Homecoming Kisses Compared, Snobs and Nausea on Primary Eve, an Arizona Action Hero, What Makes Mitt Seem Moderate? (PM Note)
ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf ( @zbyronwolf) and Sarah Parnass ( @wordsofsarah ) report:
Picture of the Day -Gay Marine Kisses boyfriend on return from Afghanistan - Something You Couldn't Have Seen a Year Ago - http://abcn.ws/zK6c6n
They're not celebrating V-J Day, but they are celebrating a homecoming. It makes us think of this - http://abcn.ws/wVhfCT
Quote of the Day - Gingrich to Afghanistan: 'Live Your Own Miserable Life' - From Elicia Dover - "We're not going to fix Afghanistan. It's not possible. These are people who have spent several thousand years hating foreigners," Gingrich said. "And what we've done by staying is become the new foreigners. And this is a real problem."
Gingrich said that in his judgment, the problems the U.S. faces in the Middle East are too big and complicated for military solutions.
"There's some problems where what you have to do is say 'You know, you're going to have to figure out how to live your own miserable life because I'm not here - you clearly don't want to hear from me how to be unmiserable,'" Gingrich said. http://abcn.ws/wAkciB
Cokie Roberts - Perspective Makes Mitt Seem Moderate - It's not so much that Mitt got more moderate from 2008, it's that the field is much more conservative in 2012 - With data to back it up - http://abcn.ws/ACKW80
Michigan: Battleground No More? - - Matt Dowd Predicts Romney and Santorum's primary battle took a purple State and turned it Blue for the general election - http://abcn.ws/wwItt3
Church and State and 2012 - Newt Gingrich said the country is under attack by a the "secular left," Mitt Romney is concerned about President Obama's "secular agenda" and Rick Santorum has said repeatedly that the idea of an absolute separation of church and state makes him want to "throw up." As the Republican presidential campaign drags on, the idea of a secular government is increasingly under fire. And Obama is personally under fire from Republican candidates, particularly Santorum, who recently said the president's theology, especially where it comes to environmental laws, is "phony." http://abcn.ws/zWYPWv
Santorum Says Church / State Separation is 'Turned on Its Head' - More from Shush Walshe on the ground in Michigan, including his economic plan and praise from the Wall Street Journal - http://abcn.ws/xXiO6P
Dem's Ariz. Action Hero is Independent - He's done aerial helicopter rescues. He's at home in a SWAT uniform or scrubbing into surgery. He worked in George Bush's administration. We're not sure if he drinks Dos Equis, but Chris Good makes a compelling case that Richard Carmona might just be the most interesting Senate candidate in the world. But can he win in Arizona? Polls suggest an uphill climb - http://abcn.ws/zxdtEC
Snob Rejoinder - Obama renewed his call to bring college to all at an appearance before the National Governors Association at the White House with a not-so-subtle rejection of Santorum's "snob" allegation. http://abcn.ws/wnXO39
Romney So Wants to Focus on the Economy Instead of Social Issues - http://abcn.ws/xPpnZr
Watchdog Says Santorum SuperPAC Broke Law - http://abcn.ws/Apm7Q2
Video - All of Mitt's Wealth Gaffes in One Place - Right or Wrong, there is a reason Democrats target Romney for being out of touch - Question is do voters care? - http://abcn.ws/A3GE57
Good Buds Gone Bad - Surrogates Romney Wishes He Didn't Have - He's got more people endorsing him by far than any other GOP presidential candidate. - http://abcn.ws/zU14Py
Meanwhile, In Washintgon -
Obama Praises Pipeline He Killed, Boehner Doesn't Have to go Far to See a Contradiction - http://abcn.ws/xFM6Ph
Tapper's Show on How Taxpayers are Mostly Paying for Obama's Fundraising Travel Budget - http://yhoo.it/wEjgNX
A New Grand Bargain? House Democrat Steny Hoyer is asking Congress to forgo mandatory spending cuts by replacing them with a large package to include balanced budget and deficit reduction. http://abcn.ws/wm6Crv
Palin Razzed - A Different Kind of Nomination: Over the weekend Sarah Palin received the Razzie Awards' nomination for "Worst Actress" for her role in the documentary "The Undefeated." Not fair if she's not acting, Razzie people - http://abcn.ws/w4xyih
Obama's Popularity Up in Swing States, Despite Health Care Law's Low - http://abcn.ws/wIMdyD