Mitt Romney's foreign policy spokesman resigned on Tuesday, the former Massachusetts governor's campaign confirmed.

Richard Grenell, who spent just a couple of weeks as a staff member for Romney, submitted his resignation, campaign manager Matt Rhoades said in a statement.

"We are disappointed that Ric decided to resign from the campaign for his own personal reasons," Rhoades said. "We wanted him to stay because he had superior qualifications for the position he was hired to fill."

Grenell had earned a reputation in his career as a feisty figure in interactions with reporters. He is also openly gay, and a Washington Post account of Grenell's resignation suggested the campaign might have faced a backlash due to his sexuality.

"While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama’s foreign policy failures and weak leadership on the world stage, my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign," Grenell told the Post. "I want to thank Governor Romney for his belief in me and my abilities and his clear message to me that being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team."

President Barack Obama’s unannounced trip to Afghanistan served official purposes, allowing him to sign, on Afghan soil, an agreement spelling out U.S. involvement in the country following the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014.

Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images

President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai sign a strategic partnership agreement on May 1 at the Presidential Palace in Kabul.

There was no campaign build-up surrounding the trip, and the secrecy in which the mission was conducted – utilizing the cover of darkness to help shepherd Obama safely into the active war zone – hardly set it apart from Obama’s other trips to Afghanistan or Iraq.

But after the campaign between the Democratic incumbent and Republican foe Mitt Romney was subsumed by a spat over how much credit the president deserves for authorizing the successful mission to kill Osama bin Laden a year ago to the day – and whether his Republican rival would have authorized the same mission – Tuesday’s trip by Obama sends an unmistakable message: there is only one commander in chief.

“No political objections. This is what commanders in chief are supposed to do," said Ari Fleischer,  the press secretary to President George W. Bush in 2001, when the al Qaeda attacks were launched against New York and Washington. "Just think how much better it could have been for the president if he never did the attack Romney ad."

"I think it's always good when the president goes to where young men and women are in harm's way," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CNN Tuesday afternoon.

The 2008 Republican presidential nominee has been an outspoken critic of the way Obama has used the bin Laden killing as a political chit. He said he couldn't accuse Obama of making the trip to Afghanistan for political purposes, and didn't view it as excessively celebratory.

Obama will address the nation this evening, live from Afghanistan, where his remarks will make reference to the bin Laden anniversary, according to pool reporters traveling with the president.

“I hardly think that you’ve seen any excessive celebration taking place here,” Obama said Monday at the White House in response to Republican criticism that the president’s campaign was too celebratory in marking the anniversary.

“I think for us to use that time for some reflection to give thanks to those who participated is entirely appropriate, and that's what’s been taking place,” Obama added.

The “Strategic Partnership Agreement” being signed Tuesday by Obama and Hamid Karzai, his Afghan counterpart, pledges continued U.S. support for Afghanistan after NATO’s mission there ends in 2014. It doesn’t speak to troop or funding levels, but rather looks to install a framework for an organized withdrawal of international forces in hopes of avoiding strife.

But it’s still difficult to divorce those very serious goals from the political implications of this visit; in truth, Obama’s trip to Afghanistan does reinforce his image as a commander in chief, even if that outcome were entirely unintended by the White House.

And the Romney campaign is mindful of that powerful imagery.

Their acute sense of these national security politics were on display Tuesday when Romney joined former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose legacy is forever tied to his handling of the bin Laden-directed attacks on lower Manhattan. They met at a firehouse that suffered particularly steep losses on Sept. 11, 2001, and hailed the president for authorizing the mission.

“I acknowledged a year ago that the president deserves credit for the decision he made, and I continue to believe that, and certainly would have taken that action myself,” said Romney, alongside Giuliani.

But the former Massachusetts governor didn’t entirely steer clear of challenging Obama’s foreign policy gravitas, either.

“I think I said the same thing then as … Joe Biden,” Romney said in reference to his own skepticism in 2007 of whether it was worth leveraging all of the resources in the U.S. to find bin Laden. “It was naive of the president to announce he would go into Pakistan. We always reserve the right to go anywhere to get Osama bin Laden.”

