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 …

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 Catches Romney in GOP Race  —  Obama Leads Both in General Election Matchups  —  OVERVIEW  —  Rick Santorum's support among Tea Party Republicans and white evangelicals is surging, and he now has pulled into a virtual tie with Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

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 …

Obama budget slated for $3.8 trillion  —  The White House rolled out its new $3.8 trillion budget Monday, promising major investments to spur a manufacturing revival in the U.S. while walking a fine line between the August debt accords and President Barack Obama's fear that too much austerity …

Obama's Broken Deficit Promise  —  “This is big,” wrote White House director of new media Macon Phillips in a February 23, 2009 blog post, “the President today promised that by the end of his first term, he will cut in half the massive federal deficit we've inherited.  And we'll do it in a new way: honestly and candidly.”