have become “oversimplified” lately.

“There's been a lot of talk about women and women's issues lately as there should be, but I do think the conversation's been oversimplified," Obama said at the White House forum on women and the economy. "Women are not some monolithic bloc. Women are not an interest group. You shouldn't be treated that way."

The president noted the work his administration has done to advance women’s issues, including his signature of the Lilly Ledbetter anti-pay discrimination act and the increase of loans to small businesses, many of which go to women-owned companies.

“When it comes to our efforts on behalf of women and girls," he said, "I'm proud of our efforts."

He also warned against the policies Republicans seek to put in place which he said would set women back, alluding to recent debates over access to preventive care and funding of Planned Parenthood.

“What we can't do now is go back to the policies that got us into so many of the problems that we've been dealing with in the first place,” Obama said. “People say we should get rid of Planned Parenthood. They're not just talking about restricting a woman's ability to make her own health decision; they're talking about denying as a practical matter the preventive care like mammograms that millions of Americans rely on.”

The Planned Parenthood comment may have been in reference to Mitt Romney’s March 14^th statement in which he named several government programs he said he would cut.

“Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that,” he said, in part, during an interview with a Missouri television station. His adviser Eric Fehrnstrom later said Romney was referring to cutting government funding for Planned Parenthood, not shutting down the program entirely.

At the women’s forum, Obama also took a dig at Congress’ inaction, he said he thought the legislative body would accomplish more if there were more women on Capitol Hill.

“Is it possible Congress will get more done if there are more women in Congress?” he said, grinning. “I think it's fair to say. That is almost guaranteed.”

At the beginning of his speech Obama also commented on the Labor Department’s March jobs report, which showed that the economy added 120,000 jobs, fewer than the 200,000 or more jobs that have been added every month so far this year, and a ticked-down unemployment rate of 8.2 percent.

While he said he “welcomed today’s news” of continued economic growth, he added that “it’s clear to every American that there will still be ups and downs along the way, and that we’ve got a lot more work to do.”

Republicans said the unemployment number was still far too high, with the Republican National Committee noting that “of the 740,000 jobs lost since Obama took office, 683,000 of them were held by women.”

“President Obama and his fellow Democrats love to say they stand for women, but women can no longer stand the Obama economy.  Women deserve better, and in November we will hold him accountable,” RNC co-chair Sharon Day said in a statement.

The unemployment rate dipped today to 8.2 percent, down from 8.3 where it was the last two months. The economy added 120,000 jobs. But that was below the expected 200,000 jobs -- and those expectations will drive political coverage today.

Other stories we're watching and following up on:

Yesterday, Rick Santorum huddled with conservatives. His strategy seems to be the following:

1. Get Gingrich out, have him endorse Santorum and get all of his delegates to go to Santorum. Gingrich says that's not happening.

2. Get Texas to change its rules on how it allocates delegates, from proportional to winner take all. But Texas would need a waiver from the Republican National Committee to do so. And sources at the RNC tells us, there's little chance that will happen.

The other story getting attention today is -- once again -- Mitt Romney's taxes.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that not everything is laid out in his financial disclosure as it relates to investments with his former employer Bain Capital.

That sparked the Obama campaign to call for Romney to release more of his taxes. And they're encouraging people to Tweet Romney with the hashtag "Whats Romney Hiding."

The Romney campaign says it's done everything required by law and that this is a distraction from an Obama campaign that wants to do everything it can NOT to talk about the economy.

It's yet another sign of the general-election campaign having already started.

Rick Santorum's daughter, Bella, afflicted with a chromosomal disorder, was taken to the hospital for the second time during this campaign. Santorum is home in Virginia for the Easter holiday.

"Rick and his wife Karen have taken their daughter Bella to the hospital," Santorum Communications Director Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "The family requests prayers and privacy as Bella works her way to recovery."

The Santorums have medical equipment in their Virginia home and and a nurse on call that can tend to Bella. Because of these accommodations, Bella only needs to be taken to the hospital when her condition is very serious, a person familiar with the situation told NBC News.

This is the second time during the campaign that his 3-year-old with Trisomy 18 has needed to be taken to a hospital. Santorum canceled events in late January after Bella was rushed to a Virginia hospital when she developed pneumonia in both lungs.

The Santorums prefer to take Bella to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, but the severity of the January incident caused the family to rush to a hospital closer to their Virginia home.

It is unclear at this time which hospital she has been admitted to.

Ann Heisenfelt / AP

Newt Gingrich listens at left, as his wife Callista introduces him during a campaign stop at Hood College in Frederick, Md., Monday, April 2, 2012.

MILLSBORO, Del. - A full month has passed since Newt Gingrich has won a Republican presidential primary contest. And that victory, of course, came in his former home state of Georgia.

Since then, so much has changed for Gingrich and his campaign.