And today, in an official trip that squarely framed the president as America’s top military official, Obama went to that same corner of the world to mark the one-year anniversary of having done just that.

President Obama has made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, according to a White House pool report. He will also address the nation at 7:30 pm ET.

AP notes that Obama will "sign an agreement cementing the U.S. role in the country after the war ends in 2014. Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are to approve the agreement before Obama gives a speech on the war effort for a TV audience back in the United States."

Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images

President Obama steps off Air Force One May 1 upon arrival at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

NBC's Kristen Welker reports that Obama will detail how the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan will be normalized after 2014 when the U.S. will pull out of the country. This trip, Welker reports, was 20 months in the making.

NBC's Chuck Todd reports that Karzai requested a signing of the agreement on Afghan soil. Obama will not speak before an audience of troops, Todd reports. He will mention the bin Laden anniversary.

AP: "The trip carries major symbolic significance for a president seeking a second term and allows him to showcase what the White House considers the fruit of Obama's refocused war effort: the killing a year ago of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden."

This is also the nine-year anniversary of President Bush speaking on an aircraft carrier with the "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him.

Newt Gingrich will bid farewell officially tomorrow at 3:00 pm ET in Arlington, VA, his campaign announced, per NBC's Alex Moe.

"Expect Newt to speak to the important role citizens can play in stopping a second Obama term and helping Mitt Romney and the Republican Party build a governing coalition in Washington and state capitals across the country," Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said in a statement.

But it's not clear just how much he will say about Romney or if he will officially endorse him. In his good-bye video posted this morning, he made no mention of the presumptive Republican nominee, but he did say, as Moe points out, that this was still the most important election and voters needed to do everything to beat Barack Obama:

A song for Gingrich:

This post was updated at 2:25 pm ET with more buy info. Added New Hampshire.

The pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future is going up with $3.7 million in ads across nine swing states -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, and New Hampshire.

It also bought $143,000 in the Greenville, S.C., market. That's really about North Carolina, given Greenville's proximity to the state.

Notably left out, however -- at least for now -- are Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

There's no word yet on which ad Restore will be running. The buy doesn't begin until Thursday. This one has been prominently featured on its website, but it could unveil another:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg met Tuesday morning with Mitt Romney in the Manhattan offices of the mayor's foundation.

NBC News confirmed news that the independent mayor met with Romney, who's spending a busy day in the city. A source in the mayor's office said that Bloomberg advocated for his usual agenda of gun control, budget reform, education, the economy and the manner in which the federal government treats cities.

A source described the meeting between the two as "friendly," though it yielded no endorsement. It's unclear whether he'll do so at all this year, and Bloomberg maintains ties to the Obama administration; he golfed last Friday with Vice President Biden.

The stop with Bloomberg was part of a busy morning for Romney in New York City. His schedule included a CBS interview this morning, his Bloomberg meeting, attending a memorial for the late journalist Mike Wallace, and a meeting soon with former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who recently endorsed Romney).

UPDATE, 1:07 p.m.: Romney's day will continue in Philadelphia, where he'll host a fundraiser.

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) is going further in linking himself to President Obama in a new radio ad supporting his re-election.

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell flags this new radio ad in Massachusetts in which Brown, in his own voice, talks up his bipartisan initiatives and the pride he felt in attending a signing ceremony at the White House in which Obama signed a vets' jobs bill that Brown had authored.

"Standing with President Obama on the day he signed it into law was another one of those great experiences," Brown says in the ad. "Whatever else may separate us, we are Americans first. To me, that means we need to work together now."

Steven Senne / AP

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., addresses an audience during ceremonies held to honor fallen Woburn Police Officer John "Jack" Maguire, in Woburn, Mass.

First Read has written in the past about Brown's efforts to embrace Obama as he seeks a full Senate term in deep-blue Massachusetts. His attendance of the signing ceremony referenced in the ad, along with another signing to ban insider trading on Capitol Hill, was seen as part of an effort to further that linkage in the mind of voters.

Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to tie Brown to Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor whose political organization is heavily intertwined with Brown's.

