Subject: POLITICO’s Morning Score: Obama shifting to campaign mode--Hatch looking safer in Utah--Newt Death Watch, Day 3--Santorum has Missouri edge, but could leave Pa. with no delegates
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:38:46 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

"THE ROAD WE'VE TRAVELED" premiered last night on the reelection campaign's YouTube channel. The mini-documentary narrated by Tom Hanks makes the case for a second term in 17 minutes:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2eeef4b1c0874bc35044fd7d90925b51a30b7d24a44cc9a4d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2eeef4b1c0874bc35044fd7d90925b51a30b7d24a44cc9a4d .

THE BACKDROP - OBAMA EMBRACES CAMPAIGNER-IN-CHIEF ROLE:"The Obama White House moved fully into reelection mode this week, leaving aside any pretense of being above the fray and beginning an unabashed political effort to lay the groundwork for what polls suggest could be eight difficult months of campaigning ahead," David Nakamura writes in today's Washington Post. "Thursday seemed to mark a significant shift in approach and intensity, with overtly political speeches by President Obama and Vice President Biden and the release of a 17-minute documentary-style testimonial celebrating what the administration considers its most significant achievements." David:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2b41c8406820dc7ba81a9c196488baaef2f0f5d1f5c4504a3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2b41c8406820dc7ba81a9c196488baaef2f0f5d1f5c4504a3 . Glenn Thrush, reporting from Biden's Toledo speech, called it kick-off day:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2f708458f8bf1d0952b04cd31dc5f30cf95f0bfe0211d2615 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2f708458f8bf1d0952b04cd31dc5f30cf95f0bfe0211d2615 .

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO - ANOTHER DAY OF FUNDRAISERS:"In the morning, the President will depart from the White House en route Chicago, Illinois," per the Daily Guidance. He "will deliver remarks at a campaign event and then attend a campaign event at the Palmer House Hilton. In the afternoon, the President will depart...en route Atlanta...[where he] will deliver remarks at a campaign event at a private residence...Later, the President will deliver remarks at a campaign event at Tyler Perry Studios...Later in the evening, the President will deliver remarks at a campaign event at a private residence... At night, the President will return to Washington, DC."

PALIN CALLS OBAMA W.H. CORRUPT - CLAIMS POTUS NEVER VETTED:"If the media had done their job of vetting him, we wouldn't have been shocked that within days after Obama's election, his close political associate Rod Blagojevich was caught trying to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat," Sarah Palin writes in an extended tribute to the late Andrew Breitbart that posted overnight on Breitbart.com. "If the media had done their job of vetting him, we wouldn't be astonished to see all the billion dollar green energy kickbacks going to his campaign cronies as the nation heads towards bankruptcy. If the media had done their job of vetting him, we wouldn't be surprised that Obama brought these same Chicago
 'pay-to-play' practices to the White House. This corruption was entirely predictable."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c244d095cdd873ec8f7df9fad0387ab8aacea85cada3b2be6d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c244d095cdd873ec8f7df9fad0387ab8aacea85cada3b2be6d 

** As Lugar loses another day to questions about his residency, CNN pushes the contested convention narrative hardest and Palin calls the Obama administration corrupt, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

MISSOURI CAUCUSES TOMORROW - SANTORUM HAS EARLY EDGE:"Republicans will gather across Missouri on Saturday to formally begin the arduous process of electing delegates in the presidential race. An early glimpse into the caucuses unfolded here in Brunswick, a small town about two hours east of Kansas City, which decided to hold its meeting two days before the rest of the state," The New York Times' Jeff Zeleny reported late last night. "The first question of the evening was whether to bind delegates to the results of the February primary. The measure passed by a wide margin and no discussion, which sent four delegates on behalf of Mr. Santorum and none for Mr. Romney or Representative Ron Paul
 of Texas... A spokesman for the Missouri Republican Party said Thursday evening that all counties have the option to use Mr. Santorum's victory in the primary as a starting point in their selection of delegates if they choose."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2dedb2251ec9245f16c1e7196bcdc48734ea1a16794f8ecec 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2dedb2251ec9245f16c1e7196bcdc48734ea1a16794f8ecec 

