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March 15

Frank Buckles, who died last month at the age of 110, was the last American veteran of World War I.

March 15

Representative Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, said on Tuesday that he will run for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator John Ensign next year.

March 15

A bill sponsored by Representative Carolyn McCarthy will try to close loopholes in the system for background checks before gun sales.

March 15

Political junkies, just like sports junkies, love the little items. Here are a few.

March 15

Rather than emphasize his differences with potential Oval Office rivals, the president is taking every opportunity he can to embrace members of the other party.

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Brian Snyder/Reuters Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a potential Republican candidate for president, holds up a tea bag while speaking in New Hampshire.

With all the news around the world these days, it’s easy to miss the good political commentary over the weekend. Here’s a roundup of some of the best quotes.

1. Representative Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota, goofed about American history in an appearance before a New Hampshire Tea Party organization on Saturday. “You’re true lovers of liberty,” Ms. Bachmann said, according to Foster’s Daily Democrat, a newspaper in Dover, N.H.. “You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord.” Those shots were fired in Massachusetts, a fact she later admitted on her Facebook page: “It was my mistake, Massachusetts is where they happened. New Hampshire is where they are still proud of it!” Later she added: “And by the way… That will be the last time I borrow President Obama’s teleprompter!”

2. With Japan’s nuclear crisis still unfolding, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, called for a moratorium on the construction of nuclear power facilities in the United States. “It calls on us here in the U.S., naturally, not to stop building nuclear power plants but to put the brakes on right now until we understand the ramifications of what’s happened in Japan,” Mr. Lieberman said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Mr. Lieberman praised nuclear power but later repeated that the crisis in Japan meant that “we’ve got to kind of quietly — quickly — put the brakes on until we can absorb what has happened.”

3. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, continued his criticism of President Obama’s energy policies on Sunday. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. McConnell accused the president of being partly to blame for rising gas prices because “this administration in the last two years has been shutting down wells.” After Mr. McConnell made the accusation last week, Mr. Obama rejected it in a news conference on Friday, saying that “any notion that my administration has shut down oil production might make for a good political sound bite, but it doesn’t match up with reality.” But Mr. McConnell refused to back down on Sunday: “There has been a conscious effort to make it difficult to drill in this country. Both on shore and offshore by the bureaucrats who have been appointed by this administration and president. Noting that there has been a slight uptick in production doesn’t get to the heart of the problem.”

4. Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates emerged as a skeptic of the idea that the United States could impose a no-flight zone over Libya to help the rebels who are fighting there. But on Saturday, Mr. Gates said that “a little bit too much has been read into some of my remarks last week.” Speaking to reporters, Mr. Gates clarified that he believed the United States had the capacity to impose a no-flight zone if the president decided to do it. “This is not a question of whether we or our allies can do this. We can do it,” Mr. Gates said. “If we are directed to impose a no-fly zone, we have the resources to do it. I just want to make clear we have the capacity to do it.”

5. For the first time in his presidency, Mr. Obama appeared at the annual Gridiron dinner this weekend, a black-tie, closed-door roast. Among the jokes the president offered was one about the speaker of the House, John Boehner. “I used to think that it was a tan,” Mr. Obama said, “but after seeing how often he tears up I’ve come to realize that’s not a tan — that’s rust!” A full report can be found here, from my colleague Jackie Calmes.

6. Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, has been sending Twitter messages quite regularly these days. Her favorite targets? Mr. Obama’s energy policy and the news media. Over the weekend, Ms. Palin lashed out at both. “Pres is mistaken. Again. Claims we control 2% world’s oil & he “boosts production”?Who advises him?Who writes his stuff?Why won’t press ask?,” she sad in one message. In a follow-up message, she asked: “Is MSM just awestruck? Is that explanation for ignoring his claims? MT@dcexaminer: WH claims fail/Hugh Hewitt http://bit.ly/dERcdS.”

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Trying to ramp up pressure on the White House to move forward on a trio of trade pacts, Senate Republicans said Monday that they would block confirmation of a new Commerce secretary or any other trade nominee until President Obama submitted trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama for ratification.

Leading Republicans said they had commitments from 44 Republican senators, more than enough to filibuster any nominee for the Cabinet post being vacated by Gary Locke. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, a former Bush administration trade representative, said Republicans were acting to encourage the administration to advance trade deals the president supports.

“We’re trying to help the president to do what he has talked about, of doubling exports over the next five years,” said Mr. Portman, who said the trade deals would create an estimated 250,000 jobs. “We can only do it by opening more markets to U.S. workers and farmers and service providers. And these three agreements are a great way to do it.”

Democrats criticized the Republican approach. “This tactic is a diversion from our goal and is simply not the way to ensure their passage,” Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat and chairman of the Finance Committee, said. “It is time for us to work together to approve these agreements.”

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Pool photo by Leslie E. Kossoff President Obama gave a speech on reforming education at Kenmore Middle School, in Arlington, Va.

As they prepare to wage political war against President Obama, the potential 2012 Republican candidates are doing everything they can to draw sharp distinctions with him.

But Mr. Obama isn’t cooperating.