The bin Laden political football … Romney says even Jimmy Carter would have made the call. Reminder: Carter did, and it doomed his presidency. … Romney disagreed with Obama in 2007 … Dems drive a message for another week … ‘Swiss Bank Accounts’ … Mitt Romney, a “wild and crazy man” … The war over women continues on Capitol Hill…. Rubio admits mistake with using party charge card … Another Veep tryout – Bob McDonnell Thursday…. Is it over in Indiana and Richard Lugar? … And what is happening in Massachusetts?

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U.S. President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

*** Obama, Romney spar on bin Laden: It started with surrogates on the Sunday shows, but yesterday the political debate over the killing of bin Laden -- one year ago today – bubbled up to the candidates. Mitt Romney said at a rope line yesterday, "Of course, of course,” he would have ordered the strike. “Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order." Remember, Carter DID give an order to make a risky rescue effort of the Iranian hostages that failed. So an odd shot from Romney. President Obama was asked to defend his campaign alleging that Romney wouldn’t have made the call. “I'd just recommend people take a look at previous statements as to whether they thought it was appropriate to go into Pakistan and take out bin Laden,” he said with a smirk, adding, “I said we'd go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him, and I did.” The minute Romney said “Jimmy Carter,” the Obama campaign may have gotten what they wanted: an opening to bring up what Romney said four years ago (more on that below). And it’s why the president was so specific in his response to the Romney charge (though he never mentioned Romney by name).  By the way, this is the first time since the Reagan-Carter election in 1980 that both nominees were candidates four years earlier. It means an even bigger archive of material for the political debate include many times when the two of them did respond to each other even during the primaries.

*** Romney disagreed with Obama in 2007: There are, by the way, plenty of examples from the 2007-2008 campaign of Mitt Romney criticizing President Obama for his debate answer when he said if he had actionable intelligence he would strike bin Laden even if it meant crossing into Pakistan. The Obama campaign has pointed out that Romney said, “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.” In explaining those remarks, Romney said, “We'll move everything to get him. But I don't want to buy into the Democratic pitch that this is all about one person -- Osama bin Laden -- because after we get him, there's going to be another and another.” He added, “It's more than Osama bin Laden.” He also said: Romney 2007: "I do not concur in the words of Barack Obama in a plan to enter an ally of ours... I don't think those kinds of comments help in this effort to draw more friends to our effort.” And: "I think his comments were ill-timed and ill-considered.” Later at a debate, Romney seemed to soften his criticism of what then candidate Obama said after Rudy Giuliani seemed to challenge Romney’s criticism at a primary debate. "It's wrong for a person running for the president of the United States to get on TV and say, ‘We're going to go into your country unilaterally.’ Of course, America always maintains our option to do whatever we think is in the best interests of America. But we don't go out and say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen of Germany, if ever there was a problem in your country, we didn't think you were doing the right thing, we reserve the right to come in and get them out.’”

*** ‘Any American’ would have ordered the bin Laden killing: Romney changed his wording this morning. "Of course I would have," he said on CBS, per NBC’s Garrett Haake. "Any AMERICAN, any thinking American, would have ordered the same thing. Clearly if you've identified where Osama Bin Laden is, the US military is going to take action to capture or kill him.” Romney said that President Obama has "every right for him to take credit" for ordering the raid, but attacking Romney for a hypothetical is not. There are "plenty" of differences between himself and President Obama, so "let’s not make up ones,” Romney said. John McCain lashed out again saying, President Obama was trying to take “credit for something that any president would do…,” including Carter. And McCain, who was a tortured war hero in Vietnam, added, “[T]he thing about heroes, they don't brag.” (By the way, don’t miss the cable talker today from this interview – Ann Romney claiming her husband is really a “wild and crazy man.” She said, "I still look at him as the boy I met in high school. There's a wild and crazy man inside there.”)

*** Dems drive message (so far) for another week: Obama might have been smirking because he knows this is a political fight he’ll win and he’s more than happy to have it front and center. One thing is certain, the bin Laden back and forth pretty much ensures this will be the BIG story of the week (until the jobs report). Last week was student loans; the week before about Latinos -- all things on Democratic turf. And three weeks ago, would have been about the GOP’s problem with women, but then came Hilary Rosen… And the power of the incumbency is notable. One big advantage is holding meetings and press conferences with foreign leaders and another is having the bully pulpit to drive the message of the week in a larger way than the challenger can do (at least in the Spring and Summer). Yesterday Japan’s prime minister praised President Obama for his efforts on terrorism. It’s one thing Romney doesn’t have and why it’s so hard for a challenger to upend a sitting president. Rudy Giuliani, who Romney appears with today, just isn’t the same.