THE WAR OVER WOMEN, CONTINUED -

NEW DNC WEB VIDEO - "ROMNEY: WRONG FOR WOMEN":The Democratic National Committee is releasing a 50-second web video this morning to bracket Romney's Illinois visit. "Make no mistake: Mitt Romney has becomeTHE most extreme candidate on issues affecting women in this country," says the DNC, highlighting his commitment to overturn Roe, "get rid" of Planned Parenthood, support for the Blunt amendment and backing of "personhood" amendments." The DNC will host a 7 a.m. press conference outside Romney's morning event with Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Illinois Planned Parenthood President Carole Brite. The video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29e178817119dae3f53a6928f0803bd563548e35ec17b0f18 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29e178817119dae3f53a6928f0803bd563548e35ec17b0f18 .

TWEET from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's former chief of staff Chuck Hatfield: "Romney campaign just robocalled to let me know Santorum supports Planned Parenthood."

MITT BLASTS MAHER ON HANNITY:"After taking a pass on criticizing conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for calling a Georgetown University student a prostitute...Romney condemned in strong terms Thursday remarks by liberal talk show host/comedian Bill Maher, who used vulgar language to describe Sarah Palin," per CBS/National Journal. "In an appearance on the Sean Hannity radio show, Romney said, 'Frankly, what Bill Maher said, and I finally read the transcripts, I was offended outraged that a person would say that on TV and would not have been called on the carpet before now and not apologized for it. To have the Obama campaign retain a million dollars from Bill Maher, it is simply
 outrageous...It&#39;s just gone way beyond the pale.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c228dd71a90d6cf0767961be56dfb3430ef3d195c0e6135382 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c228dd71a90d6cf0767961be56dfb3430ef3d195c0e6135382 

AXELROD SAYS MAHER'S SEXISM DIFFERENT THAN LIMBAUGH'S:"I don&#39;t think that language is appropriate, no matter who uses it," the president's political architect told CNN's Erin Burnett. "But understand that these words that Maher has used in his standup act are a little bit different -not excusable in any way - than a guy with 23 million radio listeners using his broadcast platform to malign a young woman for speaking her mind in the most inappropriate grotesque ways. Nor does Bill Maher play the role in the Democratic Party that Rush Limbaugh plays in the Republican Party, where he&#39;s really the de facto boss of the party." Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2f06144bd7cb18cde009ab2922529be04590e0cfb6fec8a46 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2f06144bd7cb18cde009ab2922529be04590e0cfb6fec8a46 . Maher himself explained to ABC's Jake Tapper why he thinks he's different than Limbaugh:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c265b62d5acae710be92b8b4a2977e3f5dd00b880075525465 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c265b62d5acae710be92b8b4a2977e3f5dd00b880075525465 .

RAHM BRACKETS MITT AHEAD OF CHICAGO TRIP:Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at an event yesterday that Romney lacks "the fortitude, strength or character" to serve in the Oval Office."If you can't stand up to Rush, how are you going to stand up to Russia?" he said.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2abe93130e9e95d9a9b0a5d123d1b267e156685334d70c3a7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2abe93130e9e95d9a9b0a5d123d1b267e156685334d70c3a7 

PEGGY NOONAN SAYS "THERE IS A WAR AGAINST WOMEN":"It is something comparatively new in our national life, and we have to start noticing it," one of the country's top conservative thought leaders writes in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. "Some men think they can get away with vulgarity because they&#39;re on the &#39;correct&#39; side on social issues; others tire of being bullied by the language police."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c258c20865e9fd0405fc04b5d6f07e43e52a8e50dff27e1cef 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c258c20865e9fd0405fc04b5d6f07e43e52a8e50dff27e1cef 

PUERTO RICO VOTES SUNDAY -

SANTORUM SAYS MEDIA MISCHARACTERIZING ENGLISH COMMENTS:"During a brief chat with reporters at a hotel in San Juan on Thursday afternoon, Santorum said the reports that he had said Puerto Rico would have to change its official language to English were 'completely inaccurate,'" per the LA Times' Maeve Reston. "Clarifying his views on the topic, the former senator from Pennsylvania said that if Puerto Rican voters were to win statehood - a referendum to gauge support for such a move is scheduled for later this year - English should be the 'preferred' language, but he said he would not insist that the island change its official language to English alone."

