Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gets a hug from his wife Karen after announcing he is suspending his candidacy for the presidency today in Gettysburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Rick Santorum is suspending his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, clearing a path for Mitt Romney to become the nominee. A campaign spokesman says the former Pennsylvania senator was to make the announcement Tuesday in his home state of Pennsylvania, two weeks before the GOP presidential primary there. Santorum faced a tough fight in his home state against Romney/AP.

Question: Are you ready for Barack versus Mitt?

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum hugs a boy during his visit to Bob's Diner in Carnegie, Pa., Wednesday. Santorum's main opponent, Mitt Romney, won Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Story here. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Question: Is it time for Santorum to bow out — and let Romney focus on President Barack Obama?

Rick Santorum desperately needs a win in Wisconsin Tuesday to slow Mitt Romney's momentum, but the Red White & Blue Fund says in a 39-page memo that Idaho is among 12 states where challenges could trim Romney's delegate count. The March 22 memo was published last week by the Huffington Post and argues that 638 unbound delegates and potential challenges at the convention in August mean it is “nearly impossible” for Romney to capture the 1,144 necessary to lock up the nomination in advance. In Idaho, the memo argues that Romney deserves only 20 of the 32 delegates, though state party rules call for him to receive all 32. The memo says Santorum deserves six delegates. It also mistakenly says Newt Gingrich should also get six delegates, confusing Gingrich with Ron Paul/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. (SR file photo: Santorum in Coeur d'Alene in February)

Question: Any thoughts re: the winner-take-all caucus rules that Idaho GOP followed?

Standing in front of a statue of Ronald Reagan on horseback, Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at a campaign rally earlier today in Dixon, Ill. Dixon is the boyhood home of former President Ronald Reagan. (AP photo)

Question: Is there any Republican on the national scene that has the potential to become another Ronald Reagan?

Jimmy-MAC: Update on “Floatergate”: Got a call from Cd’A Resort GC from an eyewitness to THE SHOTS HEARD ‘round Cd’A and got the okay to post this. Distance was set out at 230 yards. Santorum hit a higher lofted driver. Three balls hit. First one went in the drink. Don’t recall order of next two balls but one ended up in the trap and the other held the back rough. No wind that day. I was told Santorum has a pretty good swing and actually gets (or had gotten) lessons from a pro in Texas that the eyewitness actually knows. I had gone on and on about the hardness of the green’s surface being closer to a tarmac in February but apparently they keep a cover on the green during the winter months. That coupled with the interior makeup of the floater (the inside is pretty ingenious if you’ve ever seen pictures or the clips that has aired on the Travel Channel) keep the green at a warmer temperature. I should have taken that into consideration. (Jesse Tinsley SR file photo: Jerry Jaeger of Hagadone Hospitality & Rick Santorum joke about Santorum's golf shot at rally in Coeur d'Alene in February)

Question: Can you hit the floating green at 230 yards?

Rick Santorum took his re-energized Republican presidential campaign to Puerto Rico Wednesday after key primary victories in the South that raised questions about conservative rival Newt Gingrich's viability as a candidate and portended a long battle with front-runner Mitt Romney. Romney, rejected again by Southern conservatives in the Tuesday primaries in Mississippi and Alabama, won caucuses in Hawaii and American Samoa to claim about a third of the total delegates available and maintain his lead. However, Santorum's twin primary triumphs — while narrow — reframed the GOP race as a one-on-one battle between the socially conservative former Pennsylvania senator and the more moderate Romney, with Gingrich's chances fading fast/CNN Politics. More here. (AP photo: Rick Santorum gives a thumbs up at his election night party in Lafayette, Ala.)

Question: Time for Paul & Gingrich to step to the sidelines?

Item: Romney pads lead; Santorum still in it: Delegate front-runner picks up key Ohio victory/David Espo, AP

More Info: On the busiest night of the campaign, Romney scored a home-state win in Massachusetts to go with primary victories in Vermont and in Virginia – where neither Santorum nor Newt Gingrich was on the ballot. He added the Idaho caucuses to his column. … Santorum countered crisply, winning primaries in Oklahoma and Tennessee and the North Dakota caucuses – raising fresh doubts about Romney’s ability to corral the votes of conservatives in some of the most Republican states in the country.

Question: Time for Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich to head to the sidelines and let Romney and Santorum fight it out?

