J. Scott Applewhite / AP

In this Jan. 4, 2013, photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, walks to a strategy session with GOP members, on Capitol Hill in Washington at the start of the first full day of business for the new 113th Congress.

Throughout the 2012 presidential campaign, President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress confidently predicted that the re-election of the president would break the partisan “fever” they claimed had enveloped Washington and the Republican Party.

But the weeks since the election have found Republicans as dogged as ever in their resistance to Obama, whose initiatives – including gun control, immigration reform and efforts to boost renewable energy – still face an uncertain path forward, particularly in an unruly House of Representatives still controlled by a Republican majority. Republicans are signaling a willingness to go to great lengths to bend coming battles in their favor, especially versus a White House whom they view as just as unflinching in its views, if not more so.

“I believe if we're successful – when we’re successful in this election – the fever may break. My hope and my expectation is that after the election, now that it turns out the goal of beating Obama doesn’t make much sense because I’m not running again,” Obama said at an event on June 1. “We can start getting some cooperation again, and we’re not going to have people raising their hands and saying – or refusing to accept a deal where there’s $10 of cuts for every dollar of tax increases, but that people will accept a balanced plan for deficit reduction.”

That was an expectation the Obama administration carried all the way through the campaign; Vice President Joe Biden said on MSNBC just days before Election Day: “I think you’re going to see the fever break.”

But the just-finished fight over the fiscal cliff suggested that, if anything, Republicans are more entrenched than ever before. While Obama ultimately won the income tax rate increases on the wealthy, on which the president campaigned, it wasn’t until Republicans had exhausted every feasible move that they relented to Obama’s demand. And even then, it wasn’t until the U.S. had gone over the fiscal cliff – if only for a matter of hours – that Congress agreed to act, passing the bill in the House with mostly Democratic votes.

Debt limit a 'point of leverage'
But Obama might be mistaken to assume his toughest fights with congressional Republicans are behind him. While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s vow to make Obama a one-term president is now moot, Republicans appear as emboldened as ever to both battle with the administration and keep true to their the ideological conservatism that a large number in the party represent.

The temporary fiscal cliff deal sets up a series of potentially more contentious battles this spring over continuing government funding and authorizing more borrowing authority for the government. And top Republicans are now openly discussing options, like a government shutdown, that they had taken every pain to disavow in 2011.

"It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country," Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Republicans' No. 2 in the Senate, wrote last week in the Houston Chronicle. "President Obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately."

And House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the debt limit fight "one point of leverage" in an interview with the Wall Street Journal; a Politico report, also published Monday, suggested the House speaker was more circumspect about the possibility of defaulting on the national debt. In 2011, Boehner stressed at every turn that defaulting on the U.S. debt was not an option.

Senate Republicans’ budget chief was more explicit: “I think it should be a firm principle that we should not raise the debt ceiling until we have a plan on how the new borrowed money will be spent,” Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.

If Obama was hoping there were more deals to be had on taxes, too, Republicans all but tried to slam the door on such an idea.

“We’ve resolved the tax issue now. It’s over. It’s behind us,” McConnell said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”

Fight over defense secretary
And those are only the spending fights; other clashes are already taking shape.

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., whom Obama nominated to be the next secretary of defense, appears likely to face strong Republican resistance in the Senate.

Obama has also suggested that he’s willing to dive headlong – and quickly – into battles over comprehensive immigration reform and gun control, fights which could only threaten to intensify hostilities between the White House and congressional Republicans (and put some moderate Democrats in a tough spot politically in the meanwhile).

The president’s second-term initiatives could fall victim to the same fever that killed the DREAM Act, cap-and-trade legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act and the “public option” in health care reform during his first term.

“There will be plenty of time to take a look at their recommendations once they come forward,” McConnell said Sunday of Obama’s hope for quick action on curbing gun violence. “What’s going to dominate Washington for the next three months here is going to be spending and debt.”

While the mood may be icy when it comes to political sparring in Washington, there was a warm bit of good cheer in the U.S. Senate.  Minnesota's Sen. Al Franken, inspired by an old grade school tradition from his childhood, organized a Secret Santa gift exchange again this year.  The parties regularly tangle over government spending, but the senators did agree to a $10 spending cap for gifts. 

