The State Department “absolutely and fundamentally” disagrees with Gov. Rick Perry’s statement in last night’s debate that Turkey is ruled “by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.” Responding to a question from host Bret Baier asking if Turkey should continue to be a member of NATO, Perry also questioned the country’s membership in the alliance.

“When you have a country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists," Perry said, "when you start seeing that type of activity against their own citizens, then yes, not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong to be in NATO, but it's time for the United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero with it."

While the State Department generally does not get into the substance of campaign politics, even when candidates weigh in on foreign policy, spokesman Mark Toner answered reporters’ questions on Perry’s comment. Toner reaffirmed the U.S.’s close relationship with Turkey and called the country a “stalwart ally” in NATO.

“We absolutely and fundamentally disagree with that assertion," Toner said. "It [Turkey] continues to play a very positive and constructive role in the region. And it is often cited as an example of a so-called Islamic democracy in action."

The Turks themselves had harsh words for Perry. In a scathing statement, Turkey’s ambassador to the United States expressed his disappointment and concern over Perry’s comments, calling them “misplaced” and “ill-advised.” The ambassador also said Turkey receives no significant foreign aid from the U.S.

“The Turkey described in the debate simply does not exist," Ambassador Namik Tan said. "Turkey is a secular democracy that has for decades been an essential and trusted partner of the U.S. Our bilateral relations are based on the common values of democracy and respect for human rights, rule of law, and free-market economy."

Today, Perry did not back down, per NBC's Carrie Dann.

“I stand by my statement," he said. "You need to be putting protections in place for your citizens if you’re seeing those types of attacks against, particularly, well, particularly females."

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
Mississippi governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Haley Barbour weighed in several times this week not only on President Obama’s handling of the situation in Libya, but also what Barbour said was the Obama administration’s overall lack of leadership over the last two years.

On Tuesday, while in Nevada to meet with Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) and other Republican lawmakers, Barbour was at first measured in his criticism. "When our men and women are involved in military action I think we need to be very careful about critiquing the administration,” he said.

But he went on to say that “the administration dithered a long time before making a decision” and that the U.S. should not take orders from the UN, NATO or wait for permission from the Arab League.

“When it is in our interests and the needs of the United States require us to take military action, sure we should consult our allies, but we should not wait for them to tell us what to do,” he added.

In radio interview in his home state yesterday, Barbour went further and criticized the administration on leadership. “Since World War II, the world has looked to America for leadership,” Barbour said, “But we haven’t provided leadership in this administration.  In fact, the Obama administration’s position has been to say, you know, we’re just one of the boys, so we’re not going to try to be the leader.”

Barbour also questioned the end goal of the operations, warning that the U.S. should be “careful…about getting into nation-building exercises.”

On a lighter note, as Barbour walked out of the building the Tuesday press conference was held in he quipped to the cameramen shooting him, “Make me look thin!”  The recently trimmer Barbour has previously joked that his weight could be an indication he might be running for president.  The Hill reported, back in June of 2010, Barbour saying, “If you see me losing 40 pounds that means I’m either running or have cancer.” In March, USA TODAY quotes Barbour as saying, “I hope I can lose some more.”

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
As multiple news outlets report that he’s flip-flopped on Libya, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took to the airwaves Thursday to express his reservations about the U.S. involvement in the region.

During a radio interview with WHO-AM Radio in Iowa, Gingrich said, “It’s very dangerous for the United States to get involved in open ended commitments.” He added that while he favors freedom for the Libyan people, he believes there are other ways of achieving it. “I think we would have been much better off to have Egyptian and Jordanian and Iraqi and other local forces who speak Arabic doing most of the work and keep us out of this thing,” he said. “We don’t need to keep adding more places for the U.S. to send troops or for the U.S. to be engaged in combat.”

 During the interview, he also called President Barack Obama the nation’s “spectator in chief.” He’s called the president this before, including at an event in New Hampshire on St. Patrick’s Day.