Related: Gingrich still in, says Romney likely GOP nominee

On a typical day a few weeks ago, Gingrich's staff was everywhere at campaign events: his chief of staff, his campaign spokesman, his bodyman, his press director, his bus director, his advance staff.

Now? Gingrich has mostly been traveling just with his spokesman and Secret Service protection. That bodyman, who used to appear with Gingrich everywhere he went, was dispatched to run the campaign's North Carolina effort.

Callista, Gingrich’s wife, has even begun holding some events on her own, taking both her and a couple staffers out of the usual entourage.

After a third of Gingrich's staff were let go, the plug was pulled on most of their advance staff and production crews -- resulting in lower-key events.

Patriotic music no longer plays at events when the candidate and his wife take the stage. The traditional American flag backdrops have disappeared. And gone are the sound system and riser platform for media.

The traveling press bus that kicked off in Iowa on Dec. 27 ended late last month in Louisiana. Now just three network television embeds -- no print reporters at all -- are left covering Gingrich’s longshot bid fulltime. Local reporters still flock to his events, but national outlets tend to come only when Romney or Santorum are in the same area.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Newt Gingrich addresses a campaign town hall-style meeting at the Hodson Auditorium on the campus of Hood College, April 2, 2012 in Frederick, Md.

Gingrich acknowledged last week that it doesn’t bother him “much” that many embedded reporters are no longer covering his campaign. “Much as I like some of them personally, look, people are going to have to decide what they want to cover,” he said outside the state house in Annapolis, Md., on March 27. “Everywhere I go, we get a lot of coverage.”

And then there are the crowds, which have dwindled some over the past month. But people are still coming out to hear the former House speaker. Thursday night, Gingrich drew a couple hundred people to two campaign rallies at firehouses in Delaware.

Even the number of events are now smaller. During the month of January, it was typical for four to six events to be on Gingrich’s schedule on any given day. Recently, the candidate may only hold one. And the election night parties that started in Iowa have slowly been phased out by the campaign.

But these changes do not (at least on the surface) seem to faze Gingrich.

“I am happy with how it [the campaign] is being run right now,” Gingrich said Thursday night.

He still has a smile on his face each day, makes frequent stops at zoos (at least four since the start of the year), historical landmarks, and numerous state capitols [at least eight since the start of the year].

Gingrich genuinely seems to be enjoying his run for the country’s highest office.

Stopping at Orville Wright’s home in Dayton, Ohio, Gingrich commented to his wife, “That was fun.” After a recent stop at the Salisbury, Md., zoo, he told a crowd at the local university, “It was cool.” And he admitted he had always wanted to be “a zoo director.”

To be sure, this situation for Gingrich is very similar to how it was back in the late summer, after most of his staff quit the campaign.

Little staff, few reporters, some smaller crowds, limited resources at events -- but a cheerful man running for president.

The unemployment dropped slightly to 8.2 percent today, as the economy added 120,000 jobs.

That jobs figure, though, fell short of the expectation of about 200,000 jobs.

NOTE: By the way, there will be no First Thoughts today. We're taking a small break on this Good Friday, but we will be updating the blog throughout the day as news warrants.

*** UPDATE *** Mitt Romney responds to the jobs report, calling it "weak and very troubling."

“This is a weak and very troubling jobs report that shows the employment market remains stagnant," Romney said in a statement released by his campaign. "Millions of Americans are paying a high price for President Obama's economic policies, and more and more people are growing so discouraged that they are dropping out of the labor force altogether. It is increasingly clear the Obama economy is not working and that after three years in office the President's excuses have run out.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** NBC's Frank Thorp reports House Speaker John Boehner pins slowed job creation on the president's policies.

"Today's report shows that families and small businesses are still struggling to get by because of President Obama's failed economic policies," Boehner said in a statement.

*** UPDATE 3 *** Majority Leader Eric Cantor, though, didn't name President Obama in his statement. Instead, he talks about the JOBS Act Cantor pushed and Obama signed.

"The monthly jobless numbers are just a quick snapshot of the economy, so while it is welcome news that around one hundred thousand jobs were created last month, there's more to the picture. The level of growth we are seeing isn't enough to make a difference for the millions of Americans still out of work or families facing high gas prices and the uncertainty of a lagging economy. Job growth happens when small businessmen and women in this country have the ability to take risks, invest capital and start hiring new workers. We want to make sure they have every opportunity to do so. The JOBS Act is now law because Republicans and Democrats put our differences aside and joined together to deliver results for job creators in this country. We can do more."

After today’s bipartisan signing ceremony for the JOBS Act at the White House, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor made brief remarks that may raise some eyebrows in both Chicago and Boston. 

Cantor told reporters, "We have a very difficult economic situation still. The president said today that he’s always believed that it’s the private sector that is the job generator in this country. I agree with him, and I think most Americans agree with him."