*** Politicization toothpaste out of the tube: With all the back and forth, don’t miss retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the raid, telling NBC’s Brian Williams (featured on Nightly News last night) that he fears the politicization of bin Laden given that it’s election season. "Well, I worry about it, just because it's the political season,” Mullen said. “And from my perspective, the president's support-- the decision that he made, and obviously, the result stand alone in terms of the kind of call presidents have to make and he made it. I do worry a great deal that this time of year that somehow this gets spun into election politics. I can assure you that those individuals who risk their lives--the last thing in the world that they want is to be spun into that. So I'm hoping that that doesn't happen." Too late for that.

*** ‘Swiss Bank Account’: In the battle to define Romney, the Obama campaign is up with an ad called, “Swiss Bank Account,” though it has little to do with “Swiss Bank Accounts” – just that they want to remind you Mitt Romney has one. According to NBC/Smart Media Delta, the campaign has booked so far $505,000 in Ohio and Iowa on broadcast, and they also bought time in Richmond and Roanoke, though we don’t have specific numbers just yet. The campaign says it’s a “significant” broadcast buy. Obama holds his first two official campaign events in Ohio and Virginia Saturday. The ad is the third response ad from the campaign so far to an outside group, this one specifically to the Koch Brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity ad, which hit Obama on energy and “outsourcing.” The campaign again tries to tie Romney to the outside group by pivoting to hit him on outsourcing when he was in the private sector. But with a big heaping of snark, the ad ends with, “It’s just what you’d expect from a guy who had a Swiss Bank Account.” Two things: (1) Once again, every time the Obama campaign feels the need to respond to an attack ad to an outside group, it ties it to Romney, and (2) It wants to define him as “not one of you.” The “Swiss Bank Account” line does seem to come out of nowhere -- does it give the average viewer a bit of political whiplash. But one thing we know about this campaign, nothing gets thrown at the wall, they focus and test everything. By the way, one more aside thought: imagine if the Obama campaign or the Democratic party put as much “energy” in defending the health care law as they do energy and green jobs policies.

*** Romney camp responds: This morning the Romney camp fired back on the ad with this response: “With the worst job creation record in modern history and the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression, President Obama is trying to distract Americans from the real issues with a series of sideshows,” Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said in a statement. “Unable to defend his failed record of 23 million Americans struggling for work, wasteful boondoggles like Solyndra, skyrocketing national debt, and unacceptably high energy prices, President Obama has once again resorted to attacking Mitt Romney. The American people have suffered enough over the last three years and deserve better.” (Did the Romney camp just embrace the ad? And they haven’t responded to any of the Obama ads on the air. Will they this time?)

*** The war over women: Democrats on the Hill are pushing the Paycheck Fairness Act to pigeonhole Romney. And meanwhile, The Hill reports: “More than 60 House Republicans offered legislation late last week that would prevent health insurance policies offered by health insurance exchanges from covering abortion procedures.” The bill is called, “The Stop Abortion Funding in Multi-state Exchange Plans Act.” (By the way, that’s a mouthful of an acronym to get to SAFE.) Democrats want to continue the women narrative and bills like this one from the House GOP will only add fuel.

*** Rubio admits mistake in using party credit card: Don’t miss that Marco Rubio yesterday said, NBC’s Mike O’Brien reports, “Sometimes, it was just a mistake. I just reached for the wrong card. The point is that, if I had to do it again, I'd be a lot more careful.” This story about Rubio and the Florida party credit card is probably the biggest reason he likely won’t be Romney’s VP pick. After Palin, they just don’t want to take the risk. In other veep news, Kelly Ayotte got a tryout yesterday. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports on the optics. And the latest veep tryout will be Thursday, when Romney appears with Virginia’s Bob McDonnell. By the way, don’t expect any hints from Romney on when he’ll make the pick or who it’ll be, he said on CBS this morning.

