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Newt Gingrich (Photo courtesy of newt.org/).

Gingrich Bids Campaign Adieu…Kinda
Newt Gingrich has not run the most conventional of presidential campaigns. And it seems that Newt isn’t going to be changing his ways, even as he exits the election.

In the wake of multiple primary losses last Tuesday, the Gingrich campaign did not publicly say they were stepping aside, but they did say it was “very clear” that Mitt Romney was the nominee, that Gingrich would campaign as a “citizen,” and that “we’re working out the details of our transition.” There is some talk that Gingrich will withdraw on Tuesday or Wednesday.

In the end, it looks like Newt’s campaign is neither completely dead nor remotely alive. This limbo status prompted John Marshall of Talking Points Memo to question: “Newt Of The Living Dead: Is His Zombie Campaign Finally Over?”

Is Obama Too Cool?

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SEATTLE — Part of the process of keeping informed while following political campaigns is subscribing to these campaigns’ e-mail listserv’s.

This form of political spam is mostly full of routine reminders to donate money or rally at such and such a location. So it was no surprise that I got another note from Newt Gingrich yesterday morning. But what was different was that it was an ad for the identity-protection company Lifelock, Inc.

“Help Protect Your Identity and SAVE!” the banner proclaimed. It goes on to plug the service without mentioning any official affiliation with the Gingrich campaign, as NPR has reported. The company does not have any political or business connection to Newt Gingrich. (Nonetheless, note that the promo code for the offer is “NEWT.”)

Lifelock ads have been sent out to Newt Gingrich supporters (courtesy of Lifelock, Inc. / UW Election Eye)

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SEATTLE — Part of the process of keeping informed while following political campaigns is subscribing to these campaigns’ e-mail listserv’s.

This form of political spam is mostly full of routine reminders to donate money or rally at such and such a location. So it was no surprise that I got another note from Newt Gingrich yesterday morning. But what was different was that it was an ad for the identity-protection company Lifelock, Inc.

“Help Protect Your Identity and SAVE!” the banner proclaimed. It goes on to plug the service without mentioning any official affiliation with the Gingrich campaign, as NPR has reported. The company does not have any political or business connection to Newt Gingrich. (Nonetheless, note that the promo code for the offer is “NEWT.”)

Lifelock ads have been sent out to Newt Gingrich supporters (courtesy of Lifelock, Inc. / UW Election Eye)

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Mitt Romney's latest round of endorsements include (from top left, clockwise) Rep. Paul Ryan (WI-R), Sen. Ron Johnson (WI-R), Sen. Marco Rubio (FL-R), and former president George H. W. Bush (photos courtesy of paulryan.house.gov/, ronjohnson.senate.gov/, www.rubio.senate.gov/, and http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/).

Romney adding to his list of endorsements
In the last few days, Mitt Romney has picked up several endorsements. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Paul Ryan’s endorsements come just days before the Wisconsin primaries on Tuesday, April 3. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s endorsement, who has been speculated as a potential running mate, may help Romney curry favor with Latinos. And former president George H. W. Bush finally decided to go all-in on the front-runner.

Despite these recent additions, some say Romney has yet to rake in the endorsements typical of a front-runner at this stage in the primaries. Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker, tweeted, “There are 47 Republican senators. Only 19 have endorsed Romney. There are 242 GOP House members. Only 75 have endorsed Romney.”

Women shift the vote in Obama’s favor in 12 swing states
The latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll has Barack Obama leading Romney 51% to 42% among registered voters in twelve battleground states. A month ago Obama was trailing Romney by 2%. The key to the shift: the President now leads Romney 2-1 among women under 50. The states surveyed were Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Gingrich slims down
To stay financially afloat and derail Romney’s advance in the delegate count, Newt Gingrich will cut 1/3 of his staff. In defense of the layoff, Gingrich said, ”We’re staying in, that’s exactly why we’re downsizing. We’re doing the appropriate things to be able to campaign.” To offset the reduction in staff, the Gingrich campaign says they will ramp up social media efforts.

Tuesday primaries show commanding lead for Romney
On Tuesday, three states will hold their Republican primaries: Wisconsin, Maryland, and DC.

In Wisconsin, with 42 delegates up for grabs, Romney currently leads the pack.

Wisconsin is Romney 43, Santorum 36, Paul 11, Gingrich 8. Santorum did much better on call backs than first round

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) April 2, 2012

Maryland boasts 37 delegates, and Romney may grab a hefty victory.

Maryland is Romney 52, Santorum 27, Gingrich 10, Paul 9

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) April 2, 2012

DC offers up 19 delegates, and last week Romney won a straw poll of Republicans at the District of Columbia Republican Committee’s annual fundraising dinner with 72%. Since Santorum isn’t on the ballot, he will miss out on the 6.5% of registered Republicans in the nation’s capital.