Gingrich has been under recent fire for his seemingly fluid statements on the North African nation’s no-fly zone. Here’s First Read’s earlier reporting on the story:

 “In the past two days, Newt Gingrich has been clear that he thinks the Libya no-fly zone was a mistake.  Yet, on March 7 he seemed to express support for a no-fly zone in Libya.  The New York Times’ Shear: ‘President Obama should establish a no-fly zone over Libya ‘this evening,’ [Gingrich] said on Fox News.  “All we have to do is suppress his air force, which we could do in minutes,” he said.  Yet on TODAY yesterday, Gingrich said, ‘I would not have intervened.  I think there were a lot of other ways to affect Qaddafi.  I think there are a lot of other allies in the region we could have worked with.  I would not have used American and European forces.’  That won this headline from the Times: ‘Gingrich Calls for No-Fly Zone, Then Attacks It.’ The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: ‘Gingrich: Flip-Flop on No Fly.’  Then, he attempted to deflect in a ‘clarification’ on his Facebook page with a post titled, ‘My Position on Libya.’  His opening doesn’t address his own apparent inconsistency, but the president’s: ‘It is deeply troubling that there is so much confusion, lack of foresight, and little resolve coming from the President and his administration about what our mission and goals must be in the Libya engagement.’”

Quote of the Day: “This sounds like a light-hearted exchange, and I don’t think the Speaker is concerned that he’ll winding up ‘sleeping with the lutefisk’ at the hands of the Norwegian mafia.” -- Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

From NBC’s Luke Russert and Catherine Chomiak
In an interview today on a Des Moines, Iowa, radio station, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) awkwardly laughed when conservative Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson of 1040 WHO Radio made a mafia joke and asked what should be done to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) if the House GOP does not strike funds used for the implementation of President Obama’s health-care reform legislation from an upcoming government funding bill. Mickelson seemed to joke about physical retribution.

The Exchange:

MICKELSON: You have the votes to pull the plug on the funding?

BACHMANN: We are working, we're trying to work with Republicans to get them on board with us.

MICKELSON: Why would you have to work with Republicans?!

BACHMANN: Well, because what it would mean is a showdown with President Obama. We would have to go toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball.

MICKELSON: Isn't that what we sorta sent you guys there.

BACHMANN: Of course, and Congressman King (Rep. Steve King R-IA) and I say now is the time to have the fight. We have the fight with President Obama.

MICKELSON: Is your Leadership this biggest impediment over this? Is Boehner a problem?

BACHMANN: We need to get the Republicans on board. We are talking to leadership.

MICKELSON: Is that a yes? (laughs)

BACHMANN: We are talking to leadership and we're telling leadership...

MICKLESON: I'm not really trying to get you in trouble, but...

BACHMANN: (laughs) Thank you Jan. I do appreciate your sensitivity to that. The most important thing right now is that we try to save the country by getting rid of this funding.

MICKELSON: So, what do you want to do to Boehner? We know people who know people.

BACHMANN: (laughs) What I want to do is to is to be able to get them to start fighting President Obama and defunding Obamacare.

MICKELSON: A little known fact, that Norwegians have a mafia.

BACHMANN: Ooooh, and we are tough, tough people.

MICKELSON: Not really fast moving uhh

BOTH: (laugh)

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel saw the remarks as jocular saying to NBC News: “This sounds like a light-hearted exchange, and I don’t think the Speaker is concerned that he’ll winding up ‘sleeping with the lutefisk’ at the hands of the Norwegian mafia.”

There has been friction between the House GOP Leadership and Rep. Bachmann since the November mid-terms. Prior to the massive Republican victory, Bachmann was unwilling to commit to voting for Boehner as Speaker of the House due to questions about his conservatism. Bachmann also attempted to run for the Chairmanship of the House GOP Conference against Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), who was supported by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).

Last week, Bachmann expressed displeasure with House GOP leaders for not committing to cutting all government funds used to implement the nation’s health-care reform law, saying to National Journal, “I think there's going to be a fake appeasement with the Planned Parenthood thing and a fake appeasement with the 'Obamacare' thing."

House conservatives have been adamant that all funding needed for the new law be stripped of any spending bills that keep the government running. If the House GOP leadership were to do such a thing, it would be a non-starter in the Democratically controlled Senate and, thus, bolster the possibility of a government shutdown -- something that could reflect poorly politically on the GOP in 2012.

But leadership on both sides emphasize they are not interested in a shutdown.

From NBC’s Catherine Chomiak
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich had harsh words for the Obama administration regarding Libya this morning on TODAY.

“This isn’t serious standard,” he said of the humanitarian reasons for going into Libya. “This is a public relations standard.” He added, “The president of the United States does not report to the United Nations.” And: “By this standard, we could get engaged in all sorts of places,” including Sudan. On Khaddafy, Gingrich said, “If this is not designed to get rid of Khaddafy, then this makes no sense at all.” On whether he would have engaged in this operation, Gingrich said flatly, “I would not have intervened. There were a lot of other ways” to deal with Khaddafy. And, he said, if Khaddafy stays in power, “it will be a defeat for the United States. …

“This is about as badly run as any foreign operation in our lifetime.”

He made similar comments in an appearance on Fox last night. Gingrich said multiple times that the Obama administration doesn't know what it is doing and that there is a “lack of sophisticated planning,” “lack of professionalism,” and “lack of leadership” in dealing with the situation.

"President Obama is going to have to answer questions, because his current policy is so incoherent and so confused that it is literally indefensible," Gingrich said. "This is as badly executed, I think, as any policy we've seen since WWII, and it will become a case study for how not to engage in this type of activity," he added.

When asked about the interactions between the executive branch and the legislative one, Gingrich said, “I think this has been so badly organized and so badly planned that they have now burned a lot of bridges in Congress and I think they can't with a straight face claim to have seriously consulted the Congress and that's a huge mistake. Presidents have to have some kind of support from the congress if they're going to be able to sustain a national security of foreign policy."

Turning to Gingrich’s own potential political aspirations, he said this situation and others make him think more seriously about a presidential bid. “The obligation as a citizen to seriously consider it (the presidency) gets higher when you look at the current damage being done, but this administration on so many different fronts.”

From NBC’s Catherine Chomiak
Mississippi governor potential Republican presidential candidate, Haley Barbour, said today in Nevada it would take a “campaign that is about policy” to defeat President Obama in 2012.

“The 2010 campaign was the most massive repudiation of any administration’s policies in American history,” he said in a brief interview with NBC affiliate KNVR. “The American people know all that spending, wanting to raising tax, after tax, after tax, exploding deficits, gargantuan debt, a health care bill that is going to drive up the cost of health care and an energy policy that’s hurting the economy. That all of those things made it harder to have economic growth and job creation.”

Barbour is in Nevada today to meet with Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) and other Republican lawmakers. He acknowledged that Nevada is an important early primary state as well as a critical swing state in the general election. Barbour also reiterated that his final decision, whether to run or not, wouldn’t come until the end of April.

From NBC’s Catherine Chomiak
Tim Pawlenty yesterday became the first bona fide potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate to announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee. Lesser-known businessman Herman Cain and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer (R) have also already formed committees.

The former Minnesota governor’s announcement came in the form of a Facebook message. In the only media appearance he made after his announcement, Pawlenty told Fox News the decision to announce his committee on Facebook came from a desire to be on the “cutting edge” and called the social networking site “the wave of the future.” In making the announcement on Facebook, he became the first candidate in history to do so. He also said the site would be a helpful tool “to grow the conservative movement and reach out to new voters.”

But did it work? The video is certainly cutting edge. Pawlenty narrates while music swells in the background and fast-paced video flashes on the screen. The spot looks more like a movie trailer than the usual political ad. As for gaining supporters, he is only up about 5,000 “likes” on his Facebook page. Yesterday, before the announcement Tim Pawlenty had around 74,000 people who “like” him on Facebook. Today, he’s up to a little over 79,000. And consider that the only way to view the message on Facebook was to “like” the page. So that 5,000 will inevitably include members of the media, who clicked just to view the video.

Compare that with Sarah Palin’s roughly 2.8 million Facebook followers. (Not that Facebook followers equates to political strength as much as celebrity status.)

In a telephone town hall yesterday, Pawlenty didn’t seem worried. When answering from a supporter on the call about poll numbers and name recognition Pawlenty was unfazed. “If you're a serious candidate for president of the United States and get any reasonable amount of traction,” he said, “then you're name I.D. will be 100 percent by the time the process enters the serious stage.”

Plus, there are still 10 months before the scheduled Iowa and New Hampshire contests. And both are states in which retail politics is key. In other words, neither contest is contingent upon national name ID. Candidates, like Rudy Giuliani, for example, in 2007, who led national polls certainly found those polls didn’t matter.

Talking campaign strategy, Pawlenty said his goal is to unify the conservative movement. “If you think about the conservative coalition and the party more broadly,” he said, “there's overlap between these groups, but as it relates to economic conservatives, social conservatives, libertarian, tea party conservatives, national defense conservatives, I think I'm going to be unique in the field to be able to deeply and genuinely appeal across that whole spectrum.”

Looking forward, Pawlenty said on FOX to expect key staff announcements to come over the next couple days. His big announcement of an official campaign will follow shortly thereafter. The latest guidance NBC has received is sometime this spring, probably in May.