*** Indiana – Is it already over? The PAC that was supporting Richard Lugar, the American Action Network, has pulled its ads. They officially come down today. “We’ve decied to let this race play out,” Dan Conston, spokesman for the group, confirms. The group spent about two-thirds of the $600,000 it booked. Republican thinking is that they are coming to grips with the idea that state Treasurer Richard Mourdock is the very likely nominee, and the party now doesn't want to damage him. Strategists say Lugar didn't started campaigning in earnest until too late and waited too long to define Mourdock. They didn't know what to do with him.

*** What is happening in Massachusetts? Elizabeth Warren is on the defensive over whether she cited that she is part Native American on initial law professor applications. It was a small attack that came seemingly out of nowhere and is meaningless to the nut of the debate between the two candidates, but it’s these kinds of “small things” that can make or break candidacies sometimes. So far, Warren hasn’t handled it very well. And it’s the second week in a row in which Warren’s been on the defensive – first for releasing four instead of six years of tax returns, giving the Brown campaign the opening to ask what she’s hiding. It helped create a story when there didn’t need to be one. Massachusetts politics has always been more about gut than the head. You’ve got to somehow get past this gut test with white working class Massachusetts Democrats. And on both issues, Brown has had the advantage. (By the way, the only reason Scott Brown’s been on TV in the past week was for hitting a half-court shot and having a former Celtic praise him for it.) 

Countdown to Indiana Senate/Wisconsin recall primaries: 7
Countdown to Wisconsin recall election: 35
Countdown to Election Day: 189 days

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*** Tuesday’s “The Daily Rundown” lineup: Romney campaign foreign policy advisor Dan Senor on the politics of Bin Laden’s death… Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock on his primary fight with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN)… Economist John Lott on his case for “Stand Your Ground” laws… Latest 2012 news with The Washington Post’s Nia-Malika Henderson, Democratic strategist Steve McMahon and The Atlantic’s James Bennet.

*** Tuesday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts”: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks with Santorum Communications Dir. Hogan Gidley, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, A.B. Stoddard, S.E. Cupp and Doug Thornell.

*** Tuesday’s Now with Alex Wagner: The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, The Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart, Salon.com's Steve Kornacki, TheGrio.com Managing Editor Joy-Ann Reid, New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait, The Huffington Post's David Wood, and MSNBC's Willie Geist

*** Tuesday’s Andrea Mitchell Reports: The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, NBC’s Amna Nawaz, Former Dir. of the National Counterterrorism Center Michael Leiter, Author Robert Draper, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, Fmr. Sen. Tom Daschle, NBC’s Ian Williams, and former Marine and documentary filmmaker Garrett Anderson.

*** Tuesday’s News Nation with Tamron Hall: Evan Kohlman, Michael Smerconish and Ann Kornblut on osama anniversary. Irin Carmon from salon.com. FL State senator Chris Smith on new stand your ground recommendations

AP writes via Political Wire: "The long, grueling GOP primary race is over. Now comes a summertime lull the candidates could find just as difficult -- not because the schedule is crowded but because it isn't," the AP reports. "It is four months until the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in late August. Democrats hold their convention a week later in Charlotte, N.C. That's a long time to fill, with no votes that matter, no debates to draw national attention. Voters tend to hibernate politically from the end of the primary season to the start of the conventions." That lull "should be a bigger problem" for Mitt Romney than for President Obama. "A challenger must keep stirring up enthusiasm if he hopes to oust an incumbent president."

“Even as Mitt Romney begins courting moderate and independent voters who could determine the outcome in November, his campaign is still working behind the scenes to shore up support from conservatives who have yet to fully embrace him. Peter Flaherty, Romney’s liaison to social conservatives, is planning to fly to Washington this month to meet with key conservative leaders at a breakfast hosted by Edwin Meese III, who was President Reagan’s attorney general, according to Bay Buchanan, a Romney adviser who is helping to arrange the meeting,” The Boston Globe writes. “The campaign has hired Michael Biundo, Rick Santorum’s former campaign manager; talks regularly to Keith Nahigian, Michele Bachmann’s former campaign manager; and recently received the endorsement of Rick Perry, the Texas governor who was Romney’s bitter rival during the early stages of the Republican primary.”