MORE CONTEXT: "El Vocero [the local San Juan newspaper that Santorum gave the interview to] posted a crackling, sometimes difficult to hear, excerpt of the interview with Santorum on its website. While apparently discussing the prospect of Puerto Rican statehood, Santorum said: 'I have said repeatedly that, as a condition for admission, that people would - would and could speak both languages - but have to speak English.' 'That would be a requirement,' he continued." Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2bfd67b57fb8de36d401df6e8b982243d744ce24023144811 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2bfd67b57fb8de36d401df6e8b982243d744ce24023144811 . Video of Santorum's interview with the newspaper:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23e8ef41052bcb2857118fa17dfe81850fe9c8a4f794c55e9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23e8ef41052bcb2857118fa17dfe81850fe9c8a4f794c55e9 .

FORTUNO, ROMNEY BACKER, SAYS IT "SHOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE":"He notes that Santorum clarified his remarks earlier today, saying he wanted the island to be bilingual, not solely English-speaking," National Review reports based on an interview. "Fortuno also points out that English is already one of the island's two official languages, the other being Spanish.And Fortuno shares Santorum's sentiment. 'As a parent, I can tell you that most of us want our children to be totally fluent in both languages,' he says."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c241068ba5c9f81c695859dd08e9a419dbd8b7890d2b286a57 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c241068ba5c9f81c695859dd08e9a419dbd8b7890d2b286a57 

BUT - ROMNEY CAMPAIGN SEIZING ON THE ISSUE:Craig Romney has recorded aSpanish-language radio ad for his dad that's airing in Puerto Rico.It's called Oportunidad. Mitt Romney approves the adin Spanish at the end. Listen:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2aa77bfa0efb6e174a5112ea9a67c3354b0c099e698ef4c78 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2aa77bfa0efb6e174a5112ea9a67c3354b0c099e698ef4c78 . Bostonalsoblasted a press release last night fromthe vice chairwoman of the Republican Party in Puerto Rico and Speaker of the Island's House of Representatives, Jenniffer Gonz&aacute;lez-Colon. In it, she "strongly rejects" Santorum's position on statehood.

NEWT DEATH WATCH, DAY 3 - RATIONALIZING HIS CANDIDACY:

SHOT - NEWT PARAPHRASES PROVERBS 29:18:"I'll fine-tune my message to say: Without vision, the people perish," Gingrich said in Illinois yesterday, describing it as a central theme of the campaign. The Los Angeles Times' John Hoeffel:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29dbe194b5470f16306c5c96f772839d0b55046a6e67cec67 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29dbe194b5470f16306c5c96f772839d0b55046a6e67cec67 .

CHASER - NEWT OMITS PROVERBS 29:23:"A man's pride shall bring him low..."

CROWDS SHRINKING:"His audiences are smaller now, and more muted," The Wall Street Journal's Ryan Tracy reports. "Before his losses Tuesday in the Alabama and Mississippi primaries, Mr. Gingrich drew several crowds of 500 or more supporters. The audience at a Mobile, Ala., antique-car garage last week couldn&#39;t fit into the venue. Here in Illinois, the applause is more polite and the chants of 'Newt! Newt!' much rarer. Crowds of about 100 at a Rosemont convention center and about 200 at an airplane hangar in Lake of the Hills didn&#39;t reach capacity."

EGO GROWING:'Other than Ronald Reagan, I know of no Republican in my lifetime who&#39;s been able to talk like this,' Mr. Gingrich told a banquet crowd in Palatine, Ill., referring to his own policy ideas on energy, brain science and other matters. 'That&#39;s why I&#39;m still running, because the gap is so huge.' More from the Journal: "If Mr. Gingrich has failed to capture the party&#39;s imagination in his bid for its presidential nomination, he says, it isn&#39;t his fault. He offers big ideas, but 'the news media can&#39;t cover it, and my opponents can&#39;t comprehend it,' he says."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c228ac9257d463b743d38cbc49157c01534a09b80e6b2b5b0a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c228ac9257d463b743d38cbc49157c01534a09b80e6b2b5b0a 