“We’re not going to draw this out for a long period of time,” Pawlenty said. “That formal announcement or fuller announcement will come relatively soon.”

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
In an appearance this afternoon in his home state of Georgia, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) today announced he launched a Web site -- not an exploratory committee -- to help him examine the possibility of a 2012 presidential bid.

"Because of our concern for the future of the country, our concern for our grandchildren and all of the children of this country who are faced with, I think, a very dramatic choice of which future we're going to have, we are today establishing a Web site -- NewtExplore2012.com," Gingrich said. 

Standing next to his wife, Callista, he cited their beliefs to restore American exceptionalism, to dramatically shrink the government in Washington, D.C., to get back to a balanced budget, to decrease unemployment, and to make Americans safer.

"We will look at this very seriously and we will very methodically lay out the framework of what we'll do next," Gingrich stressed.

"We'll be back. There will be many more chances to have conversations. I simply wanted to give you that, and I think you will have more than enough to write about," Gingrich joked to a room for of reporters at the press conference.

Media attention and predictions over just what Gingrich would say today began earlier this week when one of his top advisers, Joe Gaylord, told the Des Moines Register Gingrich would announce he was forming an exploratory committee during his visit to Georgia.  Later, a Gingrich press release refuted the Register article saying it "contains a significantly inaccurate statement." The release went on to say, "To be clear, while Speaker Gingrich is in Georgia on Thursday, he will NOT announce the formation of an exploratory committee."

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
This past Friday, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) called health-care reform a “stupid, dumb-ass program.” 

Today, he continued to use strong language to express his opposition to the law -- but didn’t go as far -- when talking about the White House's offer to expedite a waiver process that would allow states to opt out of parts of the act.

"The waivers fail to give relief to state newly burdened with billions of dollars in new Medicaid spending mandates. I was on public television yesterday, right after [HHS] Secretary Sebelius who was saying this change from 2017 to 2014 is going to give you all kinds of flexibility. I'll tell you that's BULL! There's no question about it," he said, avoiding profanity at the Federation of American Hospitals Conference this morning in Washington, D.C. 

"As for the administrations claim that it has provided a needed flexibility to the states," Hatch continued, "I believe the technical legal term is bologna."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour also addressed the group of medical administrators.

On the budget, Hatch and Cantor warned of tough choices as they attempt to “tighten the belt” of the government. And they expressed a willingness to take on entitlement reform -- under the right circumstances.

“We have serious problems ahead of us, and they require serious answers and some very tough conversations with the American people. We can’t have everything and choices need to be made. It’s just that simple,” Hatch said.

“What we need to do is to focus on jobs and the economy and make sure that we are dealing with our fiscal situation because many who we rely upon to drive this economy are waiting for the government to do what they are doing which is to tighten the belt and to find a way to do more with less,” Cantor added.

Echoing Cantor, Barbour emphasized the need for concentration on jobs and the economy.  “Less spending clearly is our goal and our mandate, but it’s a means to an end. We want a bigger more vibrant economy that employs more people."

Cantor and Hatch say entitlement reform is necessary in order to truly reduce the government’s debt. “The budget, we have said, will contain a prescription or a vision as to how we expect to deal with the future of entitlement programs in this country,” Cantor promised.

While the continuing resolution may have a plan for entitlement programs, Hatch signals that it will take both chambers of Congress and the White House to get anywhere. 

“We’re not going to make any headway on entitlement spending without presidential leadership. We all know that. Members of Congress know that if they do something about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, alone the president can demagogue that issue and use it for political purposes. No, we have to work together in these areas,” he explained.

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
As federal budget negotiations are underway, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) decried the size and scope of the government, comparing federal spending to illegal drugs.

"What we've come up with now is a formula in which the federal government -- by its own nature -- is able to get larger and larger by the granting of federal money to states and cities for programs, often just enough to get them hooked on something. But the long-term money is left to the states and the cities,” he said at the National Press Club in DC. "This whole idea of federal money is kinda like the free sample of heroin that your drug dealers give away. The ultimate effect is you get hooked."

On the subject of budgets, Huckabee poked fun at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is embroiled in his own budget battle in the Badger State. At the beginning of his speech at the National Press Club, Huckabee thanked everyone for coming and joked about billionaire businessman and Republican backer, David Koch. Yesterday, Gov. Walker got a prank call from a blogger pretending to be his supporter, David Koch.

"I was detained for a few minutes, had a phone call from David Koch, and that lasted nearly 20 minutes. But I was finally able to break loose," Huckabee said for a couple laughs.

