Top GOP Senator Says ‘If Romney Loses Michigan, We Need a New Candidate’  —  A prominent Republican senator just told me that if Romney can't win in Michigan, the Republican Party needs to go back to the drawing board and convince somebody new to get into the race.

Bruce Springsteen on Wrecking Ball  —  The Boss explains why there is a critical, questioning and angry patriotism at the heart of his new album Wrecking Ball  —  At a Paris press conference on Thursday night, Bruce Springsteen was asked whether he was advocating an armed uprising in America.

Romney Camp Blindsided By DeWine's Betrayal  —  Nobody saw it coming.  Campaign sources point to felon voting, but it's a big moment for Santorum.  —  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's decision to withdraw his support from Mitt Romney and throw it behind Rick Santorum didn't just come …

Gov. Christie vetoes N.J. gay marriage bill  —  TRENTON — Delivering on his promise of swift action, Gov. Chris Christie this afternoon conditionally vetoed the gay marriage bill and suggested appointing an ombudsman to address complaints of same-sex couples and strengthen New Jersey's civil union law.

Exclusive: Feds arrest man allegedly heading to U.S. Capitol for suicide mission after sting investigation  —  Authorities have arrested a man allegedly on his way to the U.S. Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack on one of the nation's most symbolic landmarks, Fox News has learned exclusively.

Santorum to Mainline Protestants: You Are Satan's Spawn  —  Kyle Mantyla of People for the American Way's indispensable Right Wing Watch has come up with an audiotape of a Rick Santorum address to the students of the conservative Catholic Ave Maria University in Florida, delivered in 2008.

Mitt runs below-radar contrast ad in Mich.  —  Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is airing a negative ad against Rick Santorum in Michigan that it did not release to the press, targeting the former Pennsylvania senator over his record on earmarks in Congress.

The Hounding Of Pat Buchanan  —  There is so much I disagree with Pat Buchanan on - from World War II to marriage equality to immigration to my love of a multi-racial and multi-cultural society - that I could write a book in it.  But let me say something in his defense: however repellent some of his views, he is intellectually honest.

Video shows talk show host inside gay bar on night of hit-and-run  —  HOUSTON -  —  New witnesses have stepped forward to say they saw a talk show host behind the wheel after a hit-and-run crash outside a popular gay bar, and Local 2 Investigates has obtained video from inside the bar that is now in the hands of police.

Supreme Court blocks Montana ruling against outside group spending  —  (CNN) - The Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of a ruling by Montana's highest court that upholds the state's century-long restrictions on independent political spending by outside groups in election campaigns.

Santorum: Friess Controversy ‘Crap,’ Focuses on Issues  —  As the furor over Foster Friess's comments about contraception escalates, and the press obsesses over Rick Santorum's wealthy backer, the former Pennsylvania senator tells National Review Online that he is “not going to put up with it.”

Heartland Memo Looking Faker By the Minute  —  After yesterday's post on why I thought that one of the documents in the Heartland leak was a fake, I discovered that David Appell had been investigating along the same lines.  Appell, however, looked at one thing that hadn't occurred to me: where the PDF was created.

TPMDC  —  Obama Administration Wouldn't Defend Blocking Military Benefits From Same-Sex Couples  —  The Obama Justice Department has concluded that legislation banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment …

Liberals, Don't Homeschool Your Kids  —  Why teaching children at home violates progressive values.  —  As a child growing up in Arizona and Georgia college towns during the 1980s and 1990s, the filmmaker Astra Taylor was “unschooled” by her lefty, countercultural parents.

Record 19 reporters, media execs join Team Obama  —  For some Washington reporters and media execs, cheering their team from the sidelines just isn't good enough: Tugging on a red, white and blue Team Obama jersey is the answer.  —  That's the case for a whopping 19 journalists and media executives …

Inside Newt Gingrich's Plan To Steal Back The GOP Race  —  Newt Gingrich has been laying low this month, slipping in the polls and public opinion but gearing up for yet another comeback in the rollercoaster Republican primary.  —  Gingrich was never expected to do well in February's nominating contests.

Gingrich to get another $10 million from casino backer - sources  —  Sheldon Adelson, left, and Newt Gingrich, right  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's faltering campaign is about to get another shot in the arm, CBS News has learned.  —  Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson plans …

Dick Cheney is lobbying for gay marriage in Maryland?  —  Buried in Annie Linskey's Baltimore Sun story today about GOP Maryland Delegate Wade Kach coming out in support of marriage equality is this little tidbit: … Dick Cheney is personally lobbying on behalf of gay marriage?  Really?