Rather than emphasize his differences with potential Oval Office rivals or Republican adversaries on Capitol Hill, the president is taking every opportunity he can to embrace members of the other party as co-conspirators in his efforts to confront the country’s challenges.

According to Mr. Obama, the two parties have cooperated — or are showing signs of being willing to work together — on education reform, tax cuts, energy security, economic growth and potential changes to an entitlement system that has become a drain on the nation’s budget.

“I am proud of the commitment by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to fix No Child Left Behind,” Mr. Obama said Monday at a Virginia middle school.

Two weeks ago, at a fund-raiser in Miami, he noted that “I’m proud that Democrats and Republicans joined forces in December to cut taxes for every American.”

And at a meeting of the National Governor’s Association, he spoke optimistically about confronting the rising costs of Medicare and Medicaid, saying that “I think that’s something that Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.”

He’s also heaped special praise — tinged with just a bit of sarcasm — on Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts (for his health care plan) and Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, for serving as Mr. Obama’s ambassador to China. Both men are considering a bid for president in 2012.

The logic behind Mr. Obama’s approach appears to be rooted in the belief that voters — and especially independents — are looking for evidence that politicians in Washington are working together on problems rather than content to live with an unending stalemate.

In a cabinet meeting the day after the midterm elections in November, Mr. Obama said that that was the message he had received from the drubbing his party took. Voters, he said, are “concerned about making sure that taxpayer money is not wasted, and they want to change the tone here in Washington, where the two parties are coming together and focusing on the people’s business as opposed to scoring political points.”

The change in the president’s rhetoric since then has been striking.

In the weeks before the election, Mr. Obama hardly missed an opportunity to suggest that it was Republicans who had driven the American economy into a ditch. “Have you noticed when you want to go forward, what do you do with your car?” he would repeatedly ask. “You put it in D. When you want to go backwards, what do you do? You put it in R. That’s not a coincidence.”

Except for one fund-raiser on Nov. 5, Mr. Obama has not said the word “ditch” in public since then.

In addition to appealing to some voters, the bipartisan rhetoric from Mr. Obama may be an attempt to disarm his potential 2012 rivals and Republicans on Capitol Hill. In Miami this month, Mr. Obama stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, to promote education reforms.

“it’s time we came together — just like Jeb and I are doing today — coming from different parties but we come together not as Democrats or Republicans, as Americans, to lift up all of our schools,” he said.

Not everything is sweetness and light, of course. Mr. Obama and the Capitol Hill Republicans remain at loggerheads over the current year’s budget. And there’s no clear indication of how the two sides are going to reach agreement on raising the nation’s debt ceiling later this year.

The president will also need to shift into a more adversarial mode as the election grows closer. Even as his campaign preached hope and optimism in 2008, Mr. Obama’s victory against Senator John McCain of Arizona was built on drawing a clear contrast between the two men.

It may be that Mr. Obama can put off that kind of sharp-edged campaign rhetoric for several months. It seems unlikely he will have a serious primary challenger, and that will allow him to appear somewhat above the fray while the Republicans battle among themselves.

But already, his campaign operatives are beginning to travel the country, hat-in-hand, looking for donations from wealthy supporters. And his finance operation will soon be asking for donations from the millions of less-wealthy supporters who contributed a few dollars in 2008.

Both groups will be looking for contrasts, not just mushy expressions of cooperation.

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Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press President Obama greets children upon his arrival to Miami International Airport in Miami, Friday, March, 4, 2011.

President Obama officially launches the 2012 money chase in Miami Friday night, offering fundraising assistance to Democratic senators even as his own staff begins the run for $1 billion.

In what are the first fundraisers featuring the president since the midterm elections, Mr. Obama will be the headliner at the Fontainebleau Resort and then will gather for a more intimate fundraiser at a private residence.

The two events are aimed at raising money for Senator Bill Nelson of Florida and, more generally, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which faces the daunting task of defending dozens of open or vulnerable seats in 2012.

They also kick off a renewed effort to woo the high-rollers in a state that will almost surely be critical to Mr. Obama’s reelection campaign. Florida is rich in both money and electoral votes — both of which will be important as Mr. Obama tries to reassemble a winning campaign.

Politico reported Friday morning that Jim Messina, the likely campaign manager for Mr. Obama, has already been crisscrossing the country in search of big-dollar contributions even as the race on the Republican side has yet to develop.

As the big-money race begins in earnest, here’s a look of some of the key players — and components — in a campaign money machine that is tasked with raising close to $1 billion dollars for the president:

