With Romney's nomination all but decided, Ron Paul supporters wrested control of the Maine Republican Convention and elected a majority slate supporting the Texas congressman to the GOP national convention, party officials said as the two-day convention neared its end Sunday. The results gave the Texas congressman a late state victory. 

The names of 15 at-large delegates from Maine to the GOP nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., were posted Sunday as votes for the other delegation seats remained undecided. Maine is allotted a total of 24 delegates to the national convention. 

"It's certainly a significant victory," said Jim Azzola of South Portland, Cumberland County coordinator for Paul. The votes were to become finalized when the convention closes. 

Paul, the last challenger to remain in the contest, finished a close second behind Romney in Maine's GOP caucuses in February but those results were nonbinding. Not everyone, however, had a chance to cast a ballot before the results were announced. A snowstorm forced the cancellation of some caucuses including one in a Paul stronghold. Romney won the February straw poll with 39 percent of the vote to Paul's 36 percent. Santorum trailed with 18 percent and Gingrich got 6 percent. 

Romney's aides say they do not view Paul as a threat to winning the nomination. But Romney and his team have also been mindful not to do or say anything that might anger Paul's loyal supporters. 

"I think he's being very careful because he knows how important the Ron Paul voters are — they obviously represent a very different dynamic," said Mike Dennehy, a former top aide to Republican John McCain's 2008 campaign. "They are the most passionate and the most frustrated of any voters heading to the polls. And many of them are independents." 

In the 2008 contest, Romney won 52 percent of the Maine caucuses, more than double John McCain's 21 percent and Paul's 19 percent. But McCain left the 2008 state convention with 20 delegates, leaving Paul with one. Three were uncommitted. 

Saturday's turn of events in a neighboring state to where Romney served as governor would indicate the GOP has not yet united behind the presumptive nominee, and there are indications the infighting may last all the way to the national convention. 

Paul supporters accused the Romney crowd Saturday of dirty tricks to garner more delegates. "We came here to see democracy in action. We are floored by what happened, absolutely floored to see the cheating," said Elizabeth Shardlow of Auburn, a Paul activist. 

Charles Cragin, a Romney supporter who lost Saturday's bid to chair the convention, called the turn of events at the Maine convention "bizarre." Cragin said the Paul-led delegation may not be recognized at the national convention because of violations of rules of procedure this weekend in Augusta. 

"They have so phenomenally screwed this up that they will go to Tampa and not be seated," Cragin said. 

Another Romney supporter, delegate John Carson of Kittery, acknowledged "this is a split convention." 

"The Paul supporters have had a successful process and should be congratulated on that," said Carson, a veteran of numerous state conventions. "I think it's important that the Romney camp and Paul camp come together and support a single candidate," Carson said, adding that candidate should be Romney.

April 27, 2011 – Obama releases long-form birth certificate

The White House released President Barack Obama’s so-called “long form” birth certificate last April, primarily in response to provocations by Donald Trump, the real estate magnate and reality TV host who had flirted with a bid for the Republican nomination. Trump actually spent a brief period of time atop the polls versus the rest of the fledgling GOP field. Obama decried “carnival barkers” in remarks upon the release of his birth certificate, and Trump faded in the polls before deciding to run for president.

May 15, 2011 – Gingrich calls Ryan plan ‘right-wing social engineering’

Having just launched his campaign for president, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared on “Meet the Press,” where he faced a question about Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s new budget. The plan had been under attack by Democrats who asserted Republicans would end Medicare as it’s currently known by most Americans. 

“I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering,” Gingrich said of the plan. It prompted immediate backlash from conservatives who supported the plan. Ryan himself quipped: "With allies like that, who needs the left?" – a line rival campaigns would use later against the former speaker.

May 31, 2011 – Palin and Trump grab a slice

At this point in the 2012 cycle, whether Sarah Palin would be throwing her hat in the ring for the GOP nomination was a persistant, lingering question.

Her bus tour through the Northeast, which stopped in New Hampshire the same day Mitt Romney formally launched his candidacy in the state, only stoked speculation that Palin would make a run for the White House.

But the most press-frenzied moment of her trip came on May 31, when Palin’s tour bus rolled into Manhattan. She met Donald Trump, who had announced that he would not be a candidate for president, for a slice at a New York pizzeria while a throng of media observed from the outside.

June 9, 2011 – Gingrich suffers mass resignations

Jason Minick / AP

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks during the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill, Pa., Saturday March 24, 2012.

With his campaign reeling from the scrape with Paul Ryan, revelations that Gingrich had enjoyed a six-figure line of credit with the jeweler Tiffany & Co., and an ill-timed vacation to Greece, a throng of the former speaker’s top aides resigned all at once. The resignations prompted speculation in the media about when – not if – Gingrich would be forced to end his campaign.

June 13, 2011 – Pawlenty passes on ‘Obamneycare’

Tim Pawlenty had hoped to emerge as a major challenger to Mitt Romney this cycle, and a day before Republicans gathered for one of their earliest debates, the former Minnesota governor trotted out a new attack line against Romney.

Pawlenty coined the term “Obamneycare” during an appearance on FOX News Sunday, a term meant to fuse the president’s health reform law, an unpopular plan with conservatives, and the similar law Romney had implemented while governor of Massachusetts.

But just 24 hours later, Pawlenty declined to repeat that same attack while sharing the stage with Romney, and suffered a blow to his campaign. He would eventually drop out of the race after the Ames Straw Poll in August.

Pawlenty went on to endorse Romney, though ironically, other Republican candidates have used the “Obamneycare” slur against Romney.

Aug. 11, 2011 – ‘Corporations are people, my friend’

Mitt Romney was widely expected to run for president again, but took a deliberately slow pace in getting his campaign up to full speed.