Aides say a bipartisan group of 60 senators participated by picking names, mostly across the aisle, keeping those identities secret and then delivering small presents at a gathering over eggnog and seasonal treats Monday night.

Frank Fey / U.S. Senate Photographic Studio

Sen. Al Franken, right, speaks with colleagues during the gift exchange.

Not just any fruitcake was served -- the Senate kitchen began making fruitcake a few months ago, giving the brandy enough time to soak the cake.  Due to fog that delayed some flights and therefore postponed Senate votes, some members were not able to attend the Monday party but were spotted exchanging wrapped gifts on the Senate floor late Tuesday.

Among the gifts given and received:

• Sen. Franken received a VHS copy of the movie "Tunnel Vision" and a DVD of  "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" from Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barasso.
• Franken, in turn, gave Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman a mahnomin porridge kit from Hell's Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Minneapolis. Sen. Franken serves that breakfast porridge at his weekly breakfast with constituents.
• Florida Republican Marco Rubio gave Godiva chocolates to Delaware Democrat Chris Coons. 
• North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan gave her state's famed peanuts to fellow Democrat Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
• New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte gave Hagan a book, "1,001 Gardens you Should See Before You Die."
• Wyoming's Mike Enzi, R-WI, gave Virginia Democrat Mark Warner a George Washington University T-shirt and a book on bicycling.  Aides say Enzi "refrained from getting him a book on freestyle BMX tricks because of the safety issues Sen. Enzi works on."
• Alaska Democrat Mark Begich presented a cookbook and wine from his home state to Missouri's Claire McCaskill.
• Nebraska Republican Mike Johanns gave Nebraska wine to Florida Democrat Bill Nelson.
• Johanns received a shirt for his undergraduate alma mater, St. Mary's University, from Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
• Montana Democrat Jon Tester gave home state chocolates to Ohio Republican Rob Portman.
• Portman gave Louisiana's Mary Landrieu a Cincinnati favorite, Graeter's Buckeye Blitz ice cream.
• Arkansas Republican John Boozman gave Georgia's Saxby Chambliss Mason jar wine glasses.

In 2011, the participation was a bit better, with 62 senators exchanging gifts. This year, with much year-end business left to complete, senators may spend more of the holiday season together as the “fiscal cliff” looms.

The House Ethics Committee has unanimously concluded that House member, California Democrat Laura Richardson, was found to have "violated" the law and was fined $10,000 for misconduct.

Richardson, who is seeking another term in November, was accused of pressuring staffers to work for her campaign. The committee said it had "substantial reason to believe that Representative Laura Richardson violated the Purpose Law...." This will trigger a floor vote to sanction her. 

As part of an agreement with the committee, Richardson admitted to all seven counts of allegations against her.

The Ethics Committee established an investigative subcommittee in November of last year to investigate her use of official staff for campaign purposes, which is against House rules. Staffers in many offices leave the congressional office to work for campaigns, but working for both is not permitted.

The committee said in a statement that she was "improperly using House resources for campaign, personal, and nonofficial purposes; by requiring or compelling her official staff to perform campaign work."

The committee also found she obstructed the investigation by the Ethics Committee through "the alteration or destruction of evidence, the deliberate failure to produce documents responsive to requests for information and a subpoena, and attempting to influence the testimony of witnesses."

The fine must be paid no later than Dec. 1, 2012. The committee also strongly discouraged Richardson from permitting any of her official staff to perform work on her campaign -- either on a paid or volunteer basis.

It’s a spot that launched, for example, Barack Obama in 2004 when he was just a fresh-faced 42-year-old state senator from Illinois.

So can he live up to the expectations?

Castro, 37 -- a Harvard Law and Stanford grad, who will be the first Hispanic to deliver the address -- is largely unknown to a national audience. But looking at past speeches and videos, his personality, humor, and ability to deliver a stirring speech that draws on his compelling personal story are clear.

The Obama campaign has watched Castro closely, made him a campaign co-chairman, and says he has been effective on the campaign trail for the president.

One recent speech that might give some clues as to points he might touch on, as well as his cadence, delivery, and style, was his keynote address at the Texas Democratic Convention just last month.

And then there was his public spat with Charles Barkley, the former NBA basketball player who criticized San Antonio, particularly its women. Castro fired back in a YouTube video that went viral and even won over Barkley.