WRITING OFF THE LAND OF LINCOLN:"After two days of campaigning in Illinois, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich told reporters that he believes the race in Illinois 'largely will be Romney and Santorum,'" reports ABC's Elicia Dover. The most recent public poll, taken before his failures in Mississippi and Alabama, pegged the former Speaker at 13 percent. "I'm staying in the race to see if I can't in the second half of the race-Louisiana is sort of halftime," he said.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2fe6f97109cbe5cb26f0e160909584138344ef9414b4682da 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2fe6f97109cbe5cb26f0e160909584138344ef9414b4682da 

HEADING TO LOUISIANA:"Gingrich&#39;s trip to Illinois was essentially a layover for the campaign before heading to Louisiana, which has a primary more than a week away," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "Gingrich is hanging his latest hopes on the March 24 primary in Louisiana...He left Thursday night for the Bayou State."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c223ae6870f07e5b1233acaa3e4fdcac5769bbbceb4b8978e9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c223ae6870f07e5b1233acaa3e4fdcac5769bbbceb4b8978e9 

EMPHASIZING HIS MOST GRANDIOSE THOUGHTS:"Gingrich declared that he was bringing back some of the offbeat ideas for which he was mocked on the campaign trail but with which people identify him, for good and for bad," Ginger Gibson reports. "He touted his space platform, which includes launching a moon colony...talked about brain research and revived historical anecdotes about the Wright brothers, Abraham Lincoln and the transcontinental railroad. 'What you'll see is a much clearer definition of a visionary conservative as compared to the more traditional Romney-Santorum conservatism,' Gingrich announced Thursday."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c219ba80b9f3ef1d6a9182dcab755a912a13663ff07485918a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c219ba80b9f3ef1d6a9182dcab755a912a13663ff07485918a 

ATTACKING KRAUTHAMMERfor saying he's staying in the race to "settle some scores":"I mean, the Washington establishment doesn't have a clue," Gingrich told Laura Ingraham. "They've never run a campaign. They're not out here. They're not responsive to the American people. They just sit on television and pontificate."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2d88c1f64f327ca080b3a89739b95e217bff5badd6f00933e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2d88c1f64f327ca080b3a89739b95e217bff5badd6f00933e 

RICH LOWRY JOINS THE CHORUS NUDGING NEWT OUT:"All also-rans should take inspiration from him. He is the best advertisement for third place...since Avis launched its 'We try harder' campaign." The National Review editor's column for Time Magazine is behind a pay wall:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c26dfa3bcc16b9a9546a53ab2a7e768e4172db2b40fd315560 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c26dfa3bcc16b9a9546a53ab2a7e768e4172db2b40fd315560 .

TODAY - WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:

Gingrich has a meet-and-greet at theYe Olde College Inn in New Orleans at 2 p.m., visits the Audubon Zoo at 3:30 and holds a rally in Covington at 6.

Romney hosts a campaign event at Pancakes Eggcetera in Rosemont, Illinois. Then he flies to Puerto Rico for an evening rally at the capitol in San Juan. Ann Romney will meet him there. She's on the ground to visit seniors at a basketball court with Governor Luis Fortuno and his wife Luce.

Santorum starts the day in Missouri with a 10:30 rally in Osage Beach. Then he flies to Illinois for a 2 p.m. speech at a high school and a 7 p.m. rally at a Christian academy in Arlington Heights. Details:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c28d59ea7f3e8b4adf9dcf1fa6ef7d2a48029c89643eda7150 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c28d59ea7f3e8b4adf9dcf1fa6ef7d2a48029c89643eda7150 

THE CALENDAR -

ILLINOIS IS TUESDAY - ROMNEY OUTSPENDING SANTORUM 5-1:"Santorum's campaign is up with $207,231 in ads, including his first broadcast ads in the Champaign/Springfield market. The super PAC buy is up to $306,750, according to a media-tracking source," Alex Burns writes. "That's not peanuts from the pro-Santorum camp...But Romney's campaign alone doubles that spending: including some additional broadcast buys today, they're up to $1,075,965 on the air in Illinois between March 14 and 20. And on top of that, the super PAC Restore Our Future is running $1,499,698 in TV and radio ads for the final week of the Illinois race...Add it all up and the air war is tilted toward Romney at this moment in
 time by a factor of about 5 to 1. In dollar terms, Romney is outspending Santorum approximately $2.6 million to $510,000." Wall Street Journal on Illinois spending:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c226a9897207d89e81d69ce15ec50f9316d20b29da709c8da3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c226a9897207d89e81d69ce15ec50f9316d20b29da709c8da3 .Watchthe 30-second contrast spot that Santorum's Super PAC is running in the state:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23d6e859f05b85efb286d56d3c07aa95627be3d6804b97d9f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23d6e859f05b85efb286d56d3c07aa95627be3d6804b97d9f .