Romney didn’t participate in the Ames Straw Poll, but he joined most of the other Republican candidates in the time-honored tradition of going to the Iowa State Fair. That included a soapbox speech for Romney, where he was met by a liberal heckler who pressed Romney on favorable treatment of corporations.

“Corporations are people, my friend,” Romney blurted in response. The comment went viral immediately on Twitter, and Democrats quickly pounced to paint Romney as an ally of big business.

Aug. 15, 2011 – Perry says printing more money is ‘almost treasonous’

After an incredibly hyped launch to his candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry marched into Iowa with a schedule full of campaigning.

To conclude his first full day on the trail, though, Perry seemed to suggest that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be acting treasonously if he were to authorize a more expansive monetary policy before the election. Moreover, Perry hinted that Bernanke would be treated poorly at the very least if he were in Texas.

“If this guy prints more money between now and the election,” Perry said at a gathering in Cedar Rapids, “I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we — we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous — or treasonous in my opinion."

August 2011 – ‘9-9-9’

Herman Cain debuted his catchphrase-based tax plan in August, and it would serve as a cornerstone of the former pizza magnate’s surge in the polls later in the fall. 

The plan called for a radical restructuring of the tax code, replacing much of it with a nine percent tax each on individual income, corporate income and sales.

The plan, and the number nine, would develop into Cain’s boilerplate response to most questions about his economic policy. Serious scrutiny of the plan suggested that it would blow a serious hole in the deficit, and Cain’s rivals attacked the introduction of a sales tax as a slippery slope that threatened abuse by the government. 

Sept. 7, 2011 – Audience cheers Texas executions

At an NBC News debate in September – Rick Perry’s first – moderator Brian Williams posed a question to the Texas governor about the record number of prisoners executed during his time in office.

When Williams noted the 234 executions, members of the audience broke out into applause regarding the question, which was intended to ask Perry whether he had any doubt about whether any of those prisoners might have been innocent. 

"But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed,” Perry said, earning more applause from the audience. 

When pressed by Williams on the crowd reaction, Perry added: "I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of cases, supportive of capital punishment."

The strong reaction from the crowd set the tone for a number of debates during the primary season, where reactions from the audience - in part - framed perception of the candidates on TV.

Sept. 13, 2011 – Bachmann says HPV vaccine causes 'retardation'

The morning following a presidential debate, Bachmann appeared on the TODAY show and suggested that the vaccine for the Human Papilloma Virus might be linked to intellectual disabilities.

Her poll numbers tarnished by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had mandated the vaccine for young women during his time in office, Bachmann attacked Perry for forcing the vaccine on young women.

But on the TODAY show, Bachmann went a step further. “I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa, Fla., after the debate,” she said. “She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter ... This is a very real concern and people have to draw their own conclusions.”

Sept. 23, 2011 – Debate audience boos gay soldier

A Republican debate in mid-September featured some questions submitted to the candidates by YouTube users.

One such question came from a member of the U.S. military who was gay, just days after the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy had ended.

“In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was, because I’m a gay soldier, and I didn’t want to lose my job,” said Stephen Hill, whose image was projected on a large TV screen in the debate hall. “My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”

The question was met with some loud boos from members of the audience, which came on the heels of their controversial reaction to the execution of prisoners in Texas just a couple of weeks earlier.

Oct. 8, 2011 – ‘Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan’

Herman Cain began to surge in the polls in early October, and started to receive more serious questioning about his views, especially foreign policy.

Cain had emphasized his 9-9-9 tax plan as the primary element of his candidacy, and admittedly said that he would leave foreign policy to advisers.

“I’m ready for the ‘gotcha’ questions and they’re already starting to come. And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan I’m going to say, 'You know, I don’t know. Do you know?' And then I’m going to say, 'how’s that going to create one job?'” he told the Christian Broadcast Network.

The interview led to even more pointed questioning of Cain’s foreign policy views and a more aggressive vetting of the former pizza executive’s record in the press. 

Oct. 18, 2011 – ‘I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake!’

At the height of his battle against a surging Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney called into question Perry’s toughness on illegal immigrants given the law Perry had signed granting in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants who attended colleges and universities in Texas.

Perry turned the line of attack against Romney, saying the former Massachusetts governor had hired a lawn care company for his home that had employed illegal immigrants. Romney offered an explanation, albeit an inartful one that made him seem like a political opportunist.

"So we went to the company, and we said, 'Look, you can't have any illegals working on our property,” Romney said. “I'm running for office, for Pete's sake! I can't have illegals!'”

Nov. 7, 2011 – Sharon Bialek accuses Herman Cain of harassment

After climbing his way to the top of the polls of Republican presidential contenders, various media outlets reported that Cain, during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association, had been forced to settle at least two claims of sexual harassment against him.

The accusers remained anonymous, and Cain vehemently denied having ever acted inappropriately (and still does today).

Nonetheless, it was the eventual emergence of Sharon Bialek, with the assistance of celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who put a public face to the accusations against Cain. Bialek offered graphic descriptions of her allegations, which added fuel to the fire that had engulfed the Cain campaign. The former Godfathers Pizza CEO would suspend his campaign just a few weeks later.

Nov. 9, 2011 – ‘Oops.’

Maybe no single word is more associated with Rick Perry’s bid for the presidential nomination than “oops.”

The Texas governor had received a great deal of scrutiny for his poor performances in debates, where he minced words and appeared fatigued at points. His stumbling answer to a question regarding his plan to eliminate three government agencies crystalized that narrative and virtually crippled his candidacy.

“Commerce, Education and the  — what’s the third one there? Let’s see,” Perry said, pausing.