John McCain on FOX, per The Hill: “I say any president, Jimmy Carter, anybody, any president would have, obviously, under those circumstances, done the same thing.  And to now take credit for something that any president would do is indicative of take over campaign we're under -- we're -- we're seeing…So all I can say is that this is going to be a very rough campaign," McCain told Fox News in an interview set to air Monday night. "And I've had the great honor of serving in the company of heroes.  And, you know the thing about heroes, they don't brag.”

White House counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan publicly acknowledged the drone program for the first time at the behest of the president.

Reuters: “The deadly U.S. campaign of drone strikes against al Qaeda is fully legal under international law, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism chief insisted on Monday in the most extensive justification of a controversial tactic that has eliminated some of the most-wanted militants. Speaking on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan, the White House aide, John Brennan, said the U.S. administration holds itself to a `rigorous' review process in deciding on drone targets in Afghanistan and elsewhere. … `I'm here today because President Obama has instructed us to be more open with the American people about these efforts,' Brennan said in a speech to a Washington think tank.”

NBC’s Carrie Dann reports on Michelle Obama’s fundraising swing out West. The fundraiser last night at the Tucson Convention Center will have about 450 guests at (at least) $100/ticket. Musical group Calexico - whose genre is described as "alternative country," "desert rock," or "indie" depending on whom you ask - will be performing at that event. A breakfast today at The Springs Preserve in Las Vegas is $2500 for a starting ticket price with about 100 guests. And an Albuquerque reception this afternoon at the Los Poblanos Inn is 150 guests, starting ticket price $1000. So that's (a minimum of) a bit shy of half a million dollars ($445,000) in two days for the First Lady. 

First Lady Michelle Obama full front page picture, article below: The Arizona Daily Star: "I can't tell you how special this place is to us," Michelle Obama told a Tucson audience Monday, as she returned for the first time since she and the president came for a tribute to the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting victims and heroes. The first lady went on to tell the campaign gathering at the Tucson Convention Center that the upcoming presidential election boils down to making a fundamental choice about who we are as a country. The first lady's visit came about a week after Vice President Joe Biden headlined a fundraiser in Phoenix. The two events are designed to highlight that the Democrats think Arizona is "in play" this year. A pair of recent polls suggest President Obama may have a shot in Arizona, a state in which no Democratic presidential candidate has won since Bill Clinton in 1996 (and before that, which no Democrat had won since Harry Truman).

Bo (or DOTUS)? The Washington Post: President Obama has unleashed a particularly unusual fundraiser for his 2012 campaign. One Internet ad starts with a two-toned blue background, like dozens of other pro-Obama spots. Then the furry star pops into the frame, tongue out and ready to frolic. “Join Pet Lovers for Obama,” the ad implores. The unlikely pitchman is Bo, the White House family pet, who may well be the first “first dog” to emerge as a central player in a presidential reelection campaign.

Inhofe gets a scalp: A regional EPA official resigned. Msnbc.com notes that Al Armendariz got in hot water when Sen. James Inhofe learned of a two-year-old video that surfaced showing Armendariz saying that the Romans conquered a village by taking "the first five guys they saw and they'd crucify them." He added that the EPA, similarly, makes "examples out of people who are not complying with the law ... you make examples out of them, use it as a deterrent method. "Companies that are smart see that and they don't want to play that, and they decide at that point that it's time to clean up," he added. Inhofe vowed to launch an investigation.

ALASKA: Political Wire: “A video shows Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) received a less-than-hospitable reception at the Alaska Republican Party Convention as she tried to introduce Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY).”

ARIZONA: “The National Republican Congressional Committee upped its ante behind a new ad it is airing in the special election to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D),” Roll Call writes.

The DCCC responds, going after Republican Jesse Kelly.

NORTH DAKOTA: “The DSCC’s spot becomes the first independent expenditure spot of the campaign from a national party committee and was placed specifically to answer an ad being run by Crossroads GPS, a Republican-aligned nonprofit affiliated with the American Crossroads super PAC,” Roll Call writes.

SOUTH CAROLINA: “South Carolina Congressional candidate Chad Prosser, the former director of the state’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, is up with a new TV ad today,” Roll Call writes.

