VIDEO: Santorum, aiming to become THE conservative challenger to Romney, targets Gingrich in new ad

• Santorum can beat Romney - Bill Kristol in the Weekly Standard

VIDEO: Sarah Palin tells Bill O'Reilly that "brutality" of GOP contest might boost Obama

• The idea of Palin's influence over Republican voters is more myth than reality - Commentary

VIDEO: Moving on to the general? Romney switches attack to Obama in latest video

Romney is raising BIG money

"In the last three months of 2011, Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee raised $93.4 million, while Mr. Obama and the Democratic National Committee brought in $68 million, according to an analysis of campaign-finance reports released late Tuesday. For all of 2011, the RNC and the Republican presidential field raised nearly as much money as Mr. Obama and the DNC—$225 million for Republicans vs. $229 million for Democrats." - WSJ

• Mitt Romney relying heavily on small group of super-rich donors - Washington Post
• Democratic Senate incumbents from the class of 2006 are fundraising as if they’re running for the first time - Roll Call
• Hotline examines individual fundraisers.

Three reasons why Democrats are WRONG to be optimistic about their chances

"In short, there’s a new Congressional Budget Office report that shows unemployment likely to climb to nearly 9 percent by the election, there’s polling data showing Obama tied or trailing Mitt Romney in the most important swing states (and doing only marginally better against Ron Paul), and there is mounting evidence that the assumption of a decisive Obama fundraising advantage for the fall might be flat wrong." - Politico

Karl Rove: Romney is tilted too heavily toward biography and not nearly enough toward policy

"Mr. Romney showed he knows how to take an opponent down; now he needs to show the ability to build himself and the rationale for his candidacy up. He should become bolder in his prescriptions, presenting a confident agenda for economic growth and renewed prosperity through reforms of tax, regulatory and energy policies." - Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal

• E J Dionne in the Washington Post says Romney won votes in Florida but not affection.
• Romney's favorability ratings have been sinking miserably since the New Year - Daily Beast

Romney opens up 31% to 26% lead over Romney in latest Gallup national poll - USA Today

Romney's poverty "gaffe"

• Gingrich attacks: "I am fed up with politicians in either party dividing Americans against each other... I am running to be the president of all the American people and I am concerned about all the American people." - The Hill
• Romney fundamentally right to focus on those in the middle - James Taranto
• Mitt’s just told us that he’s happy to “manage the decline” for the poor - Mark Steyn
• Romney gaffed but he's better than his Right-wing critics - Ross Douthat
• Romney's five biggest verbal gaffes - Politico
• Media coverage of Romney's words is "crazed" - Jennifer Rubin

Have you noticed how Romney and Paul are always nice to each other? The Washington Post examines an unlikely friendship AND "strategic alliance".

• Ron Paul could win Maine - NRO

Veep choice very important for Romney to keep GOP together

"Romney will “very quickly need to focus on picking a conservative vice president,” says Gary Marx, who ran Romney’s conservative coalitions outreach effort in 2008. “Ultimately John McCain was able to get more evangelicals turning out and voting for him in ’08 than even Bush did in ’04,” recalls Marx. “So he was able to mend fences due in large part to that vice presidential choice.”" - Daily Caller

Ann Coulter continues to cheer for Romney - HotAir ...and David Frum is impressed with her for doing so.

If Romney somehow manages to make the Republican Party safe for moderates again, that’ll be a triumph for his party — and for the country - Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times

News from Camp Gingrich

• Donald Trump to endorse Gingrich - Politico
• Gingrich remains threat in South - Washington Examiner
• Gingrich attacks Romney for wanting to increase minimum wage in line with inflation - WSJ
• Newt's women problem could be solved by Callista - Toby Harnden
• Dick Morris warns Gingrich to accept Romney will win and stop damaging him - The Hill

Sharron Angle, a Nevada Republican and tea-party favorite, will endorse Rick Santorum - NRO

Lower-than-expected turnout in Florida raises concerns about whether GOP base is energized - WSJ

Washington sophisticates are underestimating the power of Obama's populism on economics and fairness - Daniel Henninger

The number of independents is growing all the time and they hold the key to the White House - Kirsten Powers for USA Today

House GOP seeks federal pay freeze as part of payroll tax fight - LA Times

Governor Mitch Daniels just signed legislation making Indiana a right-to-work state - Weekly Standard

And finally... Yates Walker is angry at those who say some candidates are "unelectable"

"Our country wasn’t founded and built by mealy-mouths and second-guessers. America was founded by ass-kickers, men and women who took hard stands, come hell or high water. That’s the type of candidate we want, the type they call “unelectable.” And here’s the kicker: the last one we nominated won 49 states and was re-elected in 1984. If conservatives can learn anything from Barack Obama, it’s this: Anyone is electable." - Yates Walker for the Daily Caller

> CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO CONSERVATIVEHOME'S DAILY EMAIL AND GET ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT GOP NEWS BY 7:00AM EST EVERY WEEKDAY.