"The third agency of government I would do away with – the Education, the Commerce. And let's see. I can't. The third one, I can't. Oops."

Nov. 9, 2011 – Gingrich says he served Freddie Mac as a ‘historian’

After Newt Gingrich had begun to surge again in the polls, Mitt Romney’s campaign countered by digging up the former speaker’s work for troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

At a debate in Michigan, Gingrich explained his paid contract with Freddie Mac by denying having ever lobbied for the company. Instead, the ex-speaker asserted, he had consulted with the company in his capacity as a historian.

“I have never done any lobbying, every contract that was written during the period when I was out of the office specifically said I would do no lobbying, and I offered advice. And my advice as a historian, when they walked in and said to me, we are now making loans to people who have no credit history and have no record of paying back anything, but that's what the government wants us to do, is I said  — I said to them at the time: This is a bubble. This is insane. This is impossible,” he said.” 

Nov. 14, 2011 – Cain: ‘I got all this stuff twirling around in my head’

Besieged by accusations of sexual harassment, Herman Cain hardly made matters better for his campaign during a sit-down interview with the editors of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

When asked about his position on President Obama’s management of the uprising in Libya last year, Cain appeared taken off-guard by the question and not immediately familiar with the president’s policy. His answer was captured on video.

"I do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason — nope, that's a different one. [pause] I gotta go back and see," he said. "I got all this stuff twirling around in my head. Specifically, what are you asking me that I agree or not disagree with Obama?" 

Dec. 10, 2011 – The $10,000 bet

Another spat between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry at a Republican debate in December led to a cringe-worthy moment.

The Texas governor asserted that Romney had removed a passage expressing support for health care mandates in the paperback edition of his book. Romney insisted that was not the case, and was so confident in his stance that he offered Perry a wager.

"Rick, I'll tell you what — $10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet," Romney said, extending his hand to shake Perry’s. (The Texan declined.)

The moment provided fodder for Romney’s foes, Republican and Democratic, to underscore his wealth — painting him as the type of person who could casually bet ten large.

Jan. 19, 2012 – Gingrich angrily rebuffs ‘open marriage’ question

Newt Gingrich was sure to face a question at this pivotal debate before the South Carolina about the allegations leveled by one of his ex-wives that Gingrich, while he was speaker of the House, had requested an “open marriage,” or otherwise wanted a divorce.

The allegations cut directly to the questions of character that rivals of Gingrich sought to stoke.

But when CNN anchor John King asked the question to open the South Carolina debate, the ex-speaker showed a flash of anger in response.

"The destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that," he said, earning raucous applause.

The response was so effective that none of Gingrich’s rivals piled on, all declining to comment on the allegations against Gingrich.

Jan. 25, 2012 – Gingrich pledges lunar colony by 2020

Fresh off his upstart victory in the South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich sought to challenge Mitt Romney one-on-one in the succeeding primary in Florida.

The former House speaker campaigned through the state, including a stop in its hard-hit Space Coast – where he causally suggested one of his most “grandiose” ideas of the campaign.

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon. And it will be American," Gingrich told a crowd, prompting guffaws from the media and rival campaigns. Romney would eventually win Florida by a healthy margin. 

Feb. 1, 2012 – ‘I’m not concerned about the very poor’

Continuing an alarming string of gaffes after major primary wins, Mitt Romney gave an interview the day after winning the Florida primary in which he seemed to shrug off helping the poor.

"I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it," Romney said on CNN. "I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."

While the comment was meant to emphasize the focus of the Romney campaign on the middle class, the remark had major reverberations and forced an explanation from the campaign. Romney would have to continue to toil for weeks before gaining a stronger grip on the nomination.

Feb. 24, 2012 – Romney’s Ford Field speech

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Members of the Detroit Economic club gather to hear a speech by Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during a luncheon at Ford Field on February 24, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan.

Mitt Romney returned to Michigan, the state where he was born and raised, to deliver what had been billed as a major economic address at Ford Field, the downtown home of the Detroit Lions.

But when the press arrived to the stadium, it was mostly empty except for some risers and about 1,000 seats for the members of the Detroit Economic Club in attendance. Romney’s speech and their applause echoed throughout the cavernous sports complex, making for poor optics for the speech.

The event was originally intended to be held in a hotel ballroom. But when tickets sold out in less than an hour, a larger venue was needed. Unfortunately, the one selected couldn't possibly be filled.

Making matters worse, in a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Romney pivoted to talk about his love for cars, and the American cars he and his wife owned.

“I drive a Mustang and Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually," he said, again inviting critics to highlight his personal wealth. 

Feb. 26, 2012 – Santorum says JFK speech made him sick

Amid a very tough battle against Mitt Romney in Michigan, Rick Santorum faced fresh questioning about whether he stood by remarks he made the preceding year, when he said he “almost threw up” after reading John F. Kennedy’s speech on the separation of church and state.

"Well, yes, absolutely,” Santorum said on ABC when asked whether the speech really made him ill. “To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case? That makes me throw up.”

The comment came at a point when social issues had reached the forefront of the campaign, driven by a nationwide debate over coverage for contraceptives, and whether religious institutions’ insurers should be exempted from a requirement to cover birth control.

March 21, 2012 – Etch A Sketch

The day after winning the Illinois primary by a commanding margin, a top aide to Mitt Romney appeared on CNN and likened the candidate’s pivot to the general election to erasing an Etch A Sketch.

“Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes,” adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said. “It's almost like an Etch a Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”

Democrats and Romney’s Republican rivals quickly pounced on the gaffe. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich each showed up to campaign events throughout the day with the children’s toy in tow, and reference to the moment was incorporated into one of Vice President Biden’s later campaign speeches.