The remarks could be seen as inadvertently undercutting one of Mitt Romney’s attack lines against the president.

At a campaign appearance in Appleton, Wisconsin last Friday, Romney told the crowd: “In Barack Obama’s government-centered society, the government must do more because the economy is doomed to do less. When you attack business and vilify success, you will have less business and less success.”

In his victory speech in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Romney also added: "When the president attacks business and when his policies make it more difficult for businesses to grow and prosper, he is also attacking the very communities he wanted to help."

Of course, it's important to note that Cantor sponsored the legislation that Obama signed into law today, so that could partly explain his comments today.
 
Yet Cantor is among a number of top Republicans to endorse Romney in recent weeks as he has emerged as the most likely nominee.

*** UPDATE *** Cantor's staff disputes the characterization, telling NBC News: "Obviously, actions speak louder than words, and we haven't seen this sort of commitment to the business community to date, but if that's his belief we'd certainly welcome it and look forward to working together to help our nation's job creators."

According to a spokesman at the Texas Republican Party, a member of the Texas GOP’s executive committee drafted an email to call an emergency meeting to revisit its delegate-allocation rules.

And make no mistake: This effort is coming from Santorum world.

Santorum, in fact, commented on this subject yesterday while campaigning in Pennsylvania.

“After Pennsylvania, the calendar in May looks very, very interesting -- a lot of strong conservative states who are looking for the opportunity to tighten this race back up. There's talk now of maybe making the state of Texas, 154 [sic] delegates, a winner-take-all state. We would like that. That would be a good thing.”

And today on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," Santorum spokeswoman Alice Stewart added, “Keep an eye on Texas, that’s going to be critical in terms of how the votes play out there, whether it’s winner-take-all or proportional. Texas will be critical in the primary election and everyone needs to pay attention to that."

Right now, Texas is set to award its 155 delegates -- on May 29 -- proportionally. But making it winner-take-all could help Santorum narrow Romney’s delegate lead, if Santorum remains in the race (and more importantly, if he remains competitive).

Per the Texas GOP’s bylaws, you need 15 members of the executive committee to call such an emergency meeting.

And it takes a two-thirds vote at that meeting to propose a rule change -- that would later be sent to the Republican National Committee.

But a Republican official says the RNC is "unlikely" to grant Texas a waiver to change its rules.

"If they succeed in changing the rules in Texas, then they have to come to [the RNC] for a waiver, and it is unlikely to happen."

Mitt Romney voiced support on Thursday for women being allowed to join the storied Augusta National Golf Club.

A reporter shouted a question to Romney while he was working the ropeline following an event in Pennsylvania about whether women should be able to join the club, which is the home of the annual golf tournament, The Masters.

"Well of course," Romney said. "I'm not a member of Augusta. I don't know if I would qualify -- my golf game is not that good -- but certainly if I were a member and if I could run Augusta which isn't likely to happen but of course I'd have women in Augusta. Sure."

The question to Romney came after the White House said Thursday morning that President Obama supports women being allowed to join the course.

The line of questioning comes amid scrutiny of the club's policy in light of IBM's hiring of Ginni Rometty as its CEO. The CEO of IBM has traditionally enjoyed a membership at Augusta, where the Masters are being played this weekend.

Rick Santorum met with several conservative leaders at home in Virginia, sources close to the Santorum campaign confirms to NBC News.

One of the major goals -- how to get Newt Gingrich out of the race and get his delegates to line up behind Santorum instead.

The meeting, the source said, was “called by conservative leaders to see how to get everyone to coalesce around Rick. Gingrich is a big part of that … that’s a huge part of it.”

Santorum spokeswoman Alic Stewart first confirmed the news on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports and said the goal of the meeting, called by the conservatives leaders, was stopping Mitt Romney.

"What I can say is we were approached by conservative leaders – a group of conservative leaders - who say now is the time for conservatives to rally together, get behind the right person that is going to be able to stop Mitt Romney," Stewart said. "That’s what the conservatives need to do."

The conservative leaders are trying to “find a way to stop Mitt Romney,” the source said. Santorum and Gingrich have “met a couple times,” but there’s no indication Gingrich would get out at this point or endorse.

The Gingrich campaign confirmed to NBC's Alex Moe that Santorum and Gingrich had met over the last couple of weeks, but, stressed that there is no chance Gingrich will exit the race and encourage his delegates to vote for Santorum.

Santorum "should have thought about that during the primaries," Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told Moe, "and Newt is not dropping out and handing him our delegates."

He added, "Newt has not agreed to any alliances, and he is going to continue to move forward with his candidacy, and it is Sen. Santorum's decision alone if he wants to continue his candidacy."