Mr. Messina: He served for almost two years as a deputy chief of staff in Mr. Obama’s White House, and has been a “fixer” for the president, dealing with the most politically difficult problems. Messina was recently in Chicago meeting with Democratic donors and scouting space for a campaign headquarters.Julianna Smoot: She served as Mr. Obama’s top fundraiser during the 2008 campaign. Her $75 million haul for Mr. Obama during the first nine months of 2007 helped establish him as a top contender. She is likely to be a deputy campaign manager in 2012. Penny Pritzker: A billionaire from Chicago, she served as the chair of Mr. Obama’s fundraising team but took herself out of running for Commerce secretary when Mr. Obama was assembling his Cabinet. Her family’s financial empire includes the Hyatt Hotel chain. Though it’s unclear what Ms. Pritzker’s role will be, her background, connections and close relationship to the president suggest it will be high profile. Tim Kaine: The chairman of the Democratic National Committee has already spent much of the last two years raising money for the president and the party. If he decides against running for the Senate in Virginia, look for him to ramp up that role.Wall Street: If Mr. Obama wants to raise close to $1 billion, he’ll once again need the support of wealthy friends. The Washington Post’s Jason Horowitz offered some familiar names: Orin Kramer, an investor at Boston Provident; Mark Gallogly a co-founder of Centerbridge Partners; James Rubin, an investor at BC Partners; and Robert Wolf, president of UBS Investment Bank.The Internet: As much as big donors matter, Mr. Obama is likely to rely heavily on the kind of smaller donations that were key to his campaign in 2008. The biggest player in that game? The list of supporters — and their email addresses — now housed at Organizing for America, the DNC’s outreach arm.

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Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, may announce the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president.

The nation’s political reporters are making the trek from Washington to Atlanta on Thursday in the belief — bolstered by some fresh evidence — that the 2012 presidential campaign is about to get fully engaged.

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, is set to confirm his intention to explore a presidential campaign — the first step toward becoming an official candidate for the Republican nomination.

At the same time, Matt Strawn, the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, will be in Washington Thursday to discuss the carefully constructed Republican primary and caucus calendar, which is once again threatened by states eager to leapfrog into the early months of the contest.

And the Fox News network has finally begun to confront the obvious dilemma posed by the presence of likely presidential candidates on its payroll. On Wednesday, the network suspended Mr. Gingrich and Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, as contributors until they decide whether to run for president.

Together, the developments suggest that the race to challenge President Obama is about to escape the behind-the-scenes jockeying phase and enter full-blown campaign season.

Just what Mr. Gingrich plans to say today is in some doubt. Top aides had signaled this week that he would officially form an exploratory committee. But later, aides insisted that his trip to Georgia was not designed as a campaign event, though he certainly might answer a question about his plans.

The Associated Press reported Thursday morning that Mr. Gingrich would begin raising money to gauge his support in advance of formally setting up a committee.

Either way, an official acknowledgment by Mr. Gingrich that he is running for president could jump-start a race that has been simmering below the surface for months. Close to half a dozen candidates have said they are considering running for president, but none have so far taken official steps.

They may not be able to wait much longer. With Mr. Gingrich on the move, other serious contenders may feel pressure to make their intentions known. And with the first presidential debate scheduled for May 2, time is running out.

So, apparently, is the patience of Fox News, which has contracts or agreements with Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Santorum, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, and Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska. All have expressed interest in running for president, a decision that would require them to sever ties with the network.

On the network Wednesday, Bret Baier, the political anchor, said the suspension of Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum was effective for 60 days. “Then on May 1, their contracts will be terminated unless they notify Fox that they are not running for president,” he said.

The network said similar action would be taken against Ms. Palin and Mr. Huckabee as soon as they show “some serious intention to form an exploratory committee.”

The candidates are not the only ones ramping up, however. State officials across the country are once again eagerly scheming to make sure the presidential contests come early enough in the political season to make a read difference.

For decades, Iowa and New Hampshire have insisted on being the two opening states of the presidential campaign. More recently, South Carolina and Nevada have held onto early positions in the political calendar. The Iowa caucus is scheduled for Feb. 6, with the New Hampshire primary eight days later. Except for South Carolina and Nevada, all of the other states are supposed to wait until March to hold their contests.

But in Minnesota, the Republican Party is insisting on a Feb. 7 date for its caucus, just a day after Iowa’s. Florida Republicans have scheduled their primary for Jan. 31— a poke in the eye to the four states that traditionally hold the early contests.

In an interview Wednesday as he arrived in Washington, Mr. Strawn said Iowa would reject those efforts.

“In my conversations with colleagues in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the early states will do what we need to do to maintain our traditional role as the leadoff states,” Mr. Strawn said. “We certainly reserve the right to do what’s necessary.”

If that sounds like a threat, it is. Mr. Strawn and his counterparts in New Hampshire have made it clear that they will move the dates of their contests up to make sure that they are first. The hopscotching in 2008 ended only when the Iowa caucus was scheduled for Jan. 3.

“We are monitoring the situation,” Mr. Strawn said. “There’s time for states to get in compliance with the R.N.C. rules.”

Those rules are fairly strict this year: states that improperly schedule their contests before March 1 risk losing the ability to seat their delegates at the national convention in the summer of 2012 — the ultimate loss of influence in picking the party’s nominee.

But beyond that, the Republican National Committee has threatened that states could find themselves in less desirable hotels during the convention and without guest and V.I.P. passes to hand out. As Mr. Strawn put it: “That is a problem for state party leaders trying to figure out how to keep people happy.”

In addition to meeting with reporters on Thursday, Mr. Strawn is in Washington to meet with national party leaders in the hopes that they can avert a messy dispute playing out in the press like it did four years ago.

“I am hopeful,” he said, “that states still have the time to be in compliance with those rules.”

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