Romney had to react quickly to control the damage, hastily arranging a one-question press conference to mitigate the fallout.

"I'm running as a conservative Republican," he told reporters in Maryland. "I'll be running as a conservative Republican nominee."

Mar. 25, 2012 – Santorum calls reporter’s question ‘bulls***’

The odds growing that he would become the Republican nominee, Rick Santorum suggested at a campaign stop in late March that giving President Obama a second term would be better than electing Mitt Romney.

When asked by a New York Times reporter about the remark, Santorum reacted angrily.

"Quit distorting my words," Santorum said in Wisconsin. "If I see it, it's bulls---."

The rival Romney campaign played up the comment to portray Santorum’s campaign as having come off the rails.

Whatever happened to Ron Paul? Remember him?

Beginning tonight at California State University, Chico, Paul will accelerate the pace of his campaign and attempt to become part of the national conversation once again. Over the next 40 days Paul will hold rallies at 16 college campuses across the country -- a majority of them in California and Texas -- with plans of adding several more stops before schools adjourn for the summer. 

Universities have been a friendly atmosphere for the 76-year-old presidential hopeful who attracts thousands of people to his rallies but who has yet to win a single statewide GOP contest.

“You have to reach out to more people than the Republican base,” Paul told WMAL Radio on Monday. “We’re going to have big turnouts in places where no other Republican can go. I’m going to go to Berkeley.”

Paul will hold a campaign rally on that campus Thursday -- not a typical stop for Republican presidential candidates.

According to Paul’s campaign chairman Jesse Benton, that’s the point. “Part of the reason we are going to college campuses is to register people. There are congressional districts we can win and we hope to register thousands of young people for the California primary.”

The deadline to register to vote for California’s June 5 presidential primary is May 21, and the campaign hopes the passionate young supporters they register will help Paul win a portion of the state’s 159 delegates –- which will be allocated based on the primary results in each of the 53 congressional districts.

The campaign is also focusing its efforts in Paul’s home state of Texas, which holds the second-largest number of delegates, scheduling six rallies at state universities. 

Paul is also planning a statewide TV ad buy next week, six weeks ahead of the open primary on May 29. 

Benton, who also resides in the Lone Star state, said Texans are “slow to embrace a moderate from Massachusetts and they want to vote for a Texan.”

“We are going to push real hard to let them know they have a strong, fiscal conservative Texan in the race.”

Benton said the campaign is adding staff in Texas and he will be heading up the state’s operation. 

Looking even further down the calendar, Paul plans to speak at five state conventions in an effort to win over delegates to secure the minimum threshold needed to be nominated at the Republican National Convention in August. 

“We don’t plan to get out of race until Dr. Paul is the nominee or someone else is the nominee,” Benton said. “The scores of people across the country want to vote for a constitutionalist, a real conservative, who can bring real change to the White House and they deserve to be heard.”

That said, Paul has won just 34 delegates so far, according to NBC's count. Mitt Romney has 490, Rick Santorum 203, and Newt Gingrich 137.

It's a good thing the GOP presidential race slows down from here: The candidates are even more tired than the voters. And, boy, does it show.

Mitt Romney, who scaled back his public schedule this week to get a break, has slept in his own bed just twice since Christmas. Rick Santorum's been making the kind of flubs that come with exhaustion. Newt Gingrich got caught sleeping on camera a few weeks back, and looked like he just might topple over.

And then there's 76-year-old Ron Paul, last in the delegate hunt. The oldest candidate in the race, Paul is running a campaign that's a study in Ever. So. Slow. Pacing.

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Maybe that's why he seemed so chipper when he turned up on the "The Tonight Show" this week, chatting about an exercise regimen that "helps my brain relax" while the other candidates were scrambling for every last vote in Illinois.

Does it matter if the candidates are exhausted? Oh, yeah.

That's when they make mistakes, get testy and lose perspective. At best, they may just seem to be off stride, muffing key lines and sounding, well, tired.

That can hurt, especially in an election year when the president is able to cruise into the general election without a primary fight. Barack Obama's still got a country to run, and he's already scheduling lots of fundraisers, but it's nothing like the pace of his opponents.

In an odd sort of way, there can be an upside to the brutal grind of campaign life.

"You do get the snot beaten out of you," Rep. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said after she dropped out of the race earlier this year. But she went on to say that it's a good way to sort out the very toughest candidates for "the toughest job in the world."

"It made me a better person," she said.

Recommended: Romney says he'll run as conservative amid 'Etch A Sketch' gaffe 

Small comfort to Romney, Santorum and Gingrich, who have been slogging through the week-in, week-out grind of primaries, fundraisers, town halls, interviews, hotel rooms and airplane food.

"I woke up this morning and found I did not have any shirts that would be appropriate for a fundraiser, so I had to wash my shirt out in the sink," Romney confessed Tuesday, in an interview sandwiched between a Chicago fundraiser and an Illinois victory party. "And then I thought, 'How am I going to get this thing dried fast enough?' So I got the iron out. It took me about 20 minutes to iron it dry. The collar is finally dry."

Dee Dee Myers, Bill Clinton's press secretary during the 1992 campaign and then at the White House, recalls that Clinton "made all of his worst mistakes when he was tired."

"But when every primary feels like a single-elimination contest, you can't afford to take a day off," she said.

Overall, Myers said, Romney seems to showing the stamina of the "Energizer bunny." But she said the Republicans also seem to be suffering from a lack of "message discipline" as they dart from one event to the next without taking time to think through exactly what they want voters to hear.

"That's probably a function of getting tired," she said.

After Saturday's voting in Louisiana, the candidates get a 10-day break before Washington, D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin hold primaries on April 3. That's a welcome respite, but there still will be ads to cut, supporters to cajole, money to raise and all the rest.