There was no discussion -- or encouragement -- at the meeting today of Santorum to drop out, the source said. And talk of Santorum rethinking before Pennsylvania is silly, the source said.

“We’re going to Pennsylvania,” the source insisted. “He’s home for Easter.”

Politico first reported of a meeting with conservatives today.

The Justice Department has filed the letter it was directed to write by a panel of appeals court judges in Texas about the authority of federal courts to strike down acts of Congress. The letter states well-settled law about the issue, but in doing so, it manages to make many of the points the Obama administration has stressed in litigation over the health-care case.

During oral argument Tuesday over a lawsuit challenging a part of the health law, Judge Jerry Smith of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas sought the following: "A letter stating what is the position of the attorney general and the Department of Justice in regard to the recent statements by the president, stating specifically and in detail, in reference to those statements, what the authority is of the federal courts in this regard in terms of judicial review."

The letter in response, signed by Attorney General Eric Holder, says, "The longstanding, historical position of the United States regarding judicial review of the constitutionality of federal legislation has not changed."

"The power of courts to review the constitutionality of legislation is beyond dispute," he says, citing cases from Marbury v. Madison in 1803 up to the present day. 

But, Holder notes, acts of congress are presumed to be constitutional.

"It falls to the party seeking to overturn a federal law to show that is is clearly constitutional," he writes. What's more, "The Supreme Court has often acknowledged the appropriatness of reliance on the political branches' policy choices and judgments."

"The President's remarks," Holder concludes," were fully consistent with the principles described herein."

HARRISBURG, PA -- Dropping by his state campaign headquarters here Thursday morning, Mitt Romney said he expected former Sen. Rick Santorum would win his home state's primary later this month, but that he would carry the Keystone state in November's general election.

"I think everybody expects someone to win his home state. Newt Gingrich won his home state; I won mine. I think people expect [the] senator to win his home state," Romney told reporters between phone calls to supporters as part of a phone-bank effort.

"But I hope to pick up a lot of delegates, and we have several of the states in the contest on the same day. I would like to win all of those, and if I could win the others and pick up some delegates here, it would give me an even stronger lead."

Later, delivering remarks on the roof of the headquarters building, Romney predicted he would win Pennsylvania in a fall match-up against President Obama.

"I need your help, you guys. As you know I want to win Pennsylvania in November. I'm going to win Pennsylvania in November. And the reason that's going to happen, by the way, is that the people of Pennsylvania have taken a good look at conservative leadership," he said, then mentioning the state's two best known Republican leaders, neither of whom has yet formally endorsed. "They've seen your Sen. Pat Toomey. They've seen your governor. They've seen he conservative leaders are the people who will help grow the middle class."

Romney also set the stage for a fall campaign here that would focus in no small part on energy policy -- a major issue here. Pennsylvania is in the midst of a sometimes-controversial gas-drilling boom, and is the leading petroleum-refining state in the northeast. The world's fist commercial oil well was drilled in Titusville, and the state's cultural and historical links to the coal industry are well-documented.

"This is a president who, I don't think he likes energy terribly much, or at least some of the energy," Romney said of President Obama. "He said the other day he was for all of the above. I think he was referring to all of the things that are above the ground. I mean, he likes the wind and the solar, but he doesn't like the stuff that's under the ground like coal and oil and natural gas. I like those sources of energy. I like what's above the ground and below the ground. And if I'm president, I will have not only all of the above, but all of the below."

The Obama camp issued this response: "Under President Obama, we have increased our domestic production of oil to an eight-year high and decreased our dependence on foreign oil to a 16-year low while doubling the production of renewables."

While campaigning in Pennsylvania, the former Massachusetts governor also continued to level accusations that President Obama -- not Mitt Romney -- is the one out of touch with the American people and out of his economic depth. Romney (who spent four years at Harvard earning a combined JD/MBA) called Obama a "nice guy" who "spent too much time at Harvard perhaps, or maybe just not enough time actually working in the real world."

"I'm afraid he's been in this bubble in Washington D.C., surrounded by people who love everything that comes out of his mouth, and he hasn't had the chance to see what's happening in America," Romney said.

Perhaps showing the effects of a long last week of campaigning here and in Wisconsin, Romney at one point struggled to remember the date of Pennsylvania's primary, laughing about the effects of too much time on the road.

"I want you to get out and do everything possible to get me the support I need on April 24th -- is that, what day is April 24th? Is that a Tuesday? It's not this coming Tuesday, it's the one after that. Or is it the one after that? It's the one after that." Romney said, laughing "Sometimes when you're on the road every day, you're not quite sure even what day it is, but today's Thursday, right?  Yeah. So I need you to get out, and to get your friends to vote, to give me their support because we're going to take back America."

President Obama believes the storied Augusta National Golf Club, which plays host to the annual Masters Tournament, should admit women to the club.