It took until after midnight, but the wait was worth it for Rick Santorum (shown in AP photo Tuesday in Ohio) supporters. Following four rounds of voting, Santorum was the choice of Kootenai County Republicans in Idaho’s first presidential caucus. The Pennsylvanian received 674 votes in the final round of voting, while Ron Paul received 496 votes countywide, Republican Party officials announced early Wednesday. Mitt Romney, who earned the statewide caucus victory, was eliminated in the third round of voting, while Newt Gingrich was eliminated in the second round. The four rounds of voting, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., did not end until after midnight, as those who waited more than five hours cast their final ballot at The Coeur d’Alene Resort and nine other caucus sites around the county/Joe Donofrio, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: What does the selection of Rick Santorum and Ron Paul as the top two choices tell us about Kootenai County's Republicans?

Statewide results

95.5% precincts reporting

Mitt Romney27,390 votes	63.3%
Ron Paul7,765 votes	18.0%
Rick Santorum7,139 votes	16.5%
Newt Gingrich940 votes	2.2%
Other17 votes	0.0%

Breakdown by county here And: Early story here

Question: Did anyone see big Romney win coming?

As results trickle in for Super Tuesday's nominating contests, CBS News projects presidential candidate Newt Gingrich (silhouetted in AP photo today in Alabama) will win the Republican primary in his home state of Georgia, clinching his first primary victory since South Carolina's January 21 primary contest. CBS News also projects Mitt Romney will win in Virginia, Massachusetts and Vermont.  Polls closed at 7:30 in Ohio. Based on exit polls, CBS News estimates a close race between Romney and Santorum. With polls closed in Tennessee, CBS News projects former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has a small lead, with Romney and Gingrich trailing behind. In Oklahoma, CBS News projects Santorum is leading/CBS News. More here.

Question: Who will be the biggest winner/loser when the night is over?

Ron Paul has pulled into a slight lead in an online straw poll being being conducted prior to the Idaho caucuses on Super Tuesday. After trailing Romney by a quarter of a percent this morning, Paul leads Romney 42.44% to 39.81%. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum remains a distant third with 3.61%. Newt Gingrich has a negligible 1.1%. You can find the poll here.

Question: Do you think Mitt Romney & Ron Paul are the only true contenders for Idaho's Republican delegates?

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum holds a copy of the U.S. Constitution as he speaks during during a campaign rally at the New Life Assembly of God on Thursday in Spokane. SR story here. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Washington lawmakers OK tire socks for snow traction/SR
• Idaho F&G proposing cut in elk harvest/Rich Landers, Outdoors
• Editorial: Don't panic over wandering wolf/Kalispell Daily Inter Lake
• Montana judge apologizes to Obama for racist email/Clair Johnson, Gazette
• Ex-BSU player Kaiserman pitches concussion bill/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Newsletter to Montana solons calls for white homeland/Charles Johnson, Missoulian
• Orbusmax Special: Washington teacher slain in Iraq from religious family here

During Josh Romney's visit to Meridian Tuesday he called out President Obama for urging Democrats to cross over and vote for anyone but Mitt Romney in Tuesday's Michigan primary. “They don't want to face my dad,” Romney said to a crowd of about 100. “President Obama does not want to run against my dad, so he's encouraging everyone in Michigan — all the Democrats — to vote for the other guys, don't vote for Mitt. It's a good sign for us, but it's making life tough in Michigan.” Romney pulled out a critical 3-point win Tuesday, after blasting Rick Santorum for doing what his son attributed to the president. The candidate called Santorum's automated phone calls to Democrats — reminding them that Romney opposed bailing out the U.S. auto industry — a “dirty trick” Tuesday. Santorum omitted mention of the fact that he too opposed taxpayer loans to Detroit/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. (AP photo of Rick Santorum after his 3-point loss to Mitt Romney in Michigan last night)

Question: Do robocalls from political candidates upset you?

Mitt Romney is trying to capitalize on twin victories in Arizona and Michigan as the GOP nomination race expands to the 10 states that vote on Super Tuesday. Rival Rick Santorum, who narrowly lost in Michigan, faces splitting the conservative vote with Newt Gingrich as the former House speaker counts on Southern primaries to revive his campaign. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters Tuesday night in Novi, Mich. Texas Rep. Ron Paul remains a factor as he attempts to mine delegates in caucus states like North Dakota, where his campaign team says the process plays to his strengths. Super Tuesday is March 6, just three days after Saturday's Washington state caucuses/AP. More here. (AP photo of Mitt Romney in Michigan last night)

Question: Was Kid Rock the key to putting Romney over the top in Michigan?