The lighter schedule is coming none too soon.

Santorum, Romney's chief rival, has had to backpedal on a series of ill-thought remarks in recent days, prompting him to wish for a "do-over" after saying the unemployment rate wasn't a crucial issue to his campaign.

Some missteps aren't all that surprising when a recent — and typical — campaign day for Santorum had events or interviews scheduled for 8 a.m., 9:05 a.m., 9:15 a.m. 10 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., in seven cities in Illinois and Missouri, followed by a late-night flight in stormy weather to Louisiana for church services the next morning.

"At the age of 53, with seven children ages 20 to 3, it's not exactly the best time to be going out and running for president of the United States," he said last weekend in Effingham, Ill. He'll sometimes sprint home to McLean, Va., for less than a day of down time with his family before revving back up for another long stretch of campaigning.

Santorum will catch a break wherever he can get one. That left him apologizing last week after a less-than-flattering photo surfaced of him asnooze, shirtless, in a chaise lounge during a campaign stop in Puerto Rico.

"I'm sure that's not a pretty sight," he allowed.

Gingrich appears to still be working on perfecting the power nap.

Earlier this month he drifted off, on camera, while waiting for his turn to address a live-streamed meeting of a pro-Israel lobby.

"I understand you have a panel," he told the moderator as he snapped open his eyes. "I look forward to any questions."

An awkward pause ensued while Gingrich waited for questions.

"Mr. Speaker, there is not a panel," the moderator informed him. "Please do continue, sir."

Gingrich may have done himself more good by staying up until 2 a.m. dancing with his wife, Callista, at a hotel lounge in Jackson, Miss., a few days later.

The former House speaker later pronounced it great fun, and called it a "two-hour vacation."

Early on, Gingrich caught grief for taking a couple weeks off the campaign to take his wife on a Mediterranean cruise, and he still gets home many weekends to rest and attend Callista's Sunday choir performances, but he's put in his share of late nights campaigning.

And that's when he's prone to loosen up and get a little punchy, producing what reporters call "late-night Newt" performances.

On one recent evening, Gingrich tested out possible bumper sticker and T-shirt slogans, such as "With Newt, Drill Here, Pay Less," and "Barack Obama, Pay More, Pay Weird."

Romney, for his part, savors the rare chance to sleep in his own bed.

"Oh, boy, we're headed home," he said earlier this month when the primary calendar gave him a pit stop in his home state of Massachusetts after two straight months on the road.

He knew it wouldn't last, though.

"Tomorrow, we wake up and we start again. And the next day, we'll do the same," Romney said. "And so we'll go, day by day, step by step, door by door, heart to heart. There will be good days. There will be bad days. Always long hours, never enough time to get everything done."

Maybe not enough time to wash his shirt. But, hey, Romney says at least he gets "a lot of frequent flyer points," for staying at all those hotels.

And on Romney's campaign bus, the candidate can count on a never-ending supply of one of his favorite comfort foods: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Early indications from exit poll interviews on Tuesday with Republican primary voters in Virginia and Georgia suggest that even the voters who did not cast their ballots for Mitt Romney think that he’s the candidate most likely to defeat President Obama in November.

Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images

In Virginia, 44 percent of voters said the candidate quality that most mattered was the ability to defeat Obama, and 86 percent of those voters backed Romney.

In Georgia, where former House Speaker Newt Gingrich concentrated much of his campaigning in recent weeks, 43 percent of voters said Romney was the candidate most likely to beat Obama. That compares to the 36 percent of Georgia voters who said Gingrich was likely to defeat the president.

Yet Gingrich won the Georgia primary, partly because the voters who said what mattered most to them was having a GOP nominee who was "a true conservative" overwhelmingly favored Gingrich. And the former House speaker also won a lop-sided majority (75 percent) of those Georgia voters who said his ties to the state mattered in deciding their vote. 

Related: Some Republicans root for endgame to primary

In Virginia, 44 percent of voters said the candidate quality that most mattered was the ability to defeat Obama, and 86 percent of those voters backed Romney. 

Georgia and Virginia were each special cases among the 11 Super Tuesday contests.

Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas were the only candidates who qualified for the ballot in Virginia, and Romney was cruising to a comfortable victory there.

In Georgia, Gingrich campaigned frequently and had represented a congressional district in the suburbs of Atlanta from 1979 to 1998. Romney has made only two appearances in Georgia since Jan. 1.

In the two-man Virginia contest between Paul and Romney, exit poll interviews showed Romney getting roughly three-fifths or more of the vote among almost every demographic, income, and ideological group. The only exceptions were single men: Paul got 57 percent of their votes to Romney’s 43 percent and among independents: Paul won 56 percent to Romney’s 44 percent.

But in Virginia Romney won both voters with annual incomes greater than $50,000 and those with incomes below $50,000 – and he won nearly two-thirds of both the college-educated voters and those who had not graduated from college.

The exit poll interviews asked Virginia voters whether they would have voted for former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum if he’d qualified to be on the ballot: one out of five said yes. If Gingrich had been on the Virginia ballot, 12 percent would have voted for him.

Romney dominated among self-described very conservative voters in Virginia, as well as among evangelical Christians, who accounted for about 46 percent of Tuesday’s Virginia electorate.

Among evangelical Christian voters in Georgia, the thrice-married Gingrich, a Catholic convert, far outpaced Romney, a Mormon who has been married to his wife Ann since 1969, beating him by 30 percentage points.

And Romney seriously lagged among conservative voters in Georgia, winning only 26 percent of them, while Gingrich won nearly half of them. Fifty-three percent of Georgia voters said that Romney’s positions on the issues were not conservative enough.

