Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Sunday shows line-up: John McCain and George Clooney on Meet the Press; Mitt Romney and George Clooney will be on Fox News Sunday; Rick Santorum and Afghan Ambassador to the United States Eklil Hakimi will be on State of the Union; Rick Santorum will be on This Week; Reince Priebus and David Axelrod will be on Face the Nation.
- Puerto Rico caucuses are today: Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have been fighting over the 23 delegates up for grabs there. Both candidates traveled to Puerto Rico in the last week to campaign.
- Romney campaigns on statehood in Puerto Rico: In Puerto Rico this week, Mitt Romney left his regular stump speech behind and instead talked about statehood, which he said he would favor as long as Puerto Rico’s voters passed a referendum in favor of statehood this fall.
- Santorum claims Romney’s not trustworthy: On the trail in Illinois Saturday, Rick Santorum claimed that Romney couldn’t be trusted as he continues to pound his opponent on Romneycare. “He put forward the bill that was the model for Obamacare – and then advocated that at the federal level. And then denied that he did it,” Santorum said. “Not only was his policy bad, you can’t trust him to tell the truth about what he advocated.”
- Santorum sets high stakes in Illinois: Campaigning in Illinois Saturday, Rick Santorum explained what’s at stake in Illinois, saying if he wins the state, he will get the nomination: “If we’re able to come out of Illinois with a huge or surprise win, I guarantee you, I guarantee you that we will win this nomination.”
- Dems see political opportunity in Goldman Op-Ed: Some Democrats see an op-ed last week written by a newly resigned Goldman Sachs employee condemning the Wall Street firm as a political opportunity, reports The Hill. Rep. Barney Frank called the letter “ammunition” and Sen. Dick Durbin said it was “an indication of why we need to continue our vigilance over this industry to make certain that the right market forces prevail.”
- EMILY’s List has lots of money for candidates: EMILY’s List tells Politico that the controversy over contraception and other women’s issues is serving them well financially. They have “raised nearly twice as much for candidates at this point in the 2012 cycle as it did during the entire 2010 cycle.”
- Romney brushes off Bain-China controversy: The New York Times reported that Mitt Romney may be benefiting financially from a Bain Capital investment in China since Bain bought a Chinese video surveillance company. Romney gave his typical response to the controversy: that his money is invested via a blind trust. Romney did not say whether he supported the purchase, reports the Times.
- The Duggars campaign in Illinois: The Duggar family, which has been supporting Rick Santorum for months now, will campaign for him in Illinois Sunday by attending two religious services.
- Santorum campaigns in Louisiana: Rick Santorum is in Louisiana Sunday. Three of the four stops are at Baptist churches; the fourth is at a baseball game. Louisiana’s primary is March 24. Santorum will be back in Illinois on Monday.