When asked by a reporter during Thursday's White House briefing whether the all-male golf club should admit women, White House press secretary Jay Carney Carney said, "Well the president's answer to this question is yes. He believes, his personal opinion is that women should be admitted."

"I happened to have a discussion with him about this, so I know that that's his answer," Carney added. "It's obviously up to the club to decide. But his personal opinion is that women should be admitted to the club."

Augusta National's policy of only admitting men has come under fire recently because a Masters sponsor, IBM, now has a woman at the helm of the company. The last four CEOs of that company were invited to don the iconic green jacket and become members.

NBC's Lisa Myers reported that Ginni Rometty, the current IBM CEO, will host guests at the club this week but it is unclear whether she'll be offered a membership.

In another black eye for Newt Gingrich, the flagship of what's known in Washington as "Newt Inc." has filed for bankruptcy.

In a Chapter 7 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia, The Gingrich Group LLC, doing business as the Center for Health Transformation, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. (Chapter 7 is "the chapter of the Bankruptcy Code providing for 'liquidation,' that is, the sale of a debtor's nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors," as defined by the federal courts.)

The vast majority of Gingrich's net worth is tied up in the Gingrich Group. Gingrich is worth overall between $7.1 million and $31 million, according to his financial disclosure. He lists a promissory note from Gingrich Group as being worth between $5 million and $25 million.

Rogelio Solis / AP

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks at the Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi, Miss.

Gingrich was chairman of the group until May of last year, when he announced he was running for president. Since the candidate turned focus toward his presidential run, the Gingrich Group has struggled to raise money, leading to its eventual collapse.

The bankruptcy comes at a time when Gingrich's campaign is struggling to regain any momentum. He has won only two states during his run for president -- South Carolina and Georgia, his home state -- and he lags far behind front-runner Mitt Romney in the delegate count, in third place with just 137 out of the 1,144 needed to become the nominee.

Though he continues to pledge that he's "going to Tampa," the site of the Republican National Convention this summer, Gingrich is sounding increasingly like a candidate fighting for relevance rather than the presidency.

(Here are the bankruptcy filings - Part 1, Part 2.)

The news of the bankruptcy was first reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and confirmed by NBC News with the court in Atlanta and a federal court database search.

Gingrich pulled in $2.5 million -- the bulk of his income -- from January 2010 to August 2011 from sister organizations Gingrich Productions and Gingrich Communications.

On the campaign trail, Gingrich has touted ideas coming from his health think tank. And it has been a source of controversy, as questions were raised -- and other campaigns questioned - whether Gingrich acted as a lobbyist on behalf of the group in Georgia.

The Washington Post wrote: “[H]is time there exemplifies the former Georgia congressman’s post-legislative career as a well-paid consultant and policy guru, a role that earned him and his companies tens of millions of dollars over the past decade.”

NBC's Kathy Johnson and Marcie Rickun contributed to this report.

Facing reporters for the first time since President Obama warned that the Supreme Court’s potential overturning the health care law would be an “unprecedented” step, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney yesterday sought to put the president’s words in context, saying the president was not suggesting the court has never overturned such a law regulating interstate commerce.

A tale of two different strategies: Obama is running against the GOP, while Romney is running against Obama… How Obama and Romney can counter these strategies… Why Romney might want Santorum to exit the race -- now… Gillespie joins Team Romney… Politicizing the courts: Everyone is to blame… And how Justice Kennedy could play Solomon.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney addresses a luncheon hosted by Newspaper Association of America and American Society of News Editors during the MediaXchange conference April 4, 2012 in Washington, DC.

*** A tale of two different strategies: So what we did make of the back-to-back speeches by President Obama and Mitt Romney before newspaper editors in DC? The two men appear to have two very different strategies as we transition to the general election. Obama, as we wrote yesterday, is running against the Republican Party and its brand (see the Ryan budget), and wants to tie Romney to them. “This congressional Republican budget is something different altogether. It is a Trojan Horse,” he said.  “Disguised as deficit reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.” Romney, meanwhile, is campaigning directly against the president -- against his record and against him personally. “[Obama] does not want to share his real plans before the election, either with the public or with the press… He is intent on hiding. You and I will have to do the seeking.” So Obama wants to make the general election a referendum on the Republican Party, while Romney wants to make it about Obama. That’s maybe why Romney mentioned Obama’s name or “Obamacare” 22 times in his speech, according to NBC’s Morgan Parmet. By comparison, Obama mentioned Romney’s name just once.

