Severe Conservative Syndrome  —  Mitt Romney has a gift for words — self-destructive words.  On Friday he did it again, telling the Conservative Political Action Conference that he was a “severely conservative governor.”  —  As Molly Ball of The Atlantic pointed out, Mr. Romney “described conservatism as if it were a disease.”

Santorum moves ahead in Michigan  —  Rick Santorum's taken a large lead in Michigan's upcoming Republican primary.  He's at 39% to 24% for Mitt Romney, 12% for Ron Paul, and 11% for Newt Gingrich.  —  Santorum's rise is attributable to two major factors: his own personal popularity …

Presidential Primary Preference:  —  Michigan  —  Rick Santorum leads the Michigan Republican presidential primary with 33%.  Santorum is followed by Mitt Romney with 27%, Newt Gingrich with 21%, and Ron Paul with 12%.  —  Santorum leads Gingrich 42% to 24% among self-identified Republicans …

Gingrich Money Hunt Faces Obstacles  —  Newt Gingrich recently joined Gov. Rick Perry of Texas on a conference call with more than 50 “bundlers” who had powered Mr. Perry's formidable campaign-cash machine.  —  Mr. Perry asked his top financial rainmakers to raise money for Mr. Gingrich …

WH Chief of Staff Errs on Senate Budget Rules  —  As President Obama prepares to unveil his FY2013 budget Monday, White House chief of staff Jack Lew this morning was asked by CNN to defend the Senate's refusal to pass a budget in more than 1,000 days.  —  “You can't pass a budget in the Senate …