These early exit poll numbers could be modified as more data becomes available later Tuesday night.

Happy Super Tuesday!... All eyes on Ohio… The pressure’s on Santorum… The skinny on today’s 11 contests: the delegates at stake, the expectations for a good night, the poll closings, and the ad spending… Obama holds presser on Super Tuesday at 1:15 pm ET… And the public, per NBC/WSJ poll, differs with McCain on Syria.

Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney waves to supporters after speaking at a rally in Zanesville, Ohio, March 5, 2012, ahead of voting on Super Tuesday.

*** Super Tuesday: How things have changed in just one week. Exactly seven days ago, Mitt Romney was fighting for his political life in Michigan; a loss in his native state could very well have cost him the GOP presidential nomination. But after his very narrow victory there, plus his win in Arizona, the narrative has suddenly changed: Romney -- with wins in Ohio, maybe Tennessee, too -- could very well become the de facto nominee after tonight’s Super Tuesday contests. The marquee race in Ohio is particularly significant for both Romney and Rick Santorum. A Romney win there would keep him on his path (no matter how rocky it’s been) toward capturing the GOP nomination. But a Santorum victory there would signal that his close second-place finish in Michigan wasn’t a fluke, and would likely ensure that this primary season remains competitive, perhaps through April and possibly June. But something to keep in mind: Every time it seems that Romney has been on the ropes (after South Carolina, before Michigan), he pulls off a big win. And every time we think he’s wrapped up this race (after New Hampshire, after Florida/Nevada), we discover it’s not over. 

*** The pressure’s on Santorum: But make no mistake: The pressure is on Santorum tonight. Romney could lose Ohio and still win the GOP nomination. But if Santorum loses the popular vote in the Buckeye State, it’s hard to see how he’ll be a factor come April or May. And no matter what, Romney is going to win the math race tonight -- by virtue of Santorum and Gingrich not being on the ballot in Virginia, and because he didn’t file a full slate of delegates in some Ohio congressional districts. Chew on this: It is possible that Santorum could win in both Ohio and Tennessee, but Romney could win a majority of tonight’s delegates (213 out of 424). That outcome would create a math problem for Santorum and a perception problem for Romney. And given how this campaign season has gone so far, isn't this the most LIKELY outcome?

*** The more things change, the more they stay the same: Indeed, no matter what happens tonight, the overall story remains the same. Romney has a lead in delegates; it will be difficult for his less-organized rivals to catch up to him; no one, including Romney, is likely to wrap up the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination until late May; and the GOP primary season, as our NBC/WSJ poll shows, has taken a toll on the party’s brand and its candidates. Here is NBC’s official delegate count heading into tonight: Romney 119, Gingrich 30, Santorum 17, Paul 8. Note: NBC News does not allocate delegates from many of the non-binding caucus results (like Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, and Washington state; in most of these cases, these results don't even LOOSELY guide the actual delegate allocation process in these states so be careful of some of the various counts circulating.)

*** The skinny on today’s races: Eleven states across the country will hold contests awarding a combined 424 delegates. Here are the 11 contests, plus the delegates at stake in each: Alaska caucus (24), Georgia primary (76), Idaho caucus (32), Massachusetts primary (38), North Dakota caucus (28), Ohio primary (63), Oklahoma primary (40), Tennessee primary (55), Vermont primary (17), Virginia primary (46), and Wyoming caucus (5 of its 26 are elected tonight). The GOP presidential candidates have different strategies and strongholds in these 11 races. Romney hopes to lock down his home state of Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia (where only he and Paul are on the ballot), and Idaho. Santorum is expecting wins in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Gingrich has focused on his home state of Georgia. And Paul has concentrated on the caucuses in Alaska, Idaho, and North Dakota, as well as the primary in Vermont.

*** What would be a good night for the candidates, delegate-wise: Here’s what the NBC Political Unit would see as a good or better-than-expected night for all the candidates. For Romney, it would be winning between 200-220 delegates (with 35-plus in OH, 20-plus in GA, 15-plus in TN, and 10-plus in OK)… For Santorum, it would 115-130 (with 30-plus in OH, 20-plus in GA, 25-plus in TN, and 25-plus in OK)… For Gingrich, it would be 70-80 delegates (with 20-plus in TN, 35-plus in GA, 10-plus in OK, and any delegate from Ohio). 

*** Poll closings: Here are the final poll closing times in each state:
7:00 pm ET: Georgia, Virginia, Vermont
7:30 pm ET: North Dakota, Ohio
8:00 pm ET: Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee
9:00 pm ET: Wyoming
10:00 pm ET: Idaho
Midnight ET: Alaska

*** Romney enjoys big ad-spending advantage: By the way, it’s worth noting that Romney and his Super PAC allies have more than a 4-to-1 ad-spending advantage over Santorum and his allies in the pivotal state of Ohio. And overall, it’s nearly a 5-to-1 advantage. Here are the most up-to-date numbers for ad spending in the Super Tuesday states:
Ohio: pro-Romney $4 million, pro-Gingrich $739,000, pro-Santorum $950,000
Georgia: pro-Romney $1.5 million, pro-Gingrich $950,000, pro-Santorum $214,000
Tennessee: pro-Romney $1.3 million, pro-Gingrich $664,000, pro-Santorum $247,000
Oklahoma: pro-Romney $576,000, pro-Gingrich $422,000, pro-Santorum $182,000
Idaho: pro-Romney $126,000, pro-Santorum $3,000, pro-Paul $47,000
Vermont: pro-Romney $61,000, pro-Paul $55,000

*** On the trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: The candidates are all in different parts of the country today: Romney is in Massachusetts, where he casts his vote in that state’s primary at 5:15 pm ET… Gingrich gives a speech in Georgia before campaigning in Alabama… Santorum is delivering a speech at the AIPAC conference in DC… And Paul stumps in Idaho and North Dakota. Note: As NBC’s Alex Moe reported last night, Newt and Callista Gingrich WILL NOT be voting in Virginia, since Gingrich isn’t on the ballot in the state.