Related: Romney, GOP must remember lessons from 2008 veepstakes

*** How Obama and Romney can counter these strategies: To combat these attacks, both candidates have work to do. For Obama, he has to make the case that things are getting better (all eyes will be on Friday’s job numbers) and that he deserves another four years in office. For Romney, as we mentioned yesterday, he either has to distance himself -- at least somewhat -- from the GOP, or he has to work to repair the party’s brand. Political strategist Matthew Dowd offers some additional advice to Romney. “Right now you … seem to have adopted three key attacks: that Obama is out of touch, out of the mainstream and can't be trusted. Funny thing is, Obama is saying the same thing about you. You need to settle on one message, as does the president, and be disciplined about it. But because you're vulnerable on each of these attacks, you might also consider some other strategy.”

*** Why Romney might want Santorum to exit -- now: In his Q&A with the newspaper editors yesterday, Romney expressed his desire for the GOP primary season to come to an end -- ASAP. "I hope that we're able to resolve our nomination process as soon as possible,” he said. And this is now Romney’s immediate challenge: How does he convince Rick Santorum to get out, preferably before the April 24 Pennsylvania primary? Consider: If Santorum remains in the race, and if Romney wants to win Pennsylvania, Team Romney is going to have to go negative (as we saw in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin), and that will only drive up Romney’s own negatives, as well as make it harder to unify the party for the general. But if the Romney campaign doesn’t go negative, it’s very possible to see how Santorum ends up winning in Pennsylvania -- and possibly some of the later contests in May (North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas). And for Romney, having the inevitable nominee lose primary races is never a good thing. Given these two scenarios, convincing Santorum to get out now is probably their preferred. But how do they achieve that? By the way, Santorum is off the trail for the next FIVE days for the holidays…

*** Gillespie joins Team Romney: Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is beginning to staff up for the general election. NBC’s Garrett Haake confirms that the campaign is bringing in former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie as a senior adviser to help with strategy. As Politico’s Martin writes, “Gillespie will be a sort of strategist without portfolio to the likely GOP presidential nominee, offering counsel on planning for the Tampa convention, the candidate’s message and a general election strategy for a campaign that is already moving beyond the primary.” By the way, Gillespie had served with the Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads, and Crossroads tells First Read that he has suspended his role with that organization. Even by following the letter of the law, it’s just more evidence of the thin line separating the campaigns from the Super PACs that aren’t supposed to be coordinating with each other.

*** On the trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: Romney remains in Pennsylvania, hosting a meet-and-greet in Harrisburg and attending an energy event in Tunkhannock… Gingrich stumps in Delaware, making stops in Greenwood, Magnolia, and Millsboro… And Paul hosts a town hall event at UC Berkeley in California.

*** Politicizing the courts -- everyone’s to blame: So what do we make of the furious back-and-forth over the Supreme Court? Everyone is to blame here. President Obama contributed to it by referring to the fact that the court was “unelected.” (And he probably realized it when he seemed to walk back his criticism the next day.) Supreme Court Justice Scalia contributed it when he talked more about politics and process than the law during the oral arguments, even adopting Tea Party talking points. And this 5^th Circuit Judge, Jerry Smith (appointed by Reagan), contributed to it when he demanded the Justice Department to explain if it believes the courts have the right to strike down laws. (Many Supreme Court experts “expressed surprise at Smith's overtly political rebuke of the president,” Yahoo writes.) But it’s also nothing new that the courts have been politicized. After all, we’re not sure we saw too many Republicans criticize Newt Gingrich last December, when he said that the 9^th Circuit should be abolished and that U.S. marshals could bring judges before Congress to explain unpopular decisions. But does “tit-for-tat” make it right? That’s the question for everyone this week who has contributed to this cynical political analysis about the court.

*** If Justice Kennedy wanted to play Solomon: Speaking of the Supreme Court, the New Republic’s Jonathan  Cohn raises an intriguing theory: There’s a way to strike down the health-care mandate but keep the penalty for not getting insurance in place. “Joey Fishkin, an assistant professor of law at the University of Texas, proposed this option over the weekend. Writing at Balkinization,* Fishkin notes that the mandate to obtain insurance and the penalty for violating it are actually two separate sections in the Affordable Care Act. The mandate, known as the “minimum coverage requirement,” is Section 5000A(a). The penalty, known as the "shared responsibility payment," is Section 5000A(b).”

*** On “Meet the Press” this Sunday: NBC’s David Gregory hosts a general-election preview with a debate between Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D). The program also has a special Easter Sunday discussion on faith and politics.

Countdown to the CT, DE, NY, PA, and RI primaries: 19 days
Countdown to Election Day: 215 days

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*** Thursday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Obama-Biden 2012 Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter… A deep dive on the ups and downs of primary politics and party-switching with San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher, who left the GOP last week to keep running as an independent… More 2012 news with The New York Times' Jackie Calmes, msnbc's Robert Traynham and the Huffington Post's Jon Ward.

