From top Republicans, a vote of no confidence in Santorum

Two stories surfaced last week that amount to a loud vote of no confidence in Rick Santorum as the GOP nominee. ABC News reports that a top Republican senator wants a new choice if Santorum wins Michigan.

Why? " 'He'd lose 35 states,' the senator said, predicting the same fate for Newt Gingrich."

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Two perspectives: It's all coming down to Michigan

The Washington Post asked Republican Ed Rogers, who worked in the Reagan and Bush White Houses, and Democrat Carter Eskew, strategist for the Gore 2000 campaign, to assess the presidential primary:

Very un-Republican

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Once again, Romney confuses the media

It is only fitting that two relatively meaningless wins in the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll and the Maine caucus for Mitt Romney should rewrite the media narrative created after three equally meaningless wins for Rick Santorum last Tuesday. In this yo-yo race, no sooner does the punditocracy pronounce someone is "surging" or another candidate is "in trouble" than fortunes reverse.

The CPAC victory for Romney was especially telling. He gave one of the best speeches of his campaign and the crowd greeted him with multiple standing ovations. But the media reports were largely disparaging, fixating on his comment that he was a "severely" (probably a slip of the tongue in place of "seriously" or "solidly") conservative governor.

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Romney back on track, gets caucus victory

Mitt Romney narrowly won Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announced yesterday, providing his campaign with a much-needed boost after three straight losses earlier this week. But the former Massachusetts governor won just a plurality of the Maine vote, suggesting he still has work to do to unite GOP voters behind his candidacy.

At a gathering in Portland, state Republican Chairman Charlie Webster announced Romney had won with 2,190 votes, or 39 percent, compared to 1,996 - about 36 percent - for Ron Paul, the only other candidate to aggressively compete in the state. Rick Santorum received 989 votes and Newt Gingrich won 349, but neither actively campaigned there. Other candidates drew 61 votes.

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For Santorum, a to-do list to build on his success

Here are 10 things Rick Santorum should do to build on his huge successes Tuesday:

1. Win over the base. Deliver an uplifting, positive speech that defines his agenda and shows he can command the room. Leave the attacks to surrogates.

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Corporations keep their distance from super PACs

So what did the Supreme Court unleash with its Citizens United case?

Well, even though it's still early in the cycle, there is an initial trend.

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