Mitt Romney's latest round of endorsements include (from top left, clockwise) Rep. Paul Ryan (WI-R), Sen. Ron Johnson (WI-R), Sen. Marco Rubio (FL-R), and former president George H. W. Bush (photos courtesy of paulryan.house.gov/, ronjohnson.senate.gov/, www.rubio.senate.gov/, and http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/).

Romney adding to his list of endorsements
In the last few days, Mitt Romney has picked up several endorsements. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Paul Ryan’s endorsements come just days before the Wisconsin primaries on Tuesday, April 3. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s endorsement, who has been speculated as a potential running mate, may help Romney curry favor with Latinos. And former president George H. W. Bush finally decided to go all-in on the front-runner.

Despite these recent additions, some say Romney has yet to rake in the endorsements typical of a front-runner at this stage in the primaries. Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker, tweeted, “There are 47 Republican senators. Only 19 have endorsed Romney. There are 242 GOP House members. Only 75 have endorsed Romney.”

Women shift the vote in Obama’s favor in 12 swing states
The latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll has Barack Obama leading Romney 51% to 42% among registered voters in twelve battleground states. A month ago Obama was trailing Romney by 2%. The key to the shift: the President now leads Romney 2-1 among women under 50. The states surveyed were Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Gingrich slims down
To stay financially afloat and derail Romney’s advance in the delegate count, Newt Gingrich will cut 1/3 of his staff. In defense of the layoff, Gingrich said, ”We’re staying in, that’s exactly why we’re downsizing. We’re doing the appropriate things to be able to campaign.” To offset the reduction in staff, the Gingrich campaign says they will ramp up social media efforts.

Tuesday primaries show commanding lead for Romney
On Tuesday, three states will hold their Republican primaries: Wisconsin, Maryland, and DC.

In Wisconsin, with 42 delegates up for grabs, Romney currently leads the pack.

Wisconsin is Romney 43, Santorum 36, Paul 11, Gingrich 8. Santorum did much better on call backs than first round

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) April 2, 2012

Maryland boasts 37 delegates, and Romney may grab a hefty victory.

Maryland is Romney 52, Santorum 27, Gingrich 10, Paul 9

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) April 2, 2012

DC offers up 19 delegates, and last week Romney won a straw poll of Republicans at the District of Columbia Republican Committee’s annual fundraising dinner with 72%. Since Santorum isn’t on the ballot, he will miss out on the 6.5% of registered Republicans in the nation’s capital.

Robert DeNiro signing autographs at the world premiere of Killer Elite, Toronto Film Festival 2011 (Photo courtesy of Flickr member GabboT).

Illinois holds a noted place in American history when it comes to issues of race and ethnicity.

Abraham Lincoln represented the 7^th district of Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives before he became the President that ended slavery.

Barack Obama represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate before he became the first African-American President.

So it seems almost fitting that today, the day of the Illinois primary, the issue of race is in the news.

At an Obama fundraiser last night, actor Robert DeNiro introduced First Lady Michelle Obama by asking the crowd: “Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?” When someone in the crowd yelled, “No!” DeNiro responded, “Too soon, right?”

In response to DeNiro’s words, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama said they were “inappropriate.”

Newt Gingrich, at a campaign stop on Tuesday, asked the Obama campaign for an apology and stated, “What DeNiro said last night was inexcusable and the president should apologize for him. It was at an Obama fundraiser, it is exactly wrong, it divides the country.”

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The final four Republican Party presidential candidates (photo by Politico)

The Republican Party presidential contest descended into schoolyard name-calling this week.

It began when Newt Gingrich on Sunday blasted Mitt Romney as “probably the weakest Republican frontrunner since Leonard Wood in 1920” — a classic I’m-the-smartest-on-the-playground insult for which Gingrich has no political peer. Romney responded the next day with his best blue-blood neener-neener: he pointed to his greater than 3-to-1 lead in delegates over the Georgian, and said, “If I’m a weak frontrunner, what does that make Newt Gingrich?”

On Tuesday morning before primaries in Alabama and Mississippi, Romney blustered that his closest competitor, Rick Santorum, was at the “desperate end” of his campaign. Santorum won both primaries that evening, and Wednesday morning a Santorum adviser lobbed his best your-mama comeback. He invoked a Romney vacation in which the candidate did something unusual, and said the Santorum campaign wasn’t about to listen to the “value judgment of a guy who strapped his own dog on the top of a car and went hurling down the highway.”

A double-dog dare is next, I’m sure.

This is not helping the GOP. Or any else, for that matter.

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Rick Santorum is Roman Catholic. This is not news: he is far from shy about his Catholicism. More generally, he is as outspoken about religious faith as any major presidential candidate who’s had success has ever been.

Santorum swept Republican presidential primaries in Alabama and Mississippi last night. This is no small matter. Catholics don’t win GOP primaries often, and certainly not in the South, where evangelicals make up large percentages of the Republican electorate. Among yesterday’s voters, 74% in Alabama self-identified as evangelical, and 80% in Mississippi self-identified as evangelical.