*** Thursday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: NBC’s Luke Russert, filling in for Chris Jansing, interviews Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), the New York Times’ Charles Blow, Roll Call’s Shira Toeplitz, NBCLatino.com’s Alicia Menendez, former Huckabee Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman, the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler, and Democracy 21’s Fred Wertheimer.

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews actress (and Malaria No More spokesperson) Katharine McPhee, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, Santorum campaign press secretary Alice Stewart, New York Magazine’s John Heilemann, Time’s Joe Klein, Author Victor Cha and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.

*** Thursday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Michael Smerconish and one of us (!!!!) on politics 2012, as well as John Burris to talk about the Trayvon Martin case.

Time's Joe Klein: "The Republican presidential-primary campaign is over. The result was a good one for the country: Mitt Romney was, by far, the most plausible of the major candidates…. The real damage this year was not caused by the candidates; it came from a significant segment of the Republican electorate, which all too often celebrated ignorance and bigotry and displayed a disturbing appetite for nihilism."

More Klein: "Romney’s obeisance to the base is a debilitating problem as he proceeds to the general election. His sketchy etches on immigration and contraception have crippled him with Latinos and women.

GINGRICH: Gingrich was in Wilmington, N.C., yesterday. AP: “Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich is using a basketball analogy to indicate his intention to continue his bid for the GOP nomination. Talking to WWAY-TV in Wilmington on Wednesday, Gingrich described North Carolina as a great state for sports and that people expect basketball teams to play the entire game. He said his bid for the White House has every right to campaign until the race is over.”

ROMNEY: “Don't expect Mitt Romney to spend a lot of time trying to get voters to like him this fall,” AP’s Miga writes. “Instead, the likely Republican presidential nominee will probably rely on a ton of campaign cash and a barrage of nasty attack ads ripping into President Barack Obama for policies that Romney says aren't helping the economy recover fast enough. Look for Romney to take a more moderate tack, too. That's essentially the playbook Romney followed in his last campaign against a Democrat, when he was elected Massachusetts governor in 2002.

His 2002 campaign manager, Ben Coes, said: Then and now, "voters were electing someone to clean up a mess. He ran as the toughest guy with the most experience to go in there and clean up a mess. ... It's the reason he got elected in 2002, and it's how he could get elected in 2012.” (Then again, that 2002 campaign was the ONLY time Romney has won office.)

“Mitt Romney, hours after a triumphant victory in three primary states, on Wednesday delivered a stinging rebuke of President Obama, saying he was playing ‘hide and seek’ and withholding his real views from the American public,” the Boston Globe’s Viser writes. And: “Romney also seemed to be anticipating some of the criticism over how he earned his fortune, while working for a firm that in some instances profited from laying off workers or shutting down companies. ‘If we become one of those societies that attack success, one outcome is certain – there will be a lot less success.’”

But there’s also this, as the Globe writes: “Mitt Romney is often guarded around members of the media. As governor, he famously installed velvet ropes at the State House that prevented much interaction with reporters. During this campaign, he’s gone weeks at times without holding a press conference, and he’s one of the only candidates not to appear on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ But on Wednesday morning, before a ballroom of media executives, Romney played the role of media critic.”

And: “While he has a staff that can be combative with reporters, Romney himself has rarely criticized the media the way other presidential candidates have.”

Another tepid endorsement from Marco Rubio: "What I take away from last night is what I took away from last week, and that is the primary is over. Everyone may not agree with who won, but the primary is over.”

SANTORUM: “Rick Santorum has no campaign events scheduled as he takes "a brief break" from the campaign trail.”

Et tu, Foster Friess?

He’ll sign the JOBS Act today and view a screening of To Kill A Mockingbird, in its 50^th anniversary. It airs Saturday on the USA Network, an NBC Universal owned cable channel, with an introduction by the president. He’ll then attend two campaign events in DC.

Obama – Trekie. A photo of Obama snapped with a Star Trek TV series legend is making the rounds with the fan base.

“Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad called Monday for a congressional investigation into how what he called ‘a smear campaign’ against the meat product commonly called ‘pink slime’ got started,” the New York Daily News writes. "‘We have a smear campaign going on against a product that is healthy and safe,’ Branstad said at his weekly news conference. ‘If they get by with this, what other food products are they going to attack next?’ … ‘It's clear this is a safe product. It's a lean product, it helps reduce obesity and there is a spurious attack being levied against it by some groups. You can suspect who they might be. They are people who do not like meat. … He also called on students at agricultural colleges in Iowa to use their social media skills ‘to counter what Hollywood and the media elites and the people who are spreading this misinformation are doing. It's their future that's being threatened by this.’”

More: “Reports over weekend showed that Beef Products' top executives and workers have given $820,750 to congressional and presidential candidates over the past decade, with all but $28,400 going to Republicans. Branstad, a Republican, received $150,000 over the past two years from people tied to Beef Products, his spokesman Tim Albrecht said Monday.” Branstad, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, South Dakota Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, and Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy toured a plant in Nebraska where the product is made March 29.