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*** Obama holds presser on Super Tuesday at 1:15 pm ET: To make sure that he isn’t an afterthought on this Super Tuesday, President Obama is holding a White House news conference at 1:15 pm ET. As NBC’s Shawna Thomas has noted, he hasn’t held a presser since last year (a short one in December on Richard Cordray’s nomination and a longer one back in November in Hawaii). While we’re sure that Obama gets plenty of questions on the GOP primary race and 2012, don’t be surprised if he also gets some tough questions on Syria, Israel and Iran, whether he’s evolved more on gay marriage (see our NBC/WSJ poll), GM halting production of the Obama-touted Chevy Volt, and the administration’s hiring of former lobbyist Steve Ricchetti, whom the Obama campaign had singled out in ’07 as a lobbyist bundler for the Hillary Clinton campaign. 

*** U.S. public differs with McCain on Syria: Speaking of Syria, yesterday Sen. John McCain “called for U.S.-led airstrikes against government forces in Syria … the first such call from the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee,” NBC’s Frank Thorp notes. But our new NBC/WSJ poll shows that McCain’s call is VERY unpopular with the country. Just 13% say the U.S. should take military action to stop the killings there; 11% want to provide arms to the opposition; 48% want to give only humanitarian assistance; and 25% want to take no action.

Countdown to Alabama, Hawaii, and Mississippi: 7 days
Countdown to Election Day: 245 days

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The battle for the GOP presidential nomination stands to gain a degree of clarity after Tuesday – amid signs that the race has hurt the eventual nominee’s chances in the eyes of some Republicans.

The nominating fight has stretched two months already has been marked by an especially negative tone. And it’s taken a toll; 40 percent of U.S. adults – and 23 percent of GOP primary voters – said the primary process has given them a less favorable opinion of the Republican primary, according to Monday’s NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

“I think if you polled folks, they very much want to have a spokesperson — an identified candidate — sooner rather than later,” said Rep. Steve LaTourette, a Republican who’s backing Romney, and a veteran of Capitol Hill.

NBC/WSJ poll: Primary season takes 'corrosive' toll on GOP

LaTourette represents a district in northeast Ohio, the consummate swing state which plays host to one of 11 contests on Super Tuesday in which delegates are at stake. The competition is especially fierce in Ohio, where Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are rehashing their fight from Michigan’s primary just a week before.

A week later, the tables have been turned for Santorum. He’s now the candidate who must beat expectations and halt Romney’s momentum. Ohio, and, to a lesser extent, Tennessee, have become the proving ground for the Pennsylvania senator on Tuesday.

"Politics is a game of expectations — who overperforms, who underperforms ... I still believe a coalescing needs to take place behind an alternative to Romney," said Bob Vander Plaats, an influential social conservative leader from Iowa whose support helped propel Santorum to an ultraslim victory over Romney in the state's Jan. 3 caucuses. "I think what he [Santorum] needs to do is he needs to over-deliver on expectations."

First Thoughts: Are the GOP candidates damaged goods?

In both Ohio and Tennesee, Santorum has witnessed his lead over Romney evaporate after Romney successfully defended his native Michigan, and defeated the former Pennsylvania senator in the state. Super Tuesday might not offer Romney an opportunity to deliver a knockout blow, but, at a minimum, he could put Santorum on the ropes by beating him in one or both states.

Team Romney believes that factors within the Republican Party are beginning to move in the former Massachusetts governor’s direction. Romney enjoyed his highest-ever level of support among Republicans compared to past NBC/WSJ polls, and the closing gap in some Super Tuesday states, especially in Ohio, suggests momentum.

“There is a feeling that we have had a vigorous debate about the direction we want to take as a party, and how we want to prosecute Obama on the No. 1 issue, which is the economy,” one Romney adviser said. “We are seeing a movement by many voters to consolidate all the different factions behind one candidate, that candidate being Romney.”

The GOP logic is that once the nomination fight has wrapped, the eventual nominee will be able to pivot toward President Barack Obama, and reverse the damage to the party’s brand.

“Right now there's a media narrative that none of them are up for prime time,” said Jim McLaughlin, a Republican pollster who argued the prolonged primary has actually made Romney a sharper candidate. “The good news for Republicans is once we have a nominee, he'll be able to define himself.”

READ: The NBC political unit's guide to Super Tuesday

Whether the campaign will reach that inflection point Tuesday night is a matter of campaign mechanics as much as raw votes and momentum.

Vander Plaats called Romney the “odds-on” favorite to win the nomination as long as GOP voters fail to rally  — quickly — behind Santorum as the lone alternative to Romney. He argued that Gingrich should consider exiting the campaign after Tuesday night if the former House speaker fails to score any significant wins.

But the Gingrich campaign has worked intently on winning Georgia, which offers Tuesday’s largest kitty of delegates. And a Gingrich surrogate, Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, argued that recent weeks of focus on Santorum’s social views have illustrated the risk in making the former senator the GOP’s nominee.

“We’re not 100 percent sure that Santorum has the right language. You have to be very delicate and diplomatic about the things you say,” he said.  “I think there are some things that he has said along the way that weren’t vetted that would come back to haunt him.”

And as for Vander Plaats’s wish that Gingrich drop out if he loses Georgia? “I think that he would probably look at that, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Kingston said.