'Somebody who won't screw up'

Castro’s keynote speech in Texas last month reflected the seriousness and potential of someone who has won plaudits like this:

“People look at him and say, ‘Finally, we have somebody who won’t screw up,’” John A. Garcia, a political science professor at the University of Arizona, told the New York Times magazine in 2010. Of course, he’s still young, and he might be too good to be true, but if I were betting on the next national Hispanic political leader, I’d bet on Julián.”

Of course, in the current political climate in Texas, it is difficult for a Democrat to break through, at least for now. Even though the majority of voters are minorities in the Lone Star State, none of its statewide officeholders are Democrats.

Belief in government

There was plenty in Castro’s Texas convention keynote about the American Dream, but rather than making his story solely about his own drive, determination, and individual responsibility, he laid out what government needs to do to help pave the way of fairness, including on education, infrastructure, and new technology.

Castro supports affirmative action, he has said, because it gave him and his identical twin brother, Joaquín, the opportunity to go to elite colleges. Joaquín -- who, like his brother, also went to Stanford and Harvard -- is a state representative favored to win the open 20^thcongressional district seat to replace retiring longtime Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D).

“Joaquín and I got into Stanford because of affirmative action,” Castro told the New York Times. “I scored 1,210 on my SATs, which was lower than the median matriculating student. But I did fine in college and in law school. So did Joaquín. I’m a strong supporter of affirmative action, because I’ve seen it work in my own life.”

What he might say

Castro strives for the similar unity rhetoric that made Obama famous. Here he was in that speech before Texas Democrats:

“In San Antonio, collaboration is our currency. … These days we hear a lot of talk about how Americans are tired of politics. They’re disillusioned with government, but I think the real issue is that Americans are tired of politicians battling over manufactured issues instead of solving real ones.”

But he also lays blame at the feet of Republicans:

“Today’s Republican Party is leaving just about everyone behind. To them, compromise is a non-starter. Moderate is a four-letter word. You see folks are reevaluating their past political allegiances because people are fed up with the politics of division. They’re fed up with the politics of exclusion. They’re fed up with petty politics. And they’re fed up with Perry politics.”

And he tries to undercut what they stand for:

“Republicans haven’t just departed from the mainstream, they’ve departed from mainstream values. Since when does cutting health care for children make you the party of family values? Since when does denying women their basic rights make you the party of freedom and liberty? Since when does smoke-and-mirrors budgeting make you the party of fiscal accountability?”

He also gives Democrats want they want to hear -- about education, abortion, and immigration.

“We believe the real emergency is getting more students across the graduation stage not frivolous voter ID laws. We believe that veterans who risk their lives for us shouldn’t have to come home and fight for their own livelihoods here. We believe that woman’s right to privacy is a right to privacy is an individual liberty not a political wedge issue. We believe that it’s more important to build bridges to send Texas products across the world than to build a wall that cuts us off from it.”

He pivots from state politics to lay out the choice in the presidential election:

“This year’s presidential election will provide a very clear choice. President Obama inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. He acted to keep thousands of Texas teachers in the classroom and cops on the beat and made investments in the industries for the future. The president made a bold call to save our auto industry. And today, they’re back at work, making the best cars in the world.”

He seems to have the talking points down. During the speech, he touted private-sector job growth under Obama, including manufacturing jobs because of the auto bailout. He hit presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney for “Let Detroit go bankrupt” and Massachusetts being “47^th in job creation.”

He defended Obama’s health law, ending the war in Iraq, and killing Osama bin Laden. Sounding a lot like First Lady Michelle Obamabefore the president’s kickoff speech at Ohio State, he also called on the Democratic activists to do the grassroots work:

“We must reelect President Obama. In your neighborhoods, in your cities, in your counties, in your communities, get out there. Knock on doors. Call your friends. Text them. Tweet them. Email them. Heck, maybe even speak to them face to face. Do everything that you gotta do to get President Obama reelected in November.”

Toward the conclusion of his speech, he reached for the kind of rhetoric that can translate on a national stage.

A compelling personal story:

“I told you about my mother. Now I want to tell you about my grandmother, Victoria. By the time she was 6-years old, my grandmother was an orphan. She had to leave her home in Mexico to come to San Antonio with relatives who had agreed to take her in. My grandmother never made it past the third grade. She had to drop out of school to start working and help support her family. By the time, I was born, this incredible woman had taught herself to read and write in Spanish and English. She spent her whole life working because of her lack of education as a maid, a cook, and a babysitter – barely scraping by but still working hard to give my mother a good chance in life, so that my mother could give me an my brother an even better shot.

