Santorum's Turn  —  At the moment Rick Santorum appears to be overtaking Newt Gingrich as the principal challenger to Mitt Romney.  Santorum has won more contests than Gingrich (who has won only one), has more delegates, and leads him in the polls.  In at least one poll, he also leads Romney.

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.

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.”

Obama proposes $800 million in aid for “Arab Spring”  —  (Reuters) - The White House announced plans on Monday to help “Arab Spring” countries swept by revolutions with more than $800 million in economic aid, while maintaining U.S. military aid to Egypt.  —  In his annual budget message to Congress …

Washington gov signs gay marriage bill into law  —  OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

NJ Senate OKs gay marriage bill in milestone vote  —  TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey lawmakers gave their blessing to legalizing gay marriage for the first time Monday as the state Senate passed a bill that would allow nuptials for same-sex couples, despite Gov. Chris Christie's insistence that he will veto such legislation.