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Friday's Political Grab Bag: Romney Leans On Bush's Economic Team Etc.

In a move that likely opens him up to some obvious Democratic attacks, Mitt Romney is turning to members of President George W. Bush's economic brain trust to craft what he hopes will be a winning economic message.

Romney is often likened to his father George, the former Michigan governor, but shares many defining traits, like reserve and caution, with his mother, Lenore, who once ran for a U.S. Senate seat and, like her son, failed in that effort.

Despite his strictly conservative views opposing contraception, abortion and government-paid prenatal screenings, Rick Santorum has gained ground, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, with Republican women.

A top House Republican fundraiser, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, is facing increased scrutiny of federal law enforcement investigators amid allegations that his companies illegally reimbursed political donors.

Comedian Bill Maher donated $1 million to President Obama's Priorities USA superPAC during a live performance in San Jose, CA.

Many people are still trying to wrap their heads about what it means politically, if anything, that Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, Cuban American and Roman Catholic, was baptized a Mormon at one point during his childhood.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Frank James joined NPR News in April 2009 to launch the blog, "The Two-Way," with co-blogger Mark Memmott.
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