“My grandmother was a fantastic cook. By the way, a skill that never really transferred to Joaquín or me. And the day before Joaquín and I were born, she won $300 in a Menudo cook off. And that money came in pretty handy. In fact, she used it to help pay a hospital bill. My grandmother didn’t live to see us enter public service. But she probably would have found it extraordinary that just two generations after she got to San Antonio one grandson would be the mayor and the other would be on his way to the United States Congress.” 

Reverence for America:

“My family story is not special. What’s special is the America that’s made our possible. This is a nation like no other with unlimited potential. And a Texas where great journeys can be made in just the space of a generation.

Outlining the choice ahead:

“Today, Erica and I are the parents of a precious little girl. Carina Victoria. Now, I love my job. But I love even getting home at the end of the day and seeing her big smile and getting an even bigger hug. All of the time, I ask the questions that all of us parents wonder about – what will her life hold? What will her Texas look like? What America will she inherit? Will it shine with opportunity and possibility? Or be damaged and decayed? Will our Texas be left behind or will we shepherd America to its greatest days yet? We cannot leave the answers to chance! It shouldn’t be a coin toss!"

And a call to action (one could insert “America” for “Texas” in many spots, “Ohio” for “Panhandle,” “Florida” for “Rio Grande Valley”):

“So tonight, the future of Texas is calling on us -- from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley. The need for common-sense values has never been more urgent. The future is calling us. Across the country, as he campaigns for reelection, President Obama is asking folks a very simple question: ‘Are you in?’ In fighting for our party’s future, for our state’s future, Texas Democrats, I ask you the same thing. Houston, are you in? Dallas, are you in? The valley, are you in? El Paso, are you in? San Antonio, are you in? Tonight, let us stand up as one party, one state, one Texas, and proudly say, We. Are. In! The future of Texas is calling on us. And we’re answering that call. Vamanos!”

GOP to also feature Latinos

Republicans at their convention a week earlier will also prominently highlight Latinos. They have plenty of elected Republican Hispanics to choose from, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Ted Cruz (R-TX), who’s the heavy favorite to become Texas’ next senator after his win last night in the Texas GOP primary; popular New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez; Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval; and current Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID).

Rubio’s and Cruz’s roots are from Cuba; Martinez and Sandoval trace theirs to Mexico; and Labrador’s family is from Puerto Rico.

According to the U.S. Census, Mexicans are the largest Hispanic group and the largest-growing group:

“About three-quarters of Hispanics in the United States reported as Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban origin in the 2010 Census. Mexican origin was the largest group, representing 63 percent of the total U.S. Hispanic population — up from 58 percent in 2000. This group increased by 54 percent and saw the largest numeric change (11.2 million), growing from 20.6 million in 2000 to 31.8 million in 2010. Mexicans accounted for about three-fourths of the 15.2 million increase in the total Hispanic population between 2000 and 2010. The Mexican origin population represented the largest Hispanic group in 40 states, with more than half of these states in the South and West regions of the country, along with two states in the Northeast and all 12 states in the Midwest.”

“Hispanics are going to play a very prominent role in both conventions,” a GOP strategist told First Read. “The Republican Party has now run a lot prominent elected Hispanics. … . In Texas, it elected a U.S. senator, and he’s conservative, and he’s Hispanic.”

The strategist, referring to Cruz, said Cruz may be Cuban, but he “is going to represent a whole heck of a lot of Mexican Americans.”

The strategist added, “I don’t foresee any problem with our ability to be able to communicate to this audience broadly and in a more narrow fashion. And we can do it with more authority than we’ve ever done it as a party.”

The strategist noted that it’s no longer top-down white party officials telling Hispanics they should join the GOP: it’s “Latinos who have done it and are doing it. We’re in a very strong position. There’s a reason Democrats put this guy up -- it’s because they know that.”

The Obama campaign, however, believes that Castro represents the differing economic visions between the parties.

“Mayor Castro is a rising leader in the party who has worked tirelessly to build San Antonio’s economy from the middle class out, by making investments in things like clean energy and innovative education programs that will lead to the creation of good-paying, sustainable jobs you can raise a family on,” Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said. “Having both the First Lady and Mayor Castro speak on the opening night of our convention will bring together two incredible leaders whose life stories both embody the promise of America -- that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can thrive.”