Polls have begun closing in the Michigan Republican presidential primary, where former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum are locked in a close race, with Romney hoping to reestablish himself as the frontrunner and Santorum hoping to gain momentum and reinforce his claim on the party’s conservative base. Arizona today also is holding its Republican primary, where all 29 delegates are expected to go to Romney. The state has a winner-take-all primary so most candidates conceded the race to Romney, who held his lead in the polls. Polls began closing at 8 p.m. Eastern Time in Michigan. They were to begin closing at 9 p.m. Eastern Time in Arizona/Matt Viser and Bobby Caina Calvan, Boston Globe. More here. (AP photo: Karen Santorum lists to her husband talk to the media in Grand Rapids, Mich.)

Question: Predictions?

GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Ron Paul will be in Spokane this week. Rick Santorum will be at the New Life Assembly Church in Spokane Valley on Thursday at noon. Ron Paul will be speaking at the Spokane Convention Center Friday at Noon/KREM2.

• On her Facebook wall, Kootenai County Republican official Lora Gervais reports: “Another visit from Santorum this week in Coeurd'Alene is starting to look more promising.”

ne day after saying the separation of church and state “makes me want to throw up,” Rick Santorum told a Michigan audience that he supports the division of the two institutions. During a Sunday interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Santorum gave his take on the issue: 

“I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state are absolute,” he told 'This Week' host George Stephanopoulos. “The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country … to say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes me want to throw up.”

Question: GOP candidate Rick Santorum claims President Obama has oppressed religious freedom. What do you think?

Rick Santorum has seen Idaho at 35,000 feet. He knows Idaho is a conservative bastion. He reads about a place seething with resentment toward federal agencies restoring wolves to the wild and choking off logging. He hears the antipathy toward Washington, D.C., that Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter regularly expresses. From these factoids, Santorum has concluded Idahoans are ready to throw off the yoke of their federal landlord. The federal government owns about 33.7 million acres of forests and rangeland, about two-thirds of the state. By stoking the fires of the Sagebrush Rebellion, Santorum believes he can peel off a sizeable number of votes in the March 6 Idaho Republican presidential caucus.So Santorum parachuted into Boise last week and promptly said: “We need to get it back into the hands of the states and even to the private sector. … And we can make money doing it.” Now why didn't somebody think of that before? Fact is, they have. Idahoans have spent a lot of time thinking about this/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (AP file photo of Santorum visiting Coeur d'Alene earlier this month)

Question: What do you think about Santorum's idea, espoused during his trip to Idaho, to sell off federal land to states and private individuals?

Patrick Teems completed a political odyssey Saturday. The Boise pilot last week got to attend political rallies for three of the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of Idaho’s March 6 GOP caucus. Teems came into the week leaning toward Mitt Romney, but seeing the other two made him reconsider. Ron Paul’s libertarian message Saturday resonated with him. And he liked Rick Santorum’s electrifying speech Tuesday at Capital High — and Santorum’s willingness to stay afterward to have his picture taken with people such as Teems’ teenage son, Max. Republican Congressman Raul Labrador would have loved to see all three, too, but he was in Washington, D.C., until Saturday and was able to attend only Paul’s rally. He’s not endorsing any candidate/Dan Popkey & Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman. More here. (SR file photo: Santorum with Coeur d'Alene High students (from left) Adam Borsheim, Derek Scharf and Ty Higbie)

Question: Did the visit of three of the top four GOP presidential candidates last week boost Idaho's status on the national Republican scene?

Jimmy McAndrew, who caddied at the Coeur d’Alene Resort golf course before becoming a Coeur d’Alene banker, is skeptical about Rick Santorum’s golf prowess. According to eyewitnesses Tuesday, the Republican prez wannabe landed two golfballs on the floating green, at its winter distance. Doubting Jimmy told Huckleberries: “We are talking 270 yard (on the fly) in 30-40 degree weather over the lake which is always gusting heavily every day and always requires you to club up one minimum (usually two clubs up). Just look at the flag out there, it’s rarely blowing toward the lake.” And even if Santorum hit the green, he’d be lucky to keep the ball on it, says Jimmy. Who estimates the floating green is 30 yards deep. Tops. In the winter, Jimmy said, the surface would be as hard as an airport tarmac. “Hit the green? Maybe,” says Jimmy. “Held it?” Hmm/DFO, Sunday Huckleberries. More here.

• Boise: State workers may get 2% raise/Betsy Russell
• Sixth-grade classmates' fates serve as lessons in poverty/Shawn Vestal
• Smart Bombs: Too many dogs in this fight/Gary Crooks
• Outdoors: Next stop for U.S. boxing trio — China/John Blanchette
• Outdoors: Tips for buying modern snowshoes/Rich Landers
• Hard Rock Cafe serves full Jimi Hendrix experience/Doug Clark

Question: Do you brag about your golf game?