AYOTTE: Courting the Female Vote: The Hill: "Mitt Romney returned to New Hampshire on Monday flanked by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), a rising GOP star and popular senator whom many suspect is on Romney’s vice presidential shortlist. Putting Ayotte on the presidential ticket could help Romney with female voters, a demographic he is losing to President Obama by double digits, according to recent polling. But by picking Ayotte — a white, Northeastern Republican — Romney could forfeit an opportunity to add geographic and ethnic diversify to his ticket.Ayotte has long been a loyal surrogate for Romney, endorsing him in November and appearing with him on campaign trail — not only in her native New Hampshire but in swing states such as Ohio where she has little name recognition. Romney is visibly at ease with Ayotte by his side, leading some strategists to suggest she would be a top pick for the former Massachusetts governor."

CHRISTIE: Romney ‘might be able to convince me.’ The New York Post reports: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said yesterday that Mitt Romney is a “convincing guy” who might be able to persuade him to join the GOP ticket. Christie was asked by a group of high-school students in Plainsboro Township whether he would consider being Romney’s running mate. “Listen, what I’ve said before is I really have no interest in being vice president, but if Governor Romney called and asked me to sit down and talk to him about it, I’d listen because I think you owe the nominee of your party that level of respect — and who knows what he’s going to say?” Christie said. “He might be able to convince me. He’s a convincing guy, but I really love this job. I really want to stay in this job.”

MCDONNELL: As NBC's Garrett Haake reported last night, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will campaign with Romney in Virginia on Thursday. The Richmond Times-Dispatch : “Just three days ahead of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign kickoff rally in Richmond on Saturday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be doing some campaigning of his own in Virginia, a critical swing-state in this year's election.”

PORTMAN: The Un-Palin: The Wall Street Journal: Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio is the un-Palin of the Republican Party. He has a résumé bristling with government experience. He is from a crucial swing state. And he is a disciplined public speaker. That is why he is a top prospect for selection as Mitt Romney's running mate—and a stark contrast with Sarah Palin, whose limited national experience caused political problems for the GOP ticket when she was the vice-presidential pick in 2008. But the 56-year-old Mr. Portman is short on Ms. Palin's base-energizing pizazz, a quality that Mr. Romney, the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee, also lacks. Mr. Portman, a policy wonk, has served in the House, the Senate and two White House administrations. He has been dubbed "Dry As Dust" (DAD) by his own son. When the "Colbert Report" parodied a Romney-Portman ticket as "the bland leading the bland," Mr. Portman said, he laughed along.

RUBIO: First Read: Msnbc.com’s Michael O’Brien “A prime obstacle facing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as he engineers his ascent within the GOP — possibly even to the vice presidency — involves murmurs regarding his previous political career in the Sunshine State.  Rubio's staff has carefully worked to dispel allegations of impropriety surrounding his dealings with embattled Rep. David Rivera (R-FL), as well as whether he used a card issued by the Florida state GOP to pay for personal expenses.  Rubio addressed his relationship with Rivera and a whole host of other issues in the an interview yesterday with Fox News. The appearance reflects an affirmative effort by Rubio to address some of the issues in his own background — issues that could ensnare the Romney campaign if the Florida senator were tapped as Romney's running mate. That effort by Team Rubio is especially important now, given the senator's own forthcoming autobiography, and another book about Rubio authored by a Washington Post writer, which is expected to be more critical.”

Politico: Marco Rubio works both sides on immigration

SANTORUM: AP writes: “Rick Santorum wants to ensure the GOP's policy platform represents conservatives' interests. Newt Gingrich wants help retiring his campaign debt and repairing his reputation. Both Republicans are expected to endorse their former rival Mitt Romney — and signal to their backers to fall in line behind the party's presumptive nominee — but each wants assurances that Romney will deliver for them. Neither is rushing toward the task…Meanwhile, it doesn't appear that Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is going to go that way. Paul is still in the race and hasn't yet recognized Romney as the party's nominee. The tea party favorite and former Libertarian presidential nominee seems unlikely to endorse given deep differences with Romney on economic and foreign policy issues. Romney plans to meet Santorum on Friday and Gingrich plans to endorse him this week, an end-of-primary dance that happens every four years once the party settles on a nominee.”