Defending the women of San Antonio from Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley outraged San Antonians two years ago when, on television, he criticized the city, especially its women.

“As much as I love San Antonio -- a great city, I’m not gonna miss it,” Barkley said. “One thing about San Antonio, them women down there, they got— My ass, my ass would look normal down there. I wanna tell you somethin’ -- they ain’t got no skinny women down there.”

The comment during TNT’s broadcast left analysts in the studio slack jawed. But Barkley reiterated it again this past May during the NBA playoffs: "Everyone knows San Antonio is a great city... They do have some big ol' women down here."

Castro had had enough. But rather than a huffy call for Barkley to apologize, Castro took to the camera and YouTube for a “Hey Chuck!”smack down that went viral. Castro ragged on Barkley’s fitness, lack of championship rings, and a horrifically awkward golf swing.

“You’ve not always been very kind in describing the women of San Antonio,” Castro says in the video. “Come to think of it, maybe that’s because we have a very different idea of what a beautiful woman looks like,” Castro deadpans when up pops a photo of Barkley dressed in drag.

Castro saved his best line for after playing video of Barkley’s golf swing: “Actually, that has nothing do with San Antonio. We just thought it was funny.”

The two later met, at the Alamo no less, and he had won Barkley over.

“I never met a mayor with a sense of humor before,” Barkley told Castro. “I want to thank you for taking the time for making that video. It was funny.”

He even changed his tune on other matters: “I like the women,” Barkley said, and he picked the Spurs to win in the playoffs.

In showcasing someone like Castro, Democrats hope to energize the base and also signal to the majority of Hispanics which party is looking out for them. One thing is clear -- both parties are well aware of Latino growth and know they need to make sure Hispanics are featured prominently.

The Democratic Party is set to include a pro-gay-marriage plank in their party convention platform, according to a Democratic source. 

The language was included as the first step in the platform process. The platform drafting committee met in Minneapolis this past weekend. Next, the full platform committee will be consider it in Detroit in two weeks and then, it will go to the convention delegates in Charlotte for final approval.

No specific language of the platform plank was made available.

The Washington Blade, which broke the news, also reported -- and the source confirms -- that it was approved unanimously and "the platform approved on Sunday not only backs marriage equality, but also rejects DOMA and has positive language with regard to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act."

The move does not come as a complete surprise, considering President Obama's public endorsement of same-sex marriage back in May.

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Domenico Montanaro notes: The National Republican Senatorial Committee points to a Wall Street Journal report in May which notes Democratic Senate candidates who have not backed the president's position on gay marriage.

"The below Wall Street Journal article from this past May includes the names of a number of Democratic Senators and candidates that you might consider asking for their reaction to this news today…," the NRSC notes in an email.

"Sen. Jon Tester in Montana, Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri and former Gov. Tim Kaine in Virginia have declined to support same-sex marriage, even as Mr. Obama's backing has galvanized the party's liberal wing and activist ranks.  Even senators facing less-competitive races—Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bill Nelson of Florida—have sought distance from Mr. Obama on same-sex marriage."

Democrats maintain a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, including two Independents who caucus with the Democrats. Control is up for grabs this fall with Democrats on defense in many races.

We noted earlier that Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum again used Etch A Sketches today.

Well, the DNC now has cut its second anti-Mitt Romney Etch A Sketch video.

While Democrats and rivals are having fun with this and continuing to try and fuel a narrative, the buzz around this has died down considerably today and you wonder when -- or if -- it jumps the shark.

By the way, CNBC reports that the biggest benefactor from all this might be the maker of the toy.

It reports: Ohio Art, the company that makes Etch A Sketch, saw its stock jump up a whopping 212.5 percent today.

As another round of voting takes place this week in the Republican presidential race – with 11 states holding Super Tuesday contests – a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that the combative and heavily scrutinized primary season so far has damaged the party and its candidates.

Four in 10 of all adults say the GOP nominating process has given them a less favorable impression of the Republican Party, versus just slightly more than one in 10 with a more favorable opinion.

Additionally, when asked to describe the GOP nominating battle in a word or phrase, nearly 70 percent of respondents – including six in 10 independents and even more than half of Republicans – answered with a negative comment.

