WASHINGTON AP — Mitt Romney apologized Thursday for "stupid" high school pranks that may have gone too far and moved quickly to stamp out any notion that he bullied schoolmates because they were gay. His swift response reflected the Republican presidential candidates recognition that his record on gay rights is under heightened scrutiny following President Barack Obamas embrace of gay marriage.One day after gay rights moved to the center of the presidential race with Obamas announcement on same-sex marriage, a Washington Post report about Romneys high school escapