As Sarah Palin embarks on a pivotal week for her future political prospects, a new poll shows just how far she has to go with the American public.

The former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, and possible 2012 presidential contender appears today on "Oprah," officially comes out with her best-selling "Going Rogue" memoir on Tuesday, and does a series of other interviews this week.

But the Washington Post/ABC News poll published today says that 60 percent of Americans do not believe that she is qualified to serve as president. A majority, 53 percent, also say they would not vote for Palin for president in 2012 , while only 9 percent say they would definitely vote for her and another 37 percent say they would consider it.

And a majority, 52 percent, view her unfavorably, though among Republicans, her positive rating soars to 76 percent.

Palin also doesn't fare well in another poll released today.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, only 28 percent said that she is qualified to be president. That is significantly lower than for potential 2012 GOP rivals Mitt Romney (47 percent) and Mike Huckabee (43 percent).

And Palin's number is far behind two high-profile Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton (67 percent say she's qualified to be commander in chief) and Vice President Joe Biden (50 percent.)

UPDATE: In the "Oprah" interview, Palin said that a 2012 bid is "not on my radar screen right now," but didn't rule out that it might be later. "I am dealing with so many issues that are important to me,” said Palin, who resigned over the summer as governor. “What I am seeing every day is that you don’t need a title to be important."

She also deflected any blame for the Republican ticket's loss last year.

"I think the reason we lost is that the economy tanked under a Republican and people were very seriously looking for a change," Palin said. "I don't think I was to blame for losing the race more than I could have been credited for winning the race if I had done a better job."

There's another very early read on the potential Republican presidential field for 2012, and it's not very encouraging for them.

The USA Today/Gallup poll released today found that three high-profile former governors with their own followings -- Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, and Sarah Palin of Alaska -- lead the pack among Republicans questioned.

But the worrisome finding for the GOP is that among all Americans, the poll found that no candidate was able to get a majority to say they would seriously consider voting for him or her for president.

Here are the numbers: 71 percent of Republicans but only 40 percent of all respondents said they would seriously consider voting for Huckabee, who ran last year and now has a talk show on Fox News Channel; 65 percent of Republicans and 39 percent of all Americans said they would consider Romney, who also ran last year; and 65 percent of Republicans but only 33 percent overall said they would seriously consider Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate last year.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour drew even less support.

The GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia are breeding a new competition among Republicans to take part of the credit.

Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, potential rivals for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, both tried to bask in glow.

"We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources to be competitive against his better-financed opponent," Romney told supporters of his Free & Strong America PAC this morning.

"We should be proud of what we have accomplished together; but this is no time to rest on our laurels. We must begin building upon these victories today to ensure that we have the resources we need to take back the Congress in 2010," the former Massachusetts governor exhorted.

For his part, Pawlenty pointed out that the Republican Governors Association -- he is vice chairman -- helped both McDonnell and Christie and saw a similar message in their victories.

"Virginians embraced his conservative message, rejecting more taxes, card-check and spending that would hurt economic growth and job creation," Pawlenty said in a statement.

The Minnesota governor said Christie's win "beat all odds and sends a powerful signal that voters want a return to fiscally conservative leadership."

Neither, however, mentioned the big loss in an upstate New York congressional district, where Republican disunity allowed Democrat Bill Owens to win the seat.

Romney, smartly it turned out, stayed out of the fray. But Pawlenty, after Sarah Palin endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, jumped on his bandwagon.

Fresh off throwing her political weight around in a New York congressional race, Sarah Palin today is trying to help the Republican candidate get over the finish line in Virginia.

Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee and former Alaska governor, gave a high-profile endorsement to Conservative Doug Hoffman in the 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York. That led to the withdrawal over the weekend of Republican Dede Scozzafava, who then turned around and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens.

Today, Virginia voters are getting a recorded phone call from Palin urging them to vote for "Sarah's principles" and telling them that the "eyes of America" are on the governor's race, which pits Republican Bob McDonnell against Democrat Creigh Deeds. Despite some last-week appearances by President Obama on Deeds' behalf, he trails McDonnell in the polls.

Palin is late to the campaign compared to Mitt Romney, a potential rival for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, who has been actively supporting McDonnell.

Mitt Romney's name won't be on the ballot -- and neither will President Obama's -- but both have something at stake in the battles for governor in New Jersey and Virginia next Tuesday.

Romney has campaigned and raised money for the Republican candidates, and Obama has done the same for the Democrats in what some are viewing as a one-year referendum on the president.

Today, Romney sent an email to supporters of his Free and Strong and America PAC, soliciting last-minute contributions. "A donation today can help achieve strong conservative wins in the critical states of Virginia and New Jersey and will give us the momentum we need to take back the House and Senate in 2010," he wrote.

"This is our time. Polls show that we continue to gain strength, but we cannot back down," he continues. "I am doing all I can to stand up for what we believe, but I can't do it alone."

Romney, who sought the GOP presidential nomination last year and is potential contender in 2012, has staked quite a bit of his influence on how Bob McDonnell does in Virginia and Chris Christie fares in New Jersey. The former Massachusetts governor has done more for McDonnell, who is ahead of Democrat Creigh Deeds in the polls, than for Christie, who trails incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine.

UPDATE: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele also expressed confidence in the New Jersey and Virginia races today, issuing a memo giving an extremely rosy view of the party's prospects going forward.

"Just one year ago, many political pundits had written the epitaph of the Republican Party. They claimed the nation had undergone a fundamental realignment from the center-right of the political spectrum toward the Democrats, and that the GOP had become nothing but a regional party – at best," he told supporters.

"Today, Republicans have begun to reestablish the trust of voters on a majority of issues; and, I am proud to say are turning an important corner and are moving forward with strength."
Steele's full memo is below:

In a very early read on the potential GOP presidential field for 2012, new poll results out this morning put former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at the head of the pack.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in second, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in third, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty a distant fourth among Republicans, who were asked who they were most likely to support.

Huckabee, up to 32 percent from 26 percent in February, passed Palin, down to 25 percent from 29 percent. Romney stayed at 21 percent. Pawlenty, who just recently formed a political action committee that is often a precursor to a campaign, wasn't in the February poll.

While Huckabee, Romney, and Pawlenty all have higher favorable numbers than unfavorable, Palin is at 42 percent favorable and 51 percent unfavorable.

And while Palin -- the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2008 and a political lightning rod -- is seen as not a typical politician, a good role model for women, honest, and caring about issues important to respondents, only 29 percent said they believe she is qualified to be president.

The poll, conducted Oct. 16-18, has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, and a margin of error among Republicans of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

President Obama returns Tuesday to Virginia, the state he carried for Democrats for the first time since 1964, in hopes of boosting Democrat Creigh Deeds in a tight race for governor with Republican Bob McDonnell.

The very next day, Mitt Romney, a potential Obama rival in 2012, will be in the state to campaign for McDonnell.

Virginia Republicans announced today that Romney will appear with the entire GOP ticket in a series of three events Wednesday across the state designed as a final push to victory before the Nov. 3 election.

Romney, who supports GOP candidates through his Free and Strong America PAC, endorsed McDonnell and the Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, praising their "pro-growth" economic policies. The former Massachusetts governor has already visited Virginia several times this year to help Republicans raise money. If McDonnell and Bolling win, they can be expected to return the favor if Romney runs in 2012 for the GOP nomination, as he did last year.

Along with the governor's race in New Jersey and a New York congressional election, the Virginia result will be seen as a referendum on Obama.

Seeking to buff up his foreign policy credentials and reaching out to Israel's supporters, Mitt Romney is telling a major pro-Israel group today that he is "very concerned" by the Obama administration's Mideast policy.

"In pursuit of a peace process, the United States today has exerted substantial pressure on Israel while putting almost no pressure on the Palestinians and the Arab world," the former Massachusetts governor, 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, and possible 2012 contender said to the AIPAC national summit in San Diego.

Obama has been pushing for a renewal of negotiations toward a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority -- and has been pressuring Israel to stop expanding settlements on the West Bank.

But saying that America and Israel are "bound together by common commitments and shared values," Romney says US policy should recognize that.

"Inexplicably, the United States now places the burden on Israel to make still more unilateral concessions," he said. "At the United Nations, we decried the building of new Israeli settlements but ignored the launching of Palestinian rockets. How is this possible? Have we not yet learned from the concessions in Gaza, as well as from all recorded history, that giving in to the demands of oppressors always and only leads to more demands, not to peace?

"We can encourage both parties in the conflict, but we must never forget which one is our ally. Nor must we forget that Hamas, like other violent Jihadists, does not have a two-state solution as its objective—it has the conquest and annihilation of Israel as its objective. The notion that Hamas and violent Jihadists are motivated by 'shared interests' and 'common goals' is naďve in the extreme and dangerous to the entire free world."

Romney also inveighs against the United Nations, which is about to consider a report accusing Israel of war crimes during its assault in Gaza, saying it "has become a forum for invective against the Jewish state."

And Romney urged a hard line against Iran's nuclear ambitions and warned against Obama's desire for talks.

"At this late stage I would simply say that it is long past time for America to recognize the nature of the regime we are dealing with," he said. "The Iranian regime is unalloyed evil, run by people who are at once ruthless and fanatical. Stop thinking that a charm offensive will talk the Iranians out of their pursuit of nuclear weapons. It will not. And agreements, unenforceable and unverifiable, will have no greater impact here than they did in North Korea. Once an outstretched hand is met with a clenched fist, it becomes a symbol of weakness and impotence."

His full prepared remarks are below:

The bad blood between top aides to Senator John McCain and his running mate last year, Sarah Palin, apparently is lingering.

Steve Schmidt, McCain's presidential campaign manager, didn't have very nice things to say today about Palin's prospects as a presidential candidate in 2012.

"I think that she has talents," Schmidt said at The Atlantic magazine's "First Draft of History Conference" in Washington. "But my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012, and in fact, were she the nominee, we could have a catastrophic election result."

"I don't think it's inconceivable that she could be the Republican nominee for president of the United States," he said. "I do think it's fairly inconceivable that she could be elected President of the United States."

McCain's top aides clashed with Palin and her aides behind the scenes last year as she started to outshine McCain and draw bigger crowds and didn't always follow the campaign script, then disparaged her for, among other things, padding her campaign wardrobe.

Palin will get to air her side in what is shaping up to be a best-selling book, with a first printing of 1.5 million. Palin's memoir, titled "Going Rogue," has zoomed to No. 1 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com just two days after the publisher announced it had moved up the release date to Nov. 17.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, among the Republicans angling for a possible 2012 presidential bid, formally submitted papers today to the Federal Election Commission to launch a political action committee to help fellow Republicans -- and start collecting political IOUs.

The Freedom First PAC "will offer financial support to candidates committed to putting freedom before government, and provide organizational support for Pawlenty to promote his innovative, conservative message," according to today's announcement.

It is similar to the Free and Strong America PAC that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney -- a potential rival in 2012 -- launched last year after Romney dropped out of the 2008 race. Like Romney's PAC, it also boasts a website. (The top item in "The Latest" section of the site is a link to a Wall Street Journal story today that says Pawlenty is laying the groundwork for a 2012 run.)
 
“Right now, our freedoms are being challenged on many fronts,” Pawlenty said in a statement. “This organization is dedicated to putting freedom first again in America. By helping candidates and translating our ideas into policies that everyone can relate to and support, we can turn back the growth of Washington and renew the promise of freedom.”
 
The PAC's co-chairmen are William H. Strong, the vice chairman of Morgan Stanley, and Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman.
 
“There’s a big debate about the role of government and personal freedom raging at the moment, and I’m excited to help promote fresh new ideas, and new leaders.” Weber said in a statement. “Given Tim’s successful record in Minnesota, he’s in a unique position to harness that energy and help other candidates.”

UPDATE: The Democratic National Committee quickly pounced, saying that Pawlenty's PAC is advised and led by "the same Washington lobbyists, insiders and former advisers to President Bush whose brand of politics and approach to policies resulted in America being less secure at home, less respected in the rest of the world, and gave the United States the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The DNC followed up with a web video.

"Talk about back to the future," DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement. "Recycling advisers from George W. Bush and relying on Washington insiders and lobbyists has to be utterly disappointing for those who thought Tim Pawlenty would bring a fresh approach to the Republican Party. The fact is - Tim Pawlenty, in his recent public pronouncements and now in who he has surrounded himself with, has proven that he represents more of the same - the same failed priorities, policies and now advisers. Rather than changing the image of a tired and failed party, Tim Pawlenty is reinforcing an image of Republicans as the Party of NO and a party that has no new leadership and no new ideas."

The Democratic Party trained its sights on a new target today -- Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty -- after bashing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for days.

Pawlenty is preparing to launch a national fund-raising committee, another sign that he is looking at a possible 2012 presidential run.

The Democratic National Committee says that betrays Pawlenty's pledge to finish his term strong. He had earlier announced he would not seek reelection next year.

"Tim Pawlenty is quickly becoming the definition of 'say one thing and do another,' " DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement this afternoon. "Today's news about Pawlenty starting a political action committee is just the latest in a series of broken pledges by the Governor - first breaking his pledge to not raise taxes on the people of Minnesota, and now breaking his pledge to finish his term ‘strong’ as Governor. This is just more evidence that Pawlenty is, at best, a part-time Governor who cares more about his national political ambitions than the people of Minnesota."

Alex Conant, a former Republican National Committee spokesman who now is an adviser to Pawlenty, responded to the DNC: "Governor Pawlenty is in the process of starting the 'Freedom First' PAC. I expect it will launch within the next few weeks. When the Governor said he wouldn't seek re-election, he said in addition to finishing his term strong, he would help other Republicans candidates, and obviously a PAC is one key way to do that. In recent weeks, he has spoken to various groups, campaigned with various candidates, and been elected vice-chair of the Republican Governors Association. Starting a PAC is a logistical next step, and one that he has talked about on the record several times."

Creating such a group is typical for presidential hopefuls, including Barack Obama, who started his in 2005.

Pawlenty's "Freedom First" political action committee would be similar to the one that Romney launched last year after dropping out of the GOP nomination fight. Romney's Free & Strong America PAC reported that it had raised $2.3 million for the 2010 election cycle, with about $811,000 in cash as of Aug. 31.

Both Romney and Pawlenty were on Senator John McCain's short list for a vice presidential nominee.

The Democratic National Committee said Mitt Romney's appearance on Fox News Channel this morning was "vintage Romney" -- and it didn't mean it in a nice way.

Romney -- the former Massachusetts governor, 2008 GOP presidential contender, and possible 2012 hopeful -- slammed the Obama administration on health care and climate change bills, saying that Americans are souring on the president and his Democratic allies.

"They see a cap and trade bill that would add the cost to the American family of $1,761, they don't like that," Romney said. "They see a health care plan where government would ultimately be able to take over health, they don't like that."

But the DNC asserted that Romney supported a similar Northeast regional cap-and-trade system -- limiting carbon emissions and creating a market for pollution credits -- as governor.

It also pointed out that Politifact, an independent fact-checking organization, concluded that the claim is false. While the $1,761 figure has been propagated on various conservative websites and repeated by other politicians, it assumes that all the pollution credits would have to be bought by industry, which would pass on the entire cost to consumers. But the latest bills would give away some of the credits and would earmark the revenue from the sale of credit to help offset higher power bills for consumers.

The DNC, however, failed to acknowledge that while Romney initially supported the Northeast plan, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, he backed out in December 2005, citing concerns over the cost to consumers.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom responded, "Governor Romney refused to sign the RGGI agreement because of his concern for how much it would cost individuals and businesses in terms of higher electricity prices. It's hard to fathom how even the most hardened Romney critics at the DNC could construe that to mean he supported RGGI."

"The $1,761 per family average cost of a national cap and trade program is truly frightening. Barack Obama himself said that under his cap and trade proposal, energy prices would 'skyrocket.' It looks like his prediction is right on the mark," Fehrnstrom added.

The DNC also asserted that the health care bills before Congress share quite a few proposals with the system that Romney helped push through for Massachusetts.

"On Fox News this morning, Mitt Romney reminded us why he was such a flawed candidate in the 2008 election," the DNC said. "In pandering to the right wing, he criticized a health care plan that is not unlike the one he helped pass as Governor of Massachusetts and criticized a cap and trade plan that is similar to the one he once endorsed as Governor. While Romney changes his position on every issue he once supported to once again appeal to the right wing, it raises the real question of why he thinks they will believe his new positions this time when they didn't buy his make-over last time."

Despite criticism from conservatives that the plan has been a failure and raised costs, Romney takes pride in authorship of much of the Massachusetts health care plan, but stresses that it does not include the government-run public option that most Republicans vehemently oppose.

"I as a Republican governor reformed health care, and not every aspect of the reform was perfect," Romney told the Values Voter Summit. "But we did get everybody insured without breaking the bank and without a government option."

Romney also made headlines over the weekend with his appearance at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, where he unleashed a barrage of attacks on Obama and the Democrats.

"I'll bet you never dreamed you’d look back at Jimmy Carter as the good old days," he said in one of his barbs. (Read more of his remarks here.)

After winning the presidential straw poll at the summit in 2007, however, Romney finished a distant second this time to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, also a rival for the GOP nomination last year.

Also, the DNC is blasting Romney for holding a fund-raiser today for Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, whose views on women have come under scrutiny, particularly after disclosure of a 20-year-old graduate thesis that appeared to denigrate working women.

"I suppose if Mitt Romney's trying to burnish his right wing credentials to make up for the credibility gap with his party's base that his serial flip-flopping has earned him, embracing a candidate so extreme that he believes that women shouldn't work outside the home, victims of rape and incest should be denied medical options, and even married adults should not have access to contraception, is a good way to go," DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement.

It's way early yet, but a gathering of Christian conservative activists in Washington starting today will give another read on the field of Republican presidential hopefuls for 2012.

The Values Voter Summit will hold a straw poll that includes former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Texas Representative Ron Paul, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Representative Mike Pence, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

Pence, Huckabee, and Pawlenty are to speak to the conference today, while Romney is scheduled to deliver remarks on Saturday. The straw poll results are to be announced Saturday.

"The 2012 presidential primaries may be several years away but many value voters are already surveying the field of possible candidates," Tony Perkins, president of summit sponsor Family Research Council Action, said in a statement. "This straw poll is an early test for possible presidential contenders who have shown leadership on the
major issues facing our country."

Romney narrowly won over Huckabee in the straw poll at the 2007 summit -- helping to launch their 2008 campaigns that eventually fell short -- but questions were raised about the results because anyone could vote online by donating $1.

Romney, however, did not use the 2007 event to give his big speech about his Mormon faith. Romney was also the headliner last year.

UPDATE: In an interview on CNN this afternoon, Romney blasted Obama's decision to scrap an antiballistic missile defense shield based in Eastern Europe and instead deploy a system targeted at shorter range missiles from Iran.

Romney said the decision harmed US allies in Poland and the Czech Republic, who had agreed to host the missile system -- "kicking sand in their faces," jeopardizes US security and that of it allies, and sends a dangerous message to Russia.

"It tells Vladimir Putin that if you bellow loud enough, America will back down," he said.

Mitt Romney is probably one of the last people President Obama is looking to for advice on how to get a health care bill done.

But the former Massachusetts governor, who sought the GOP presidential nomination last year and could very well run again in 2012, offered some guidance anyway this morning.

Romney said on CBS's "Early Show" that the president is to blame for the slowing momentum on the bill, faulting Obama for giving too much say to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic liberals.

"If the president wants to get something done, he needs to put aside the extreme liberal wing of his party," Romney said.

While Obama has been stumping for a sweeping health care bill, he has left the details of the drafting to Congress, where majority Democrats are divided. Members of the Blue Dog coalition of conservative Democrats have balked at some provisions, and more moderate Democrats in the Senate are still trying to cut a deal with Republicans. The intraparty divisions emerged clearly this week when it appeared that Obama was backing away from insisting that a public option be part of any bill.

Sarah Palin's surprise resignation and uneven performance since has done her no favors in the popularity department.

Findings released today from a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found that 39 percent of Americans view Palin favorably, while 48 percent view her unfavorably.

That's a noticeable drop from 46 percent favorable-43 percent unfavorable numbers she received in mid-May.

Palin announced on July 3 that she was resigning as Alaska's governor midway through her term, drawing criticism from some quarters that she was a quitter.

Many political observers saw that as a move toward running for president in 2012 because it would enable her to spend more time in the lower 48 and garner more attention. In early prognostications, she is on the short list for the possible GOP nominee.

Her numbers peaked at 57 percent favorable-27 percent unfavorable soon after John McCain made her his surprise choice for vice presidential nominee. The new poll, conducted July 31-Aug. 3, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Mitt Romney has inked a book deal with St. Martin's Press, and it seems to outline a campaign manifesto for a possible 2012 presidential bid, the New York Times is reporting today.

Titled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” the book includes the former Massachusetts governor's views on the economy, military, education, healthcare, and energy, as well as his prescriptions for strengthening the family and citizenship.

The book is to be published in March 2010, just as the mid-term election campaign revs up. It is not unusual for national politicians to write such books in advance of campaigns. Romney, who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year, is also a frequent contributor and commentator in newspapers and cable TV shows and has a political action committee to help Republican candidates.

Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney agree in their disdain for the healthcare overhaul plan Democrats and President Obama are trying to push through.

But they have been sparring in recent days over the right approach -- a preview, perhaps, of the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes.

The Minnesota governor and former Massachusetts governor, who were both on Senator John McCain's short list for vice president last year, both appear to be laying the groundwork for possible 2012 bids.

Pawlenty, in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post over the weekend and in a letter last week to Minnesota's congressional delegation, not surprisingly promoted his state's plan.

"In Minnesota, our state employee health-care plan has demonstrated incredible results by linking outcomes to value. State employees in Minnesota can choose any clinic available to them in the health-care network they've selected. However, individuals who use more costly and less-efficient clinics are required to pay more out-of-pocket," he wrote.

But more interestingly, he took some pointed swipes at the healthcare overhaul in Massachusetts, one of Romney's biggest accomplishments as governor, though he ran away from the parts most objectionable to conservatives during his presidential campaign.

"Massachusetts's experience should caution Congress against focusing primarily on access. While the Massachusetts plan has reduced the number of uninsured people, costs have been dramatically higher than expected. The result? Increased taxes and fees. The Boston Globe has reported on a current short-term funding gap and the need to obtain a new federal bailout," Pawlenty wrote in the Post. "Imagine the scope of tax increases, or additional deficit spending, if that approach is utilized for the entire country."

Romney, in an op-ed piece in USA Today, even as he accused Obama from rushing through a bad plan, defended the Massachusetts plan against Pawlenty's critique.

"Massachusetts also proved that you don't need government insurance. Our citizens purchase private, free-market medical insurance. There is no "public option." With more than 1,300 health insurance companies, a federal government insurance company isn't necessary. It would inevitably lead to massive taxpayer subsidies, to lobbyist-inspired coverage mandates and to the liberals' dream: a European-style single-payer system. To find common ground with skeptical Republicans and conservative Democrats, the president will have to jettison left-wing ideology for practicality and dump the public option," Romney wrote.

"When our bill passed three years ago, the legislature projected that our program would cost $725 million in 2009. At $723 million, next year's forecast is pretty much on target. When you calculate all the savings, including that from the free hospital care we eliminated, the net cost to the state is approximately $350 million. The watchdog Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation concluded that our program's cost is 'relatively modest' and 'well within initial projections.' "

The new polls published today are a case of good news-bad news for President Obama.

In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, his job approval rating dropped to 53 percent -- which the pollsters note is precisely the percentage of the popular vote he won in November. That drop is largely because the thrill is gone for Obama among independents and Republicans -- his approval among those groups is 49 percent and 16 percent, respectively, which is close to what exit polls suggested he received in the election.

But Obama's favorable-unfavorable split -- 55 percent to 34 percent -- is still head and shoulders above most other national politicians.

In the NBC/Journal poll, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton does about as well as the president at 53 percent-31 percent. Vice President Joe Biden is barely breaking even at 38 percent-36 percent, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is underwater at 25 percent-44 percent.

Among possible Republican opponents in 2012, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is at 28 percent favorable-20 percent unfavorable, much better than former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at 32 percent-43 percent.

But 50 percent of all respondents and 33 percent of Republicans said they didn't want Romney to become president and 67 percent of Americans and 43 percent of Republicans said they didn't want Palin in the Oval Office.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, along with a New York Times/CBS News poll, also were the latest to show eroding support for Obama's healthcare overhaul plan as more details emerge and as critics assail it.

In the NBC survey, 42 percent opposed the plan, up 10 percentage points from last month, while only 36 percent support it.

By coincidence, Republicans managed to stiff Hispanics on two fronts today.

All but one Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Latina on the Supreme Court. And several prominent Republicans, including GOP chairman Michael Steele, skipped the annual meeting of National Council of La Raza, the country's top Latino civil rights group.

Republicans risk their political future since Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US.

“With today’s vote, the country is one step closer to having a new Supreme Court Justice and our community is one step closer to seeing history made by having the first Hispanic ever on the U.S. Supreme Court. We commend the Judiciary Committee for its support and we urge Senate leadership to bring her nomination to the floor of the Senate as quickly as possible,” Janet Murguía, the council's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Democrats, who benefited mightily from the Latino vote last November in making inroads in the West, are taking full advantage.

Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine made sure to note the historic nature of Sotomayor's expected rise to the Supreme Court. “Throughout her hearings, Judge Sotomayor demonstrated why she is one of the most qualified candidates ever nominated to the Court. With experience as a prosecutor, a corporate litigator and a judge, she will bring more federal judicial experience than any justice in the 100 years. And her incredible life story is something all Americans can draw inspiration from. Every American should be proud today that the country is one step closer to having our first-ever Latina Supreme Court Justice," he said in a statement.

Kaine was also the featured speaker today at the National Council of La Raza conclave, and he was effusive in his praise and outreach -- in both English and Spanish.

"I think it’s safe to say that President Obama wouldn’t have won Virginia (for the first time since 1964), and wouldn’t have the White House so overwhelmingly without the support of the Latino Community, so I thank you for that," Kaine said in prepared remarks.

"Your stop the hate campaign has also been incredibly influential. Your work is pivotal in fighting for the things that matter to us as Americans, and that make our country great."
(His full prepared remarks are below.)

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration overhaul group, questioned the Republican tactics.

“Clearly, the GOP has not learned the lessons of the 2006 and 2008 elections when it comes to courting Latino voters," he said in a statement. "In one of the most remarkable falls from political grace in recent electoral history, the efforts by President Bush and Karl Rove to win over Latino voters, especially Latino immigrant voters, was torn asunder from 2005 on by the rightwing revolt against comprehensive immigration reform and the demonization of hardworking immigrant families.

"So, what does the GOP do to recover? Oppose Judge Sotomayor, ignore the largest Latino organization in the country, and distort the health care debate by scapegoating immigrants. What is the definition of ‘insanity’ again? It’s time for common-sense conservatives and moderate Republicans who understand that antagonizing the fastest growing group of new voters in the country amounts to political suicide to stand up and take on the radical right and their know-nothing tendencies.”

Mitt Romney's political action committee reported today that it raised $1.6 million in the first six months this year, and it handed out $74,274 to state and federal candidates, leaving it with more than $840,000 in the till.

Romney's Free and Strong America PAC, which helps Republican candidates, is the former Massachusetts governor's vehicle to collect chits as he contemplates a possible second presidential bid in 2012.

Among the beneficiaries: $5,000 each from the PAC went to Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, Representative Roy Blunt who is running for US Senate in Missouri, and Jim Tedisco, who lost a close race in a special election in an upstate New York congressional district. It also contributed $1,000 each to the “Undaunted Dozen,” a group of House Republicans targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for their votes against the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

Romney's PAC contributed the maximum $6,800 to Republican Chris Christie’s New Jersey gubernatorial campaign. Today, President Obama is headed to New Jersey to raise money for Democratic Governor Jon Corzine.

And even though it's very early, Romney leads the Republican field for 2012 in a new Gallup Poll out today.

Among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents surveyed July 10-12, Romney gets the support of 26 percent, compared to 21 percent for Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year who is resigning as Alaska governor at month's end. Palin's PAC brought in about $733,000 during the first six months of 2009.

Mike Huckabee, who like Romney lost to Senator John McCain for the nomination last year, comes in third at 19 percent, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 14 percent.

But thanks to high name recognition, Palin leads in favorable ratings with 72 percent, compared to 59 percent for Huckabee and 56 percent for Romney.

"Though it is little over a year since the 2008 GOP primaries, Americans' opinions of Romney and Huckabee have changed significantly. Notably, each seems to have lost a significant share of the public familiarity he built up during the campaign. There has been a double-digit increase in the percentage of Americans who do not express either a positive or a negative opinion of both Romney and Huckabee," Gallup says.

At this point, it could be construed as piling on.

But the Democratic National Committee is continuing its assault on Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee last year, soon-to-be-former governor of Alaska, and potential 2012 contender.

It posted a web video today that takes advantage of the hipster Urban Dictionary adding an entry called "pullin' a Palin" -- basically quitting midstream when times get tough.

It is today's word or phrase of the day. The definition:
"1. Quitting when the going gets tough; abandoning the responsibility entrusted to you by your neighbors for book advances and to make money on the lecture circuit.

"2. Bizarre move that will damn ambitions for higher office."

Palin shocked her state and much of the political universe a week ago when she announced her resignation as governor, 18 months before her term ends.

The DNC video is not very creative -- it just lifts a segment from Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" show on MSNBC that also wraps in sex scandal-plagued South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Senators Larry Craig and John Ensign.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has gone fishing -- literally -- since her shocking announcement that she is resigning.

But the polarizing Palin resurfaced today on the morning news shows, wearing her waders but not taking the bait to make her political future clear.

Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year and in the conversation for 2012, told CNN that "all options are on the table" for her future and said she wants to stay involved in national public life.

“We have so many people who offer advice, but I’m going to continue to be, whether some of ‘em like it or not, pretty darn independent, and not get wrapped up into a strong political machine that hasn’t been extremely successful in some ways,” she said on Fox News Channel. "I want to work, right now, for people who are going to work in office or out of office for the right things. Those principles that built up America, those who are inspired by the values of America, and will not deride or apologize for the values we hold as Americans. I’m gonna work for those people.”

But she also told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she recognizes that her resignation -- disclosed in a rambling speech in the news dead zone of the Friday of July Fourth weekend -- might have damaged her prospects. "You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it," she said.

She tried to portray her unusual decision as befitting her political character. "That caught people off guard," she said. "It's out of the box and unconventional. That's what we are as Alaskans and certainly how I am as a public servant."

While Palin's critics have suggested that she is stepping aside to avoid some scandal, her lawyer has said she has no legal problems and just wants to end legal bills from ethics investigations and other distractions. The FBI took the unusual step on Monday of saying publicly that she is not under investigation.

In the Fox interview, Palin also continued her complaints against the media, whose critical coverage she suggests helped drive her from office.

“Most candidates, most public officials get to look into a camera and say, 'You know you better leave your hands off my kids." Well I haven’t been able to say that. And that double standard that’s been applied, that’s been a little bit frustrating,” she said.

“These are political shots. Other people take a heck of a lot tougher shots than I do, our kids over there in the war zone. People losing their jobs or their homes right now, they have it a heck of a lot tougher than I do taking political shots, or hearing bull crap that’s broadcast out there on the airwaves. I can handle that.”

But Democrats are having a field day. The Democratic National Committee compiled a web video of fellow Republicans criticizing Palin for quitting, calling her behavior "bizarre," among other things.

Her core supporters, however, remain behind her. Team Sarah, a political networking site, claims 70,000 members.

"Team Sarah members anxiously await Palin’s next decision on how she believes she can best serve our nation. Since the 2008 election, the continual presence of personal attacks on both Governor Palin and her family indicate that she remains a threat to the liberal feminist political establishment,” the group's co-founder, Jane Abraham, said in a statement. “Despite criticism, Governor Palin’s success will endure. Team Sarah’s thousands of members remain as engaged as ever on TeamSarah.org. The Governor has inspired millions, and her audience of enthusiastic support will only grow in the future.”

UPDATE: Palin's abrupt resignation doesn't seem to have changed many minds about her one way or the other, and she remains a polarizing figure.

In a USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted Monday and released late today, 70 percent of voters said their opinion of Palin hadn't changed/

Her core support of 19 percent of voters said they would be "very likely" to support her if she ran for president in 2012, while another 24 percent said they would be somewhat likely do so.

But 41 percent said they were not at all likely to back Palin.

Not surprisingly, there is a huge partisan divide. While 35 percent of Republicans said they were very likely to supporter Palin, only 19 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats said so.

Maybe Mitt Romney should look warily over his shoulder, lest a political calamity befall him, too.

Continuing President Obama's political good fortune, a growing list of possible Republican opponents in 2012 is falling by the wayside, often due to self-inflicted wounds.

Two weeks ago, Senator John Ensign of Nevada admitted a messy extramarital affair with a former campaign staffer, likely taking himself out of the running.

This week, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took more hits in a scathing piece in Vanity Fair magazine in which unnamed aides to Senator John McCain, who picked her as the GOP vice presidential nominee last year, basically said she was not ready for prime time.

And, of course, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford keeps digging his political grave deeper and deeper, confessing on Tuesday to indiscretions with women other than his Argentinian mistress, whom he called his soul mate.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran last year for the Republican nomination, has kept himself largely unscathed since Obama took office, even as he has kept himself omnipresent on cable TV. He has continued raising money for fellow Republicans, collecting chits along the way. He has burnished his foreign policy credentials, his weak area last year. In an attention-grabbing speech last month, he assailed Obama's national security strategy, asserting that the president is endangering America and unnecessarily apologizing on the country's behalf.

As the Republican field opens up before him, Romney's continuing strength could help explain why Democratic groups criticize him at every opportunity, often reviving the accusation that he will flip-flop on issues when to his political advantage.

She's back.

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year, returned to her job as Alaska's governor and laid low for weeks, avoiding high-profile appearances.

But she made several appearances in New York over the weekend, she's stayed in the first tier of candidates in the early handicapping for 2012, and she's now making the rounds of the cable talking head shows.

Unsurprisingly, she takes a rather dim view of how President Obama is doing.

“A lot of this is wrapped in good rhetoric but we’re not seeing those actions," she says in an interview airing tonight on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" show. "And this many months into the new administration, quite disappointed, quite frustrated with not seeing those actions to rein in spending, slow down the growth of government. Instead Sean, it is the complete opposite. It’s expanding at such a large degree that if Americans aren’t paying attention, unfortunately our country could evolve into something that we do not even recognize. Certainly that is so far from what the founders of our country had in mind for us.”

According to excerpts released by Fox, she also hits Obama on the government's actions on General Motors, which declared bankruptcy last week in hopes of emerging a streamlined company that can survive.

“America is digging a deeper hole - and how are we paying for this government largesse? We’re borrowing. We’re borrowing from China and when you consider that now we own sixty percent of General Motors – or the U.S. government does," Palin says… "But who is the U.S. government becoming more indebted to? It’s China. So that leads you to have to ask - who is really going to own our car industry in America?”

Asked whether she missed the spotlight, Palin replied: “I love my time in Alaska. At the same time though I crave, if not my voice, other voices out there being bold, being strong letting Americans know that those that are concerned about the growth of government and about national security issues, they’re not alone. There are others who are empathizing and more than empathizing are wanting to take action to make sure that economically and physically that our homeland is safe and secure.”

It's never too early, apparently, to start handicapping the field for the 2012 presidential race.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found what amounts to a dead heat among Republican contenders, with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at 22 percent, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at 21 percent and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney also at 21 percent.

Huckabee and Romney lost out to John McCain for the GOP nomination last year, while Palin was McCain's running mate. The difference among them was well within the poll's margin of sampling error.

The poll found that 13 percent of Republicans backing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 6 percent supporting former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and 10 percent someone else. Missing from the lead pack is Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who announced Tuesday he will not seek a third term as governor, immediately setting off speculation that he will run in 2012.

Romney is also giving every indication he's seriously considering another bid. In the latest in a series of TV interviews, he was asked on NBC's "Today" show this morning about 2012.

"No, I'm looking right now at trying to get some Republicans getting elected in 2009 and 2010," Romney said, adding, "And what happens later, ... that's a very distant horizon."

Romney also continued his assault on President Obama's foreign policy as the president landed in Saudi Arabia, saying while there's nothing wrong with "showing our respect for the people in the world of Islam," it's inappropriate for Obama to "go around the world apologizing" as Romney suggested he did during his first trip abroad.

Interviewed at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Romney said Obama should talk more about the sacrifices the United States has made on other nations' behalf, such as during World War II, "what we have done in blood and sacrifice."

Obama will almost certainly do that on Saturday in Normandy at a commemoration on the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

Ask Mitt Romney about his presidential ambitions, and he artfully demurs.

But his schedule keeps looking like that of someone who has his eyes on 2012.

The former Massachusetts governor, who sought the GOP nomination last year, is to be the keynote speaker tonight at the Virginia Republican Party's big Commonwealth Gala dinner in Richmond. That is his latest appearance before the party faithful.

Sunday, Romney is scheduled to make his latest appearance on a political talk show, on Fox News Sunday.

And on Monday morning, he is scheduled to give a major policy speech on national security at the high-profile Heritage Foundation in Washington. This is his latest foray into critiquing President Obama on a wide range of issues, including domestic and economic policy.

Romney's sold-out speech, titled "The Care of Freedom," is to kick off Heritage's "Protect America Month."

"This past Monday after North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, President Barack Obama said, 'North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community' and warranted action by the international community," Heritage's announcement said. "Next Monday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will deliver an address at the Navy Memorial Burke Theater assessing the Obama administration’s response to Pyongyang and America’s larger leadership role in the world."

By Sasha Issenberg, Globe correspondent

PHOENIX – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney joined Bush administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, in arguing today that President Obama’s approach to combating terrorism had left the country less safe.

"It's the very kind of thinking that left America vulnerable to the attacks of September 11th," Romney told the National Rifle Association's annual gathering. “And the approval of left-wing law professors and editorial boards won’t be worth much if this country lets down its guard and suffers an attack."

Even while declaring an end to past interrogation practices he calls “torture,” Obama has alienated many in his own party with a cautious approach to the issue. He has rebuffed calls to investigate Bush administration policymakers and release photographs of in that military leaders have said would be unnecessarily provocative. Today, the White House announced it would resume the use of military commissions to try those in American custody, a practice that Obama had criticized as a candidate.

"I'm glad he's continuing to hold military tribunals for terrorists," said Romney, who also said he approved of Obama’s hawkish approach to ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "In fact, whenever he adopts the policies of John McCain and George W. Bush like this, I’m glad."

Romney, who ran for president in 2008, was the closing speaker on an agenda that included Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele and McCain, last year’s Republican presidential nominee. The stop was Romney's latest on a circuit of conservative interest groups that many Republicans see as the opening lap in a prospective 2012 campaign.

Despite Romney's solidarity with their priorities, gun owners were slow to rally behind him as a candidate. Romney joined the National Rifle Association only shortly before becoming a national candidate and did not own a gun of his own. He reluctantly acknowledged that he had only been hunting twice in his life and had focused on prey such as rodents and rabbits. "Small varmints, if you will," he said then.

Today Romney was warmly received as he paid tribute to gun rights. Most of his speech, however, was devoted to the day’s broadest critique of a Democratic agenda he said amounted to "the greatest federal power-grab in American history."

Romney took issue with Obama's plans to change the healthcare system, which is based partially on the plan Romney helped to enact while governor of Massachusetts mandating citizens carry insurance.

"The best path to healthcare reform is to let the American people make their own decisions, not have those decisions forced on them by government," Romney said. "Let Washington choose the stamps for the post office, but let the American people choose who we want for our doctor."

Could it be the latest sign that Mitt Romney is preparing to run for president again?

Hotline is reporting that Romney is making moves to establish his legal residency in New Hampshire -- site of the first-in-the-nation primary.

The former Massachusetts governor is selling homes in Belmont, Mass., and in Utah, and plans to spend time at his summer home on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Granite State, notes Hotline, the political blog of the National Journal.

UPDATE: Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said in an email this afternoon: "Mitt Romney is still a Massachusetts resident. There have been no changes in his status."

Romney lost the New Hampshire primary last year to John McCain, but the Arizona senator won't be running in 2012.