Ohio: Romney maintains economic focus | Santorum emphasizes roots

If it’s the case that Romney wins Tuesday and none of his challengers exit the campaign, the race for the nomination may shift into a new stage with Romney in more commanding position, all while fighting to keep his momentum going and bleeding his rivals of support and finances.

LaTourette said he didn’t expect the campaign to end after Tuesday, but expressed his sense of the sentiment among Republicans on Capitol Hill that the nominating battle should wrap up by no later than Memorial Day.

“There comes a point in time when it's too late. I remember Bob Dole and President Clinton. He never got rolling, if you will,” he said. “I would expect Santorum's money to dry up if he doesn't pull out a couple rabbits tomorrow … If he wins it goes on for a little bit, but I really don't see him capturing the hearts and minds of the average Republican voter.”

As another round of voting takes place this week in the Republican presidential race – with 11 states holding Super Tuesday contests – a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that the combative and heavily scrutinized primary season so far has damaged the party and its candidates.

Four in 10 of all adults say the GOP nominating process has given them a less favorable impression of the Republican Party, versus just slightly more than one in 10 with a more favorable opinion.

Additionally, when asked to describe the GOP nominating battle in a word or phrase, nearly 70 percent of respondents – including six in 10 independents and even more than half of Republicans – answered with a negative comment.

Some examples of these negative comments from Republicans: "Unenthusiastic," "discouraged," "lesser of two evils," "painful," "disappointed," "poor choices," "concerned," "underwhelmed,” “uninspiring” and “depressed.”

Read the full poll here (.pdf)

And perhaps most significantly, the GOP primary process has taken a toll on the Republican presidential candidates, including front-runner Mitt Romney, who is seen more unfavorably and whose standing with independents remains underwater.

“The primaries have not raised the stature of the party, nor enhanced the appeal of the candidates,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

“The word you’d have to use at this stage is: ‘Corrosive,’” McInturff adds.

The damage from the Republican primary season – in addition to a rising job-approval rating for President Obama and more optimism about the U.S. economy – has given Democrats an early advantage for November’s general election.

Indeed, the president’s job-approval rating now stands at 50 percent; Obama leads Romney in a hypothetical general-election match up by six points; and Democrats hold a five-point edge on the generic congressional ballot.

If this poll’s outlook on the 2012 race were a cocktail, Hart says, it would be “one part Obama, one part the economy, and three parts the Republican Party’s destruction.”

Bad news and good news for Romney
How damaging has the primary season – with all of its debates, attack ads and scrutiny -- been for the Republican Party?

Forty percent of all adults say the GOP contest so far has made them feel less favorable about the party, while 12 percent say they now have a more favorable impression. Forty-seven percent say it’s had no impact.

Even among Republicans, 23 percent maintain the primary season has given them a less favorable opinion of the party, versus 16 percent who say it’s been positive.

In addition, 55 percent of respondents – including 35 percent of Republicans – believe the Democratic Party does a better job than the GOP in appealing to those who aren’t hard-core supporters. Just 26 percent say the Republican Party does a better job on this front.

And it’s been damaging for Romney, too. In January’s NBC/WSJ poll, Romney’s favorable/unfavorable rating stood at 31 percent to 36 percent among all respondents (and 22/42 percent among independents).

But in this latest survey, it’s now 28 percent favorable and 39 percent unfavorable (and 22/38 percent among independents).

In fact, Romney’s image right now is worse than almost all other recent candidates who went on to win their party’s presidential nomination: Obama’s favorable/unfavorable ratio was 51/28 percent and John McCain’s was 47/27, in the March 2008 NBC/WSJ poll; John Kerry was at 42/30 at this point in 2004; George W. Bush was 43/32 in 2000; and Bob Dole was 35/39 in March 1996.

The one exception: Bill Clinton, in April 1992, was at 32/43 percent.

But there is also some good news for Romney in the poll, especially as it relates to his bid to capture the GOP presidential nomination.

Read the full poll here (.pdf)

After his primary victories last Tuesday in Arizona and Michigan, the former Massachusetts governor leads the national Republican horserace, getting support from 38 percent of GOP voters, his highest-ever mark in the poll.

He’s followed by former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum at 32 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul tied at 13 percent.

In a race reduced to just two candidates, Romney leads Santorum by five percentage points, 50 to 45 percent.

In particular, Romney has improved his standing with Tea Party supporters, getting support from 44 percent of them in a two-way contest against Santorum.

And what’s more, 72 percent of Republicans say they would be satisfied if Romney becomes their party’s presidential nominee.

Obama’s improved political standing
When it comes to President Obama, the poll contains mostly good news. Fifty percent approve of his job – his highest mark in the NBC/WSJ survey since Osama bin Laden’s death – and 45 percent disapprove.

In a hypothetical general-election contest, he leads Romney by six points, 50 to 44 percent, winning independents (46-39 percent), women (55-37 percent) and those in the Midwest (52-42 percent).

Obama enjoys bigger leads over Paul (50 to 42 percent), Santorum (53 to 39 percent) and Gingrich (54 to 37 percent).

Bolstering Obama’s standing is increased optimism about the state of the U.S. economy.

Read the full poll here (.pdf)

Forty percent believe the economy will improve during the next year, a three-point increase from January. And looking back at the economic recession, 57 percent say that the worst is behind us, while 36 percent say the worst is still to come.

Back in November, only 49 percent said the worst was behind us.

“President Obama is probably in the best political shape he’s been in since his initial year as president,” says Hart, the Democratic pollster.

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted from Feb. 29 through March 3 of 800 adults (including 200 by cellphone), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points. The poll also contains an oversample of 185 interviews to achieve a total of 400 GOP primary voters, and that margin of error is plus-minus 4.9 percentage points.