The Atlantic yesterday looked at the dilemma when it comes to “lean, finely textured beef” aka "boneless lean beef trimmings.”

MASSACHUSETTS: Scott Brown has to be happy with this Boston Globe headline: “President Obama signs insider trading bill championed by Senator Scott Brown.”

NEW YORK: Not surprisingly, Romney leads by a big margin in New York.

OHIO: Ohio Republicans’ state party problems continue.

WISCONSIN: Scott Walker (R), in a recall fight to save his job, is the latest to invoke God’s hand.

Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Arizona Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wave at a campaign rally at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania on October 28, 2008.

The Republican Party’s 2008 experiment with Sarah Palin looms over Mitt Romney as he begins pivoting to the general election and looks to select a running mate. His choice of a vice presidential candidate likely won’t be made known for months, but the preliminary deliberations over who might round out the GOP ticket this fall are likely to have already begun.

And it’s impossible to separate that process from John McCain’s selection of Palin, then the governor of Alaska, as his running mate. Palin achieved her initial purpose of exciting conservative voters, but her selection eventually created as many problems as it solved. She excited the conservative base and shook up the race, but also turned off independents and raised questions about whether she was equipped to serve at that level of office.

Recommended: First Thoughts: A tale of two different strategies

That experience led former White House chief of staff John E. Sununu – a former governor of New Hampshire who’s become one of Romney’s top surrogates – to warn Monday in the Boston Globe: “In the end, there is only one imperative: don’t blow it.”

The Romney campaign insists that it continues to focus on winning the necessary number of delegates to secure the nomination, and not the machinations behind the general election.

But the Romney campaign is likely to have already assembled a private list of about 20 to 30 names that will be winnowed down to the eventual short list of candidates, said Ted Frank, a lawyer by trade who was part of McCain’s vetting team in 2008.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Republican vice-presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks on day three of the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Energy Center on September 3, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Selecting a vice president traditionally hinges on some combination of three criteria: whether the running mate could serve as vice president, a comfort level between the nominee and their No. 2, and whether the pick serves politically. How campaigns balance those criteria differ from cycle-to-cycle, but Romney’s most pressing political considerations include expanding the electoral map and closing the gap with conservatives – with whom he’s struggled during the primary.

“I think Team Romney will be torn by going with a conventional pick, most likely [Ohio Sen. Rob] Portman, or an outside-the-box pick with a Hispanic,” said Mark McKinnon, a political adviser to President George W. Bush.

The need to win back Latino voters, who have favored President Barack Obama over Romney in recent polls, has fueled speculation about whether the Republican might tap Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, as his vice presidential pick.

“They clearly don't want the pick to appear political, at the same time their hole is so deep with Hispanics it's hard to imagine how Republicans can win without significantly addressing the problem,” McKinnon said. “And a Hispanic VP would be best way to fix it – maybe the only way.”

But Rubio and many of the other names popularly included on reporters’ short lists of vice presidential candidates – like Palin before them – either have been on the job for just a few years, or lack the experience of having previously gone through the vetting process and campaigning on the national level.

“I think the problem with being thrust into the limelight is going to be true of any candidate who hasn't been through a national campaign,” said Frank. “Just optically, they're going to want to avoid certain comparisons [with Palin], because it will distract from the message.”

That makes for a difficult choice in the Romney camp. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have each endured the scrutiny of the presidential primary, but their relationship with Romney has been nothing if not acrimonious. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has acted as a Romney surrogate since ending his own bid for the GOP nomination last August, but he’s regarded as a relatively bland (if safe) pick.

Palin herself urged Romney to go for an outside-the-box pick during a Tuesday interview on NBC’s TODAY.

“I would say it doesn't matter if that person has national-level experience or not. They're going to get clobbered by the lamestream media who don't like the conservative message,” she said. “What I would advise Mitt Romney or whomever the nominee would be is, is don't necessarily play it safe and do just what the GOP establishment expects them to do.”

That type of choice would risk a re-hash of the 2008 experience, which saw the vice presidential pick struggle in getting up-to-speed on issues, and sometimes departing from the presidential candidate’s script. A way to defuse that might be to roll out a running mate well before the August Republican National Convention in order to allow media scrutiny of the pick, and put any negative coverage behind the campaign.

Frank argued that Romney’s selection will ultimately come down to the candidate himself, in terms of what qualities he values in a running mate and the risks he’s willing to incur in making his choice.

“It all comes back to the selection process. It's really going to vary from campaign to campaign, in terms of what gets someone stricken from the list,” he said. “Everyone has costs and benefits. You're looking at everything they've done, their resume, their list of accomplishments and controversies.”