Some examples of these negative comments from Republicans: "Unenthusiastic," "discouraged," "lesser of two evils," "painful," "disappointed," "poor choices," "concerned," "underwhelmed,” “uninspiring” and “depressed.”

Read the full poll here (.pdf)

And perhaps most significantly, the GOP primary process has taken a toll on the Republican presidential candidates, including front-runner Mitt Romney, who is seen more unfavorably and whose standing with independents remains underwater.

“The primaries have not raised the stature of the party, nor enhanced the appeal of the candidates,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

“The word you’d have to use at this stage is: ‘Corrosive,’” McInturff adds.

The damage from the Republican primary season – in addition to a rising job-approval rating for President Obama and more optimism about the U.S. economy – has given Democrats an early advantage for November’s general election.

Indeed, the president’s job-approval rating now stands at 50 percent; Obama leads Romney in a hypothetical general-election match up by six points; and Democrats hold a five-point edge on the generic congressional ballot.

If this poll’s outlook on the 2012 race were a cocktail, Hart says, it would be “one part Obama, one part the economy, and three parts the Republican Party’s destruction.”

Bad news and good news for Romney
How damaging has the primary season – with all of its debates, attack ads and scrutiny -- been for the Republican Party?

Forty percent of all adults say the GOP contest so far has made them feel less favorable about the party, while 12 percent say they now have a more favorable impression. Forty-seven percent say it’s had no impact.

Even among Republicans, 23 percent maintain the primary season has given them a less favorable opinion of the party, versus 16 percent who say it’s been positive.

In addition, 55 percent of respondents – including 35 percent of Republicans – believe the Democratic Party does a better job than the GOP in appealing to those who aren’t hard-core supporters. Just 26 percent say the Republican Party does a better job on this front.

And it’s been damaging for Romney, too. In January’s NBC/WSJ poll, Romney’s favorable/unfavorable rating stood at 31 percent to 36 percent among all respondents (and 22/42 percent among independents).

But in this latest survey, it’s now 28 percent favorable and 39 percent unfavorable (and 22/38 percent among independents).

In fact, Romney’s image right now is worse than almost all other recent candidates who went on to win their party’s presidential nomination: Obama’s favorable/unfavorable ratio was 51/28 percent and John McCain’s was 47/27, in the March 2008 NBC/WSJ poll; John Kerry was at 42/30 at this point in 2004; George W. Bush was 43/32 in 2000; and Bob Dole was 35/39 in March 1996.

The one exception: Bill Clinton, in April 1992, was at 32/43 percent.

But there is also some good news for Romney in the poll, especially as it relates to his bid to capture the GOP presidential nomination.

Read the full poll here (.pdf)

After his primary victories last Tuesday in Arizona and Michigan, the former Massachusetts governor leads the national Republican horserace, getting support from 38 percent of GOP voters, his highest-ever mark in the poll.

He’s followed by former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum at 32 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul tied at 13 percent.

In a race reduced to just two candidates, Romney leads Santorum by five percentage points, 50 to 45 percent.

In particular, Romney has improved his standing with Tea Party supporters, getting support from 44 percent of them in a two-way contest against Santorum.

And what’s more, 72 percent of Republicans say they would be satisfied if Romney becomes their party’s presidential nominee.

Obama’s improved political standing
When it comes to President Obama, the poll contains mostly good news. Fifty percent approve of his job – his highest mark in the NBC/WSJ survey since Osama bin Laden’s death – and 45 percent disapprove.

In a hypothetical general-election contest, he leads Romney by six points, 50 to 44 percent, winning independents (46-39 percent), women (55-37 percent) and those in the Midwest (52-42 percent).

Obama enjoys bigger leads over Paul (50 to 42 percent), Santorum (53 to 39 percent) and Gingrich (54 to 37 percent).

Bolstering Obama’s standing is increased optimism about the state of the U.S. economy.

Read the full poll here (.pdf)

Forty percent believe the economy will improve during the next year, a three-point increase from January. And looking back at the economic recession, 57 percent say that the worst is behind us, while 36 percent say the worst is still to come.

Back in November, only 49 percent said the worst was behind us.

“President Obama is probably in the best political shape he’s been in since his initial year as president,” says Hart, the Democratic pollster.