Later in his speech when a cell phone rang, Huckabee continued the ruse, "That's probably David Koch calling. I already talked to him today. No more."

In his National Press Club appearance, which was to promote his new book, "A Simple Government," Huckabee said the book would help him decide whether to seek the presidency in 2012. The book, he emphasized, would give potential supporters a clear insight as to where he stands and what he believes. He also said it would help him develop his message.

"The question that I have for America is: Do you think this message resonates with you?  If it does, that gives me a whole lot more encouragement to go put myself through the sausage grinder of a campaign," he said.

If he does decide to run he could potentially compete against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Addressing speculation that the two men don't quite get along Huckabee said, "I don't have a big personal issue with Mitt Romney. He and I certainly clashed in the last presidential contest. I don't think that's a big surprise when someone's in a contest with you." 

"If Mitt Romney is the nominee of our party this time, I'm going to support him,” he continued. "Because I'm a Republican and I believe he'll be a better president than Barack Obama."

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) scolded elected officials this afternoon in a speech at conservative think tank in Washington, urging them to lead.

“Leadership today in America has to be about doing the big things and being courageous,” he said.

His comments come as neither Republicans nor Democrats have put forth plans to deal with the third-rail of politics – entitlement programs. 

“I look at what is happening in Washington,” Christie said, “and I’m worried…. Let me suggest to you that what game is being played down here is irresponsible and is dangerous.”

He proposed raising the retirement age to help shore up Social Security and stressed the need to reform Medicare and Medicaid, but he didn’t offer any specifics on how to do so.

"What’s the truth that nobody's talking about?" Christie said. "Here's the truth that nobody's talking about. You're gonna have to raise the retirement age for Social Security. Oh, I just said it and I'm still standing here I did not vaporize into the carpeting, and I said it. We have to reform Medicare because it costs too much and it is gonna bankrupt us. Once again lightning did not come through the windows and strike me dead and we have to fix Medicaid because it’s not only bankrupting the federal government, it's bankrupting every state government. There ya go."

In addition to expressing disappointment with both parties, Christie was specifically critical of the president. Referring to the president’s State of the Union address, he argued that what he said Obama mentioned as the “big things” -- high-speed rail, high-speed Internet, and electric cars -- are “the candy of American politics.”

“Those are not the big things,” Christie said, “because let me guarantee you something, if we don’t fix the real big things … we’re not going to be able to care about the niceties of life, the investments that Washington wants to continue to make.”

As for if the governor will challenge Obama in 2012, Christie jokingly said, “I threatened to commit suicide. I said what do I have to do short of suicide to convince people I'm not running. Apparently, I actually have to commit suicide to convince people I'm not running."

On a more serious note, Christie added, “You have to feel in your heart and in your mind that you're ready for the presidency, and there are lots of people who will run just because the opportunity presents itself. And I'm not stupid. I see the opportunity. I see it. That's not the reason to run. And I think all too often that's why people do run.”

One last consideration for Christie, he said, is his wife, “She’d just kill me.”

From NBC's Catherine Chomiak
In an appearance this morning on 'The View,' former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) agreed with the Obama administration's response so far to the protests in Egypt, and he called for Egyptian President Mubarak to step down.

The agreement stopped there, however, as Romney called the federal health-care law unconstitutional.

"We need to communicate that we stand with the voices of freedom and democracy," Romney said about the situation in Egypt. "I think the administration has settled down to a message which is about right -- which is we would like to see a transition, we'd like to see the government ultimately move to one where there is greater representation on the part of the people."

These supportive comments put him at odds with other potential GOP presidential candidates, like former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who have been more critical of the administration's response.

Romney offered more advice, "I don't think the United States should go out publicly and call for the resignation of someone who has been our friend." Co-host Barbara Walters then asked if the advice behind the scenes would be for President Mubarak to step down -- to which Romney responded, "It could very well be."

If Romney runs for president, the health-care system he implemented in Massachusetts -- which is similar to the federal law that Obama and the Democrats wrote and passed -- will be something he has to address. Here's how he handled it today: "We addressed a problem in Massachusetts that was designed to solve problems for the people of Massachusetts. But it is wrong and unconstitutional to take what is designed for one state and say we're going to apply that in every state."

Anything he learned from his unsuccessful 2008 bid for the White House? "The challenge I had last time is that I answered every question. And sometimes you need to say, 'You know, let me quickly answer that question and then get on to what's really important.'"