I study religion and politics in America. I find it almost impossible to believe that Santorum would be winning Republican primaries in the South were his central rival for the nomination, Mitt Romney, not Mormon in religious faith.

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Screen shot of PerezHilton.com poll for Republican presidential candidates

One of the places I least expected to find a poll about the Republican presidential candidates was on PerezHilton.com. Yet, there it was.

PerezHilton.com is a celebrity gossip blog, and its namesake has risen to fame for his biting words and eccentric outfits. On the blog, amid the background advertisement for the latest edition of the computer game Sims and next to a story about Oprah’s interview with Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina, was a poll asking, “If the Republican Presidential Primary in your state was held today, who would you vote for?”

The results showed that most of the blog readers are not registered Republican (63%), but some readers did cast a virtual vote. Mitt Romney edged out Ron Paul, 14 to 13%, respectively. Rick Santorum came in third with 4%, and Newt Gingrich proved to be the least popular with only 3%.

Of course the results of this poll are unlikely to get picked up by RealClearPolitics any time soon. And it is likely that the question was used to get a better landscape of the readers for potential advertisers. The questions that followed this one had nothing to do with politics and asked things like, “How much do you like Sprite?”

But the presence of this poll does say something about where people could get political news.

Twitter and Facebook, though intended as social networking sites, have become resources of news. I follow a number of political tweeters to get the latest on the 2012 election, but I also get other news from Twitter. For instance, the first time I heard about the successful raid to kill Osama Bin Laden was on Twitter. And because I “liked” the NPR page on Facebook a while back, my newsfeed is now dotted with NPR stories.

Nonpartisan Pew Research Center just put out a report yesterday about social networking sites and politics that provides insight into these 2012 campaign dynamics.

Despite the occurrence of news on these social networking sites, PerezHilton.com as a place for politics may still seem strange.  It is a gossip blog filled with celeb news on the latest escapades of Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian. We do know, though, that there is a lot of gossip in politics. In 2008 there was much ado about Barack Obama’s celebrity status, and his hoard of Hollywood supporters, such as George Clooney and will.i.am.

This is also not the first time PerezHilton.com has dabbled in politics.

A quick search on the site shows pages of results for each of the past and present Republican presidential candidates, ranging from posts about primary or caucus results, to Romney being glitter bombed, to videos of Michele Bachmann “bragging about being homophobic.” The site is also awash in stories about the Obama family. Additionally, there are posts about other political topics, including, for example, Rush Limbaugh losing advertisers because he called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut,” and Gov. Christine Gregoire signing the same-sex marriage bill. Most of the posts include a few sentences of commentary and then point the reader to an external news source. So the site is more like a news aggregator, with most of that news being about fashion, love triangles, and who’s in rehab.

Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton (Photo courtesy of Flickr member moodsofnorway)

It is easy, then, to dismiss PerezHilton.com as a source of political news. However, it does merit some weight. The “grazing effect” has traditionally been seen as an advantage of the print newspaper. This is the idea that without hyper selective exposure to only some news via customizable news reader feeds or the specialized blogs of today, news consumers used to get a broad range of topics in their newspaper, and that they would “graze” over the content and perhaps read things they normally wouldn’t because it was right there in front of them.

According to PerezHilton.com, the site averages 220 million impressions and 12 million unique readers per month, with about 59% of those in the 21-34 age category, 88% female, and 86% who have attended college. If any of these 12 million readers are coming to the site to get the latest on celeb gossip, but stop and read a post about the election, then the grazing effect may lead to an increase in knowledge. Even if readers don’t click-thru, mere exposure to the headlines can still be informative about who is running, who won what primary, the candidate’s stance on an issue, etc.

These short posts, of course, are unlikely to spur fervent political news consumption in its readers, but by delivering political news to readers via a site they habitually check, it is certainly better than nothing.

BOISE — “Wow, all the way from Seattle? I knew we were a big deal!” said one Republican at the Ada County caucus.

That’s the reaction we heard covering the caucuses this past week from Sandpoint all the way down to Boise, Idaho. Our 1,400 mile trip showed us that not only were Republicans energetic about their candidates, but they were enthusiastic that their votes helped to shape an election where they usually hold a smaller voice, if any voice at all.

This was Idaho’s first-ever Republican Party caucus, and the first time the state has weighed in on the Republican presidential nomination contest before May in recent history. Idahoans were used to going to polls after the presumptive nominee received all of the delegates they needed to win, making their votes, well, immaterial.

I could write a bunch of cliches such as, “the energy was palpable,” and “the tension in the arena was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.” Instead, I put together a video of what it was like to be in Taco Bell Arena in Boise, with 9,050 Republican voters in attendance at this history-making caucus.

Ilona Idlis contributed reporting to this post.