Romney, who after dropping out of the nomination race formed a political action committee that helps Republican candidates, is now an oft-quoted critic of President Obama and a big wheel in the new GOP policy effort, the National Council for a New America.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney headlined congressional Republicans' big new policy conclave over the weekend, stressing the need to listen to real Americans, but also appearing to slap a potential rival for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

At the National Council for a New America's first "conversation" in Arlington, Va., Romney, who ran for the Republican nomination last year and has kept his name in the conversation for 2012, joined House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in presiding over the panel.

"I’ve learned that when you sit in a position of responsibility as you do now and as we did once, you typically get the best ideas that really make a difference from people that you’re serving," Romney said, citing his experience helping pass the Bay State's universal healthcare plan.

“Listening to people can make a difference and we’ve got ideas about how we can help people get health insurance, how we can improve our schools, how we can make our economy strong today as well as down the road, how we can reform entitlements," he added. "These are the people of America that have these ideas. We want to share these ideas with one another and make sure that we’re laying out a vision and a plan for America that makes our lives and the lives of our kids better."

But what earned Romney the most publicity was what appeared to be a diss of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate last year and a possible competitor for the 2012 nomination.

On CNN on Sunday, Romney was asked about Time magazine including Palin on its list of “The World’s Most Influential People.”

After toeing the party line and saying that he wanted more Republicans on the list, he said, “I think there are a lot more influential Republicans than that would suggest. But was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people?”

“I'm not sure. If it's the most beautiful, I understand. We're not real cute.”

Romney, by the way, was on People magazine's list of 50 beautiful Americans in 2002.

UPDATE: This evening, Cantor announced that Palin has joined the council's panel of experts, with Romney.

“When NCNA was announced last week, we spoke about a dynamic organization that worked to constantly bring in new people and innovative ideas," Cantor said in a statement. "The launch of the National Council was just the first step in a growing effort to engage the American people in a candid discussion as we work to overcome our shared challenges with common-sense ideas, building a stronger nation along the way.

“I look forward to welcoming additional local and national leaders to the National Council in the days, weeks, and months ahead.”

Reeling congressional Republicans today launched a new effort days after their latest setback -- the defection of Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, putting Democrats within reach of potentially being able to push legislation through the Senate without a single Republican vote.

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor announced that the National Council for a New America will hold its first event on Saturday with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who ran last year and could run again in 2012; Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, another possible 2012 contender; former Governor Jeb Bush, the former president's brother; and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a former national GOP chairman.

The council appears a way to rebut Democratic portrayals of the GOP as the "party of no" by pulling together a cohesive policy strategy by the opposition.

While acknowledging the GOP's image and electoral problems, Cantor and Senator John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee last year, disputed that the effort is a "rebranding" of the party.

On a conference call, Cantor told reporters that "what we're aiming to do is to join together in a conversation with the American people" on major looming issues such as healthcare, energy, and national security.

McCain called it an effort to include Americans across ideological spectrum -- Republicans, independents, and like-minded Democrats -- to come up with solutions to issues such as healthcare. "We're going to spread a wide tent," he said.

"This is not a Contract with America," McCain added, referring to the campaign promises that Newt Gingrich and Republicans used to win a House majority in 1994. "This is a conversation with America."

McCain also addressed reports that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, his vice presidential pick last year, was not invited, saying that she could be involved.

"We've reached out to her," he said.

The letter announcing the council is below:

Mitt Romney, past and possible future GOP presidential hopeful, jumped today into the bashing of President Obama's foreign policy.

The former Massachusetts governor writes today in National Review's online edition that Obama has failed his first tests as commander-in-chief and damaged America's standing in the world by not objecting to verbal attacks on the United States and by apologizing for past actions.

"The words spoken by the leader of the free world can expand the frontiers of freedom or shrink them," Romney wrote in the op-ed.

Romney says that "when our nation was slandered," Obama "offered silence, smiles, and a handshake."

"Even more troubling than what he has or has not said is what he has not done," Romney adds. "Kim Jong Il launched a long-range missile on the very day President Obama addressed the world about the peril of nuclear proliferation. As one of the world’s most oppressive and tyrannical regimes is on the brink of securing the “game changing” capability to reach American shores with a nuclear weapon, the president shrinks from action: no seizure of North Korean funds, no severance of banking access, no blockade."

Romney concludes: "Vice President Biden was right that the new president would be tested early in his administration. What the world learned was not good news for freedom and democracy. The leader of the free world has been a timid advocate of freedom at best. And bold action to blunt the advances of tyrants has been wholly lacking. We are still very early in the Obama years — the president will have ample opportunity to defend America and freedom, and to deter nuclear brinkmanship. I am hoping for change."

Obama is also being assailed by the likes of former Vice President Dick Cheney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who say he was too friendly with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez at a summit over the weekend, and who offer a broader critique that the new president is being weak.

UPDATE: Obama told reporters today, "I wake up every day thinking about how to keep the American people safe. And I go to bed every night worrying about keeping the American people safe."

In an interview with CNN this afternoon, Romney elaborated on his critique of Obama's actions on North Korea's and Iran's nuclear programs.

"Well, with North Korea, I would have made it very clear that we're not taking military options off the table rather than saying there's 'nothing we can do about it,' " Romney said. "I'd make it very darn clear that America intends to defend itself and that North Korea continuing to flaunt its agreements is not something which we're going to find acceptable."

On Iran, he said, "We and our friends around the world can make it very difficult for them to get commercial credit, to get banking access, to be able to move goods in and out of their ports. There are a lot of things we can do, short of military action, that -- that can have an impact."

"But sitting back and just talking is not going to do anything to get North Korea or to get Iran to become reasonable and -- and backing away from this nuclear brinkmanship that they are pursuing."

Mitt Romney, keeping his name in the Republican presidential sweepstakes, gave a high-profile speech Wednesday night at a fund-raising dinner for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

CNN reports the former Massachusetts governor, who unsuccessfully sought the nomination last year, struck a bipartisan tone at times.

Romney repeated his criticism of President Obama's budget as too much tax-and-spend. But he also said, "I also think its important for us to nod to the president when he’s right. He will not always be wrong, and he’s done some things I agree with,” citing Obama's plans in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Though he promised to save every job possible in Michigan before that state's primary last year, Romney also praised Obama for laying down the law this week to the auto industry, CNN says.

"I hope he continues to be tough and shows some backbone because that industry is not going to make it unless we have real backbone and get those guys to fundamentally restructure all of their obligations,” Romney said.

How do you separate policies from the person?

It's more than an academic riddle these days, as President Obama's Republican critics gingerly walk the tightrope of opposing his economic and other plans without being accused of being unpatriotic.

Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh started it even before Obama's inauguration in January by saying that he hoped Obama failed because he objected to many of his policies.

At a GOP fund-raiser Tuesday night while Obama was defending his proposals in a prime-time news conference, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, poured some fuel on the rhetorical fire.

He described the premise of the question -- "Do you want the president to fail?" -- as the "latest gotcha game" that Democrats were using to bludgeon Republicans.

"Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, 'Why no sir, I don't want the president to fail,' is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience, or political obstructionism," said Jindal, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012. "This is political correctness run amok."

This morning on CNN, former Senator Fred Thompson, who ran for the GOP nomination last year, said that he agreed with Republicans hoping for an Obama flame-out.

"I want his policies that I believe take us in the wrong direction to fail," Thompson said. "If he takes us down the road of tripling our national debt in ten years and making us vulnerable to higher interest rates and higher inflation, and things of that nature, I want all those policies not to succeed."

UPDATE: Asked on MSNBC today whether he wants Obama to fail on his budget, Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire replied, "Clearly, this budget needs to be rewritten and it needs to be redone, and we're willing to do it in a bipartisan way. We're willing to sit down on issues like entitlement reform and get something done that's going to be constructive."

But Gregg, once Obama's choice for commerce secretary, added, "I really don't want the president to fail. If the president fails, the country fails."

The Democratic Party is launching a review of the nominating process that served Barack Obama so well last year, and given that those leading the process are all Obama loyalists, any revisions for 2012 almost certainly won't stand in the way of his renomination.

“This commission will focus on reform that improves the presidential nominating process to put voters first and ensure that as many people as possible can participate,” Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, Obama's pick to lead the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.

The commission will look at changing when primaries and caucuses can be held, reducing the number of superdelegates, and improving the caucus system. It is to issue its recommendations by Jan. 1.

Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri will lead the panel, which includes 35 DNC members, elected officials, state party officials, and representatives of academia, labor, and business, grassroots activists and other party leaders.

Jim Roosevelt, co-chairman of the DNC rules committee last year, is among them.

A list of the commission’s membership and the resolution forming the commission are below:

Democrats are blasting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for announcing that she will reject nearly half of the economic stimulus money coming to her state from Washington, accusing her of putting national political ambitions ahead of her constituents.

Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year, announced Thursday that she will accept 55 percent of the estimated $930 million in stimulus cash, leaving it up to legislators to decide if they will request any of the rest.

Palin said she would accept money that is "timely, targeted and temporary" and does not create strings that will bind the state in the future, she said, according to the Associated Press. "I can't attest to every fund that's being offered the state in the stimulus package will be used to create jobs and stimulate the economy, so I'm requesting only those things that I know will."

Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse called Palin's decision "appears to be nothing more than political posturing."

"At a time when her state is suffering, Alaska's working families cannot afford a governor that puts her political future ahead of the needs of the state and its families," he added.
Alaska Democratic Party head Patti Higgins and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Poe plan a conference call this afternoon to pile on.

Some Republican state legislators have also questioned Palin's choice. A Democratic state representative, Les Gara of Anchorage, said he was shocked the governor would consider turning away money, especially for schools and new teachers when the state has a 40 percent high school dropout rate, according to the AP. He accused the governor of thinking only of her own national political prospects.

Palin, who joins a few other GOP governors in rejecting some stimulus money, said she was acting in the best interests of Alaskans.

Mitt Romney channeled Rush Limbaugh, a little, on his appearance Thursday night on CNN's "Larry King Live."

The former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate was asked whether he wants President Obama to fail. Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host, got quite a bit of attention for saying he wanted Obama to fail because he opposed his policies.

Romney said, "I want liberal policies to fail. I want him to fail in trying to put in place a health care plan that takes away the private sector from health care. I want him to fail in this cap and trade program as long as China and Brazil and Indonesia are not going to play in it. But I want him to succeed as a president, meaning, I want him to succeed in strengthening our economy, keeping us free, bringing our troops home in success from Iraq and Afghanistan. But I don't want his liberal policies to succeed.

Romney also gave Obama a back-handed compliment when asked about the president's high approval ratings.

"I know that people recognize that this is a man who is a decent fellow," Romney said. "He's intelligent. He's well intentioned. He's just not experienced in the matters that we're dealing with right now. And, you know, I hope he's able to get this economy turned around."

While some Republicans are looking at Romney's business acumen and talking him up as a possible presidential contender in 2012, he continued dampening the speculation.

"I can't imagine making that decision at this point," he said.

"You're going to run again?" King asked.

"No, I don't think," Romney replied.

"Why wouldn't you?" King pressed.

"There are a lot of good reasons not to," Romney answered. "First of all, I hope that Barack Obama is so successful that -- and he adjusts his policies such that he moves to the center, he aligns with Republicans and Democrats, and does what we thought he was going to do when he was campaigning.

"I don't look at political office as something that you want to do because it will be fun or a campaign as a thrill. You get involved in public service because you think you can make a difference, and the skills and experience you've had would make the country stronger. That's something you measure down the road based upon who else is there and what the challenges are. I'd have to weigh that at the time that a race was shaping up."

And if Obama had any thought of asking for Romney to join his team, he needn't bother.

"I don't imagine my name, however, is mentioned in the White House, other than as a butt of jokes or other attacks," Romney said. "But again, I'm not -- I don't have any interest in participating in the administration. I feel like Judd Gregg did, which is President Obama, during the campaign moved, you know, very strongly to the center of the political spectrum. But as a president, with everything from card check now, cap and trade programs and his health care plan and his mortgage bailout plan and AIG, all of these things combined, he is far away from where I stand. And I, therefore, would not be part of that administration."

The full transcript from CNN is below:

Rush Limbaugh apparently wants to be the voice of the Republican Party as it tries to recover from the November elections.

And Democrats are only too happy to oblige, considering the conservative talk show host a sure-fire way to fire up their base.

Limbaugh gave a stem-winder of a speech Saturday -- complete with chest thumping and fist bumps -- imploring conservatives to stand by their principles and urging them not to listen to those who say the GOP has to become more moderate to regain power.

Limbaugh, who also threw his weight around at several points during the campaign, made no apologies for his biting criticism of President Obama, including telling his listeners on his radio show in January that "I hope he fails."

"What is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?" Limbaugh said at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel on Sunday called Limbaugh " the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican party, and he has been up front about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure."

"He said it, and I compliment him on his honesty," Emanuel said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "But that's their philosophy that's enunciated by Rush Limbaugh and I think that's the wrong philosophy for America."

Representative Ron Paul of Texas, who sought the Republican nomination last year, said that Limbaugh has a strong message, but warned that "it's pretty sad" that the GOP is so starved for leadership that it is looking to a talk show host.

Paul also cautioned that it could play into Democrats' hands.

"He does say the right things now. And I think a lot of people like to hear what he's saying, but I think it's also a little bit polarizing and confrontational, and I think that's why the Democrats are bragging that Limbaugh now speaks for the Republicans. So I guess the Democrats think it's to their advantage if he's leading the charge," Paul said today on CNN's "American Morning."

"But he really didn't broaden the base. I mean, it's still very narrow, and that is why some of us would like to see an approach that would emphasize personal liberties and civil liberties, looking at the drug war. And certainly looking at foreign policy," Paul added. "And in those areas, it's really the old Republican Party, because even Limbaugh was a strong supporter of Bush. So, he doesn't have anything new either when it comes to, you know, bringing our troops home and not expanding the war in Afghanistan, and talking about, you know, the danger to our personal liberties and our privacies. So, there is a group of us that would like to appeal somewhat differently to the Republican base and, as a matter of fact, to the American people. That's what is really important."

Michael Steele, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee who is trying to diversify the party, also rejected the idea of Limbaugh as the leader of the GOP/

"No, he's not," Steele said on CNN's "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News" on Saturday night.
"I'm the de facto leader of the Republican Party," Steele said. "Let's put it into context here. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment."

Steele went on to say that Limbaugh's show is sometimes "incendiary. Yes, it's ugly."

Steele said he's continuing his efforts to reshape the party. "What I'm saying is the brand needs help," he said. "The brand needs work. There's no doubt about that. I'm not trying to sell it. What I'm trying to make it is valuable and something that people can look at and consider, and I think that we do have something to say on some very serious issues that touch a lot of people on empowerment and ownership and opportunity, and I'm going to make sure we say it. And that's the point."

UPDATE: On his show today, Limbaugh fired back at Steele, suggesting that he was being used by the liberal media.

"Why do you claim to lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds?" Limbaugh asked. "I frankly am stunned that the chairman of the Republican National Committee endorses such an agenda. I have to conclude that he does because he attacks me for wanting it to fail."

UPDATE: Now, Steele is apologizing to Limbaugh. "My intent was not to go after Rush – I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh,” the RNC chairman told Politico. "I was maybe a little bit inarticulate.…There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership.”

Asked about Limbaugh's comments, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he had "doubled down" on his January comments.

At his daily briefing, Gibbs said the question should be posed to Republicans: "Do they want to see the president's economic agenda fail?"

Gibbs wondered aloud what would have happened if the shoe had been on the other foot during the Bush administration, and a liberal radio host had publicly hoped for his economic policies to fail.

Americans United for Change, a coalition of progressive and labor groups that used Limbaugh in a web ad, is now using his CPAC remarks as part of fund-raising appeal.

"Rooting for President Obama's economic plan to fail means rooting for more people to lose their jobs. It means rooting for more families to lose their homes. It means rooting for more families to lose their health care and their retirement security," the group said. "It means rooting against the American people and rooting against the strong future of our country."

As the obvious Republican contenders for president in 2012 gather at a Washington conference, a new poll finding released today found that three are ahead of the pack.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, conducted last week, asked Republicans who they would be most likely to support.

The results: 29 percent said Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate last year; 26 percent said former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who sought the nomination last year; and 21 percent said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who also ran last year.

Huckabee spoke Thursday to the Conservative Poliitcal Action Conference, where he called for "family conservatives," "fiscal conservatives," and "freedom conservatives" to unite as "compentent conservatives." Romney is scheduled to speak this afternoon. Palin cancelled her appearance, saying she was too busy as governor.

Another 9 percent answered Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, but that was before his widely disparaged performance on Tuesday night giving the official Republican response to President Obama's address to Congress. And 10 percent named other candidates.

The survey, conducted Feb. 18-19, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points among Republicans.

When Mitt Romney returns to a favorite forum on Saturday, will he be able to make it three in a row?

The former Massachusetts governor has won the closely-watched presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the past two years.

He even prevailed last February when he used the conference to announce he was quitting the GOP nomination race, making Senator John McCain the presumptive nominee. Romney drew 35 percent to 34 percent for McCain.

In a rousing speech, Romney hit all the hot buttons for conservatives, telling the conference he was ending his campaign so the party could unite. "In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," he said.

In the formative stages of the presidential race, Romney won the 2007 straw poll with 21 percent, with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani finishing second with 17 percent.

This year, the winner will be anointed the very early front-runner for 2012. The ballot includes besides Romney and Giuliani, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Texas Representative Ron Paul, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. There's also “Undecided” and a space on the ballot for write-ins.

Huckabee and Paul also ran last year, while Palin was McCain's running mate and Crist, Jindal, and Pawlenty were believed to be on McCain's short list for vice president.

Bobby Jindal's rising star in the Republican Party appears to have lost some of its luster after his performance Tuesday night in the official GOP response to President Obama's address to Congress.

The high-profile televised gig has helped launch some lesser-known politicians into national prominence, while sidelining others who were deemed not ready for prime time. The Louisiana governor's uneven appearance might put him in the latter category.

While some Republicans saw the 37-year-old Jindal as perhaps their best presidential hope in 2012, his speech emphasized his youth while not reflecting his charisma. And his high-pitched, chirpy Bayou accent didn't help.

The reviews have been mixed, to say the least.

MSNBC commentator Pat Buchanan said this afternoon that Jindal faced "almost an impossible assignment" following Obama, whom he called a "professional" at the top of his game.

Still, in contrast, Jindal came off as a rookie thrown into the World Series, Buchanan said.

"I'm afraid the manager was out on the mound before the end of the first inning," he said, adding that the general impression is that "this fella needs a little seasoning."

National Public Radio's Juan Williams said that Jindal's presentation was "sing-songy” and that Jindal looked “childish” compared to Obama. "I think he had a really poor performance tonight, I’m sorry to say,” Williams said on Fox News Channel.

MSNBC's political site was critical as well: "The Louisiana governor, a Rhodes scholar, is a serious guy who’s known for sometimes being too wonky and even somewhat humorless. Well, he tried too hard NOT to look wonky and humorless. But it didn't work; he wasn’t the Bobby Jindal we’ve seen before. Also, his speech seemed to be too much of a brochure about himself rather than about his party and its ideas. To be fair, Jindal got better as his speech wore on, and the good news is that past responders who also got poor initial reviews -- Tim Kaine and Kathleen Sebelius come to mind -- easily recovered."

"This was not Bobby Jindal’s greatest oratorical moment," opined Brit Hume of Fox News.

Jindal "seemed more like a high school student giving a valedictory speech than a potential future leader of the party,” wrote Philip Klein of the American Spectator.

Quite a few fellow Republicans were not impressed.

"A lot of Republicans I am speaking with were expecting this would be like Obama's moment in 2004" when he gave the "one America" speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, David Johnson, a Republican strategist who advised Bob Dole in 1988, told Bloomberg. "He bombed out."

New Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said today he thought the speech was just "Ok."

UPDATE: Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host, defended Jindal on his show today while conceding that "stylistically," Obama had outshined Jindal.

"The people on our side are making a real mistake if they go after Bobby Jindal," Limbaugh told listeners. "We cannot shun politicians who speak for our beliefs just because we don't like the way he says it."

Jindal was headed to Disney World today with his family for a vacation. His chief of staff, Timmy Teepell, told the Associated Press that his boss had prepared carefully for the speech and that his message was strong.

"It's a challenge for anybody to follow Obama. The guy is one of the most gifted speakers of our generation," Teepell told the AP. "Bobby's his own harshest critic. He's always looking for ways to improve."

Mitt Romney has landed another prominent perch from which to stay in the political conversation -- and enhance his political prospects.

The former Massachusetts governor will be among those writing a new column in the Washington Times, well read by the party's mover's and shakers.

Editor & Publisher reports that the newspaper says that the "Reinventing Conservatism" columns will "showcase a revolving series of essays by some of today's biggest thinkers in the conservative movement."

The first column, published today, is from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Romney ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year and subsequently created a political action committee to support GOP candidates. He is a frequent talking head on the cable TV news shows, most recently critiquing President Obama's economic stimulus plan. And he is in the early scuttlebutt about the 2012 presidential race.

John McCain is telling supporters he is definitely running for another term in the US Senate after the bitter disappointment of losing his presidential bid -- and he's saying that the economic crisis was the clincher.

"The magnitude of the financial crisis that many American families are facing makes it clear to me that I want to continue to serve our country in the Senate," he says in the email, sent Tuesday night and which also serves as a pitch for campaign cash.

McCain joined all but three Republicans in voting Tuesday against the $838 billion stimulus package in the Senate, and has been vocal in his disdain.

"The economic challenges currently confronting our nation are immense and unfortunately, the Democrats in Congress propose addressing these challenges through increased spending that wastes billions of taxpayers dollars and saddles our children and grandchildren with a staggering debt," the email says. "Their proposals will not stimulate economic growth or create jobs. While the leader of the Democratic Party, President Obama, has pledged to change business as usual in Washington and spoken of bipartisanship, I have been saddened to watch as Congressional Democrats try to use their majority to advocate more of the same failed policies and wasteful spending of the past. With so much at stake, now is not the time to step away from my work in the Senate."

"As always, I anticipate a tough re-election challenge. But with your help, we will counter those efforts and put forth an aggressive campaign by registering new voters, reaching out to Democrats, Independents and Republicans, and again earning the support of Hispanic and Native American voters in Arizona."

Mitt Romney deflects talk of being a candidate for health and human services secretary -- what would be the fourth Republican in President Obama's cabinet.

And in the Q&A with Time magazine, he probably doesn't enhance his prospects, if any, with a rather critical assessment of the new president's performance so far.

"I think President Obama is off to a rocky start. The theme 'Yes, we can' seems to have been replaced with 'Well, maybe we can't,' Romney says. "I believe that with all the challenges America faces, the simple solutions and the hope that were sold by the Obama team are inadequate to the task ahead."

While some Republicans are already talking Romney up for a second presidential run in 2012, he was typically vague when asked about his political prospects.

"I really don't know what the future holds," he said. "Like most Americans, I want to see Barack Obama adopt effective, correct principles and successfully lead our country. And so any discussion of future politics for me is, I think, premature."

UPDATE: Romney also has an opinion piece on CNN.com critiquing Obama's economic recovery plan, saying the "Obama spending bill would stimulate the government, not the economy."

Mitt Romney is showing no sign of leaving the national political stage anytime soon, or dampening speculation that he's lining up a possible second try for president in 2012.

After ending his presidential campaign last year, the former Massachusetts governor created a political action committee to help Republican candidates -- and also, by the way, to keep his profile high and perhaps collect some chits. He was also one of the most visible surrogates for GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

Now comes word that he will headline an event circled on many political calendars -- the National Republican Senatorial Committee's annual fund-raiser.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney spokesman, confirmed this morning a report in The Hill newspaper that Romney will speak on April 1. In an email to the Globe, Fehrnstrom said that a couple of weeks ago, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the committee, asked Romney and he accepted.

"Mitt Romney expects to be helping Republicans running for office in the 2010 cycle," Fehrnstrom added.

Romney will likely match or exceed his schedule last year, when he did events for 33 Republican candidates running for federal office, including five US Senate candidates, Fehrnstrom said.

The Hill quoted one NRSC official calling Romney "one of the most respected and trusted voices in the Republican Party today." "As the Republican Party rebuilds and particularly as our country faces the most serious economic crisis in recent history, our party leaders and Republican faithful across the country will undoubtedly look to Mitt Romney for his leadership and advice," the official added.