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted from Feb. 29 through March 3 of 800 adults (including 200 by cellphone), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points. The poll also contains an oversample of 185 interviews to achieve a total of 400 GOP primary voters, and that margin of error is plus-minus 4.9 percentage points.

After his election as Republican National Committee chairman a year ago, Reince Priebus inherited an organization that was more than $20 million in debt and that had lost some of its biggest donors.

Additionally, Priebus got off to a slow start; as this author wrote back in July, the RNC under his watch actually raised less in the second quarter of 2011 than the Michael Steele-led RNC did in the second quarter of 2009.

But things have begun to turn around for Priebus on the fundraising front.

After raising just $37.3 million in the first half of 2011, the RNC raised nearly $51 million in the second half -- actually outraising the Democratic National Committee over that same period of time. (However, the DNC outraised the RNC for all of 2011, about $110 million to $88 million.)

What's more, the RNC has cut its debt in half -- from more than $20 million in January to $11.8 million now.

And in a reversal of Steele's biggest shortcoming -- which was spending, not necessarily raising money -- the RNC currently has more than $23 million in the bank as of Jan. 31, compared with the DNC's more than $15 million.

RNC officials point to a few reasons for the turnaround. One, they've lured back some of the big donors who jumped ship during the Steele era. Two, they've been more effective (and cost-effective) in getting grassroots donors to contribute (raising $5.9 million out of its $10.4 million Jan. 2012 from those giving less than $200). And three, they've made a concerted effort to show RNC donors -- both big and small -- the fruits of their labors (like their web videos).

"They want to know we're making the case [against President Obama and the Democrats] every day," RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer tells First Read.

Below is a month-by-month look at the RNC vs. DNC fundraising since Jan. 2011:

Republican National Committee
Jan. 2011: $5.7 million
Feb. 2011: $5.3 million
March 2011: $7.2 million
April 2011: $6.1 million
May 2011: $6.2 million
June 2011: $6.8 million
July 2011: $6.1 million
Aug. 2011: $8.2 million
Sept. 2011: $9.3 million
Oct. 2011: $8.5 million
Nov. 2011: $7.2 million
Dec 2011: $11.6 million
Jan. 2012: $10.4 million

Democratic National Committee
Jan. 2011: $7.2 million
Feb. 2011: $7.1 million
March 2011: $6.7 million
April 2011: $14.0 million
May 2011: $10.5 million
June 2011: $12.2 million
July 2011: $6.9 million
Aug. 2011: $5.4 million
Sept. 2011: $14.7 million
Oct. 2011: $8.0 million
Nov. 2011: $6.7 million
Dec. 2011: $8.9 million
Jan. 2012: $13.3 million

In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi suggested House Democrats will support the stand-alone extension of the payroll tax cut that is not offset with cuts or revenue increases elsewhere. 

"The House has voted twice overwhelmingly to instruct the Conference Committee to complete all of its work by this Friday, February 17," Pelosi said. "The House Republican leadership plans to bring to the floor a stand-alone payroll tax cut extension bill tomorrow. We have long proposed bringing this tax cut to the floor without payfors and House Democrats will support it so that taxes are not raised on 160 million working Americans."

Yet Pelosi added that "this should not be a substitute for the work of the conference committee" that is trying to hammer out a compromise.

And she called on Republicans to cancel the recess scheduled for next week if work is not done to also extend unemployment insurance and the Medicare "doc fix":

"We continue to call upon the conferees to resolve the remaining issues - extending unemployment benefits and ensuring seniors continue to see their doctors under Medicare - by February 17th. If the conference committee is unable to complete its work on a comprehensive bill by that date, the Republican leadership should cancel the recess and remain in Washington next week. These crucial policies  affect millions of middle class families and seniors and must not expire at the end of this month."

Meanwhile, in a pen-and-pad session with reporters, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would not predict how this payroll tax cut extension would play out. He was pleased House Republicans have "retreated" on their position that the tax cut be paid for, and he said Democrats would continue to push for agreement on extending unemployment benefits and the so-called "doc-fix" payments to Medicare doctors.

Schumer was asked specifically whether the Senate would pass a payroll tax cut extension sent over from the House -- without attaching unemployment insurance and the "doc fix."

But he wouldn't commit to that, saying that discussions are still taking place among the conference committee, House Republicans, and House Democrats.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's the full release:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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