PENNSYLVANIA - SANTORUM COULD WALK AWAY WITH NO DELEGATES:"Pennsylvania&#39;s non-binding primary rules for distributing delegates raise the prospect that Santorum, who has said he&#39;ll win the vast majority of the state&#39;s delegates, could actually come away from next month&#39;s primary empty-handed at a time when he can ill-afford it," reports The Daily's Dan Hirschhorn, a Keystone native. "The ranks of delegate hopefuls are littered with Republican state committee members, elected officials and others with close party ties, who will ultimately be more beholden to a state party leadership that, while officially neutral, is visibly leaning in Romney&#39;s direction and increasingly
 vocal in its fear that Santorum could hurt the party in a general election - especially after witnessing his 18-point drubbing in 2006...But Santorum campaign officials, who have struggled with ballot organization issues across the country, privately concede that they just didn&#39;t have the time or resources to organize their own supporters to run as delegates when the paperwork was due earlier this year."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2698431e5fe000b356cffd12f7870d1f47c20964d9bfc1ea9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2698431e5fe000b356cffd12f7870d1f47c20964d9bfc1ea9 .

CONTESTED CONVENTION - CNN HYPING POSSIBILITY HARDEST:"CNN has been the biggest driver of the brokered convention hypothesis this cycle, discussing that possibility in 90 reports thus far this cycle, followed by 35 reports on FOX, 32 on MSNBC, 10 each on ABC and CBS, eight on NBC, and six on NPR," according to an analysis by the University of Minnesota's Eric J. Ostermeier.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2537a82fdc7285ce9504fed82ad5d25905875a6ec716a322c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2537a82fdc7285ce9504fed82ad5d25905875a6ec716a322c 

LATEST POLLING -

GALLUP NATIONAL - LESS ENTHUSIASM FOR ROMNEY THAN MCCAIN:"A little more than one-third of Republicans say they would vote 'enthusiastically' for either Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum if either candidate were to win their party&#39;s nomination for president," according to numbers out yesterday afternoon. "This level of enthusiasm is similar to Republicans&#39; feelings about voting for Romney in early 2008, but lower than the enthusiasm level for that year&#39;s eventual GOP nominee, John McCain."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2f1357d18dfc48fccea7e2799b9ee5e5521593085d4952c19 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2f1357d18dfc48fccea7e2799b9ee5e5521593085d4952c19 

ROMNEY SCRUTINY - BAIN OWNS COMPANY AIDING CHINA REPRESSION:"As the Chinese government forges ahead on a multibillion-dollar effort to blanket the country with surveillance cameras, one American company stands to profit: Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Mitt Romney," according to a report in today's New York Times. "In December, a Bain-run fund in which a Romney family blind trust has holdings purchased the video surveillance division of a Chinese company that claims to be the largest supplier to the government's Safe Cities program... 'There are video cameras all over our monastery, and their only purpose is to make us feel fear,' said Loksag, a Tibetan Buddhist monk in
 Gansu Province. He saidthe cameras helped the authorities identify and detain nearly 200 monks who participated in a protest at his monastery in 2008. Mr. Romney has had no role in Bain's operations since 1999 and had no say over the investment in China."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29fc95313a3828a6119e63eecbed8f47eaf44e01bac247432 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29fc95313a3828a6119e63eecbed8f47eaf44e01bac247432 

INDIANA SENATE - DISPUTE ON LUGAR RESIDENCY CONTINUES:This is front page news in the Indianapolis Star. "A Marion County panel&#39;s decision that U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar and his wife cannot legally vote using a former address likely would be easy to remedy.But that fix -- perhaps by registering to vote using the Lugar family&#39;s Marion County farm, in which they share ownership -- might only give fire to tea party claims that Lugar has become an absentee senator. He&#39;s deep in a fight against a Republican primary challenger, Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock.So Lugar plans to appeal a decision that his spokesman decried Thursday as a partisan attack by the Marion County Election
 Board&#39;s two Democratic members.The Election Board voted 2-1 to find that Lugar and his wife, Charlene, are ineligible to vote in their former home precinct on Indianapolis&#39; Westside."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c25e22575e39b790d83912401e97db4e223401a0390c03f01d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c25e22575e39b790d83912401e97db4e223401a0390c03f01d 

UTAH SENATE - EARLY CAUCUSES BODE WELL FOR HATCH:"The Tea Party-inspired drive to oust Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a six-term Republican, got a bit more complicated on Thursday night," the New York Times' Kirk Johnson reports. "Supporters of Mr. Hatch turned up in strong numbers at some packed Republican caucus meetings around the state, where delegates were elected to next month's state party convention...in Utah County, a deeply conservative area in the backyard of Brigham Young University, and hotbed of anti-Hatch sentiment, some prominent opponents of the senator failed to win delegate seats...Some of the senator's opponents emphasized that a lot of delegates professed indecision on the
 question of Mr. Hatch...But some agreed that there was probably more Hatch support in the turnout than they had expected." The convention is on April 21. NYT:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2697838493e72c30f260aff0c396d99b203bd96d59ae7f69b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2697838493e72c30f260aff0c396d99b203bd96d59ae7f69b . Reuters:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2837c82557346c78e0496ceafcfa5e4ff961b444e94d39e73 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2837c82557346c78e0496ceafcfa5e4ff961b444e94d39e73 . Salt Lake Tribune:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c21ebc2d3fd0f8cff8df7ae134cba68158366b0b6492013b8c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c21ebc2d3fd0f8cff8df7ae134cba68158366b0b6492013b8c .

VIRGINIA SENATE SNEAK PEEK - KAINE VIDEO HITS ALLEN'S FISCAL RECORD:Tim Kaine's campaign has posted a web video that marks the anniversary of one of George Allen&#39;s votes against pay-as-you-go rules in the Senate. It highlights that he voted to raise the debt ceiling without corresponding cuts and that the $3 trillion was added to the national debt while he served. The 80-second video is called "Big Spender":
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2575595a97f7f84c55a21254df6d455ce06e891632c773d8c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2575595a97f7f84c55a21254df6d455ce06e891632c773d8c .

NEW YORK HOUSE - GARY ACKERMAN TO RETIRE:"Long-time Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) will retire [after 15 terms], the latest victim of this cycle's redistricting process," Alex Isenstadt reports. "Ackerman had been publicly defiant about running again in his redrawn district, but he has now decided to end his House career instead. Ackerman informed party leaders and colleagues of his decision on Thursday...Ackerman was first elected to the House in March 1983 after stints as a teacher and state senator. He is the second most senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he also served on the Financial Services panel. Ackerman, 69, was well known among his colleagues for wearing a white
 carnation boutonniere each day. He also lives on a houseboat called "Unsinkable II" while in Washington." Alex:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29449c9dc2260a0e9915eddece01cf3662d261f2457af9c3f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29449c9dc2260a0e9915eddece01cf3662d261f2457af9c3f . The Daily News headline calls it asurprise announcement:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2b200c059777bfa17dcce4163ffa78cbfded8f475d6f0e9ee 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2b200c059777bfa17dcce4163ffa78cbfded8f475d6f0e9ee .

WASHINGTON HOUSE - POTENTIAL SPECIAL FOR INSLEE SEAT:"U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee's decision to resign from Congress to focus full time on his gubernatorial race has triggered questions that have state elections officials scrambling to determine whether they need to hold a special election on the same day as the regular November election to fill the final month of his term," per the AP. Katie Blinn, the co-director of elections in the state, "says it&#39;s possible that the state may have to run two elections for the seat on Nov. 6 - one to finish out the final month of December for Inslee&#39;s term based on old boundaries of the 1st District seat, and another for the new two-year term that
 starts in January 2013 under new boundaries drawn during redistricting."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c267208a28a00d3d086c9e32623b955785b4e974362c51a599 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c267208a28a00d3d086c9e32623b955785b4e974362c51a599 

ILLINOIS HOUSE - CANTOR PAC BACKS FROSH OVER GOP VETERAN:"The super PAC aligned with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy is putting $50,000 behind Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger in his nasty primary against fellow GOP Rep. Don Manzullo," Jake Sherman reports. "It's the YG Action Fund's first advertisement purchase: a radio spot that will run Friday through Tuesday evening declaring Kinzinger - a freshman - a 'conservative rock in the fight against runaway government spending.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2046f4447acd0ac18053c131f58724398cfbc607072ad863b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2046f4447acd0ac18053c131f58724398cfbc607072ad863b 

COMING TODAY - NICK EVERHART NAMED PRESIDENT OF THE STRATEGY GROUP FOR MEDIA:"Everhart, the founding President of Strategic Media Placement, the company's media planning and placement arm will take over the day-to-day operations of The Strategy Group for Media immediately," according to a forthcoming release. "Everhart has been with The Strategy Group for Media since 2002, working in all phases of the creative media process from media buying, media planning, script writing, directing, and producing."

LIGHTER CLICKS -

MEGHAN MCCAINposes (clothed) for Playboy. Apparently the adult publication has a monthly, 20-questions feature. Depending on where you work, it might not be safe to go to the magazine's web site:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2eb837531e071f3ca919924f94855ad53223c5f48b535ef8e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2eb837531e071f3ca919924f94855ad53223c5f48b535ef8e . (h/t Caitlin McDevitt)

STEPHEN COLBERT skewered Santorum on his show last night for purported statements about Puerto Ricans needing to speak English and the Dutch forcefully euthanizing their elderly:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c28dc943e522046356b78e25ff6b006d0ca28115c8ce21a708 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c28dc943e522046356b78e25ff6b006d0ca28115c8ce21a708 .

COLBERTSuper PAC fundraising has dried up. He only raised $33,000 last month:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23f29fc6242d2b4e7f4dac1bbb263a63002926aa0e0621c4e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23f29fc6242d2b4e7f4dac1bbb263a63002926aa0e0621c4e .

RUTHERFORD HAYEStrended on Twitter in DC yesterday after the president wrongfully accused the former president of dismissing the telephone as useless. A curator at the Hayes Presidential Center in Ohio pushed back:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23ab90d7b867bf3fa1fb4563dd7aa6e5e6111d891b6672f97 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23ab90d7b867bf3fa1fb4563dd7aa6e5e6111d891b6672f97 . The RNC pounded. BuzzFeed made it a meme.

LINSANITYis officially over, says The New York Times:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29623bb2ba71720dea220dd89640148cb1e9efc9781aef622 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29623bb2ba71720dea220dd89640148cb1e9efc9781aef622 .

BLAGOJEVICHflew from Chicago to Denver to check-in to federal prison, and a local CBS affiliate tagged along:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23a24bf2e9e82532c95f5556cf6a5043fc86f2b70d0b7ea30 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c23a24bf2e9e82532c95f5556cf6a5043fc86f2b70d0b7ea30 .

JEFF SMITH, the former Missouri state senator who spent a year in federal prison after getting caught up with the wrong consultant, offers a dozen tips for the former Illinois governor:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2754966270c6a79455765d447da69da63bc9ffd59e5ac1160 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2754966270c6a79455765d447da69da63bc9ffd59e5ac1160 .

EMAIL CAUGHT IN MY SPAM FILTER:"9-9-9 Revolution Just Getting Started."

THE WINE LISTfrom Wednesday's state dinner:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2164d7d2c70b6c85dd18128b25be00792057d86aa1465abc0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c2164d7d2c70b6c85dd18128b25be00792057d86aa1465abc0 .

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:'There&#39;s a Bulls game on." - Illinois Democrat Debbie Halvorson&#39;s field organizer explains why only two people showed up for a "listening party" a week out from the primary. The former Democratic congresswoman is challenging Jesse Jackson Jr.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c280305effdfd9d8ba668d74548af98ad09cbc82f5ca5edc45 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c280305effdfd9d8ba668d74548af98ad09cbc82f5ca5edc45 

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8542bcf49208b9c29be7af5ecbc91337ff699c3cf067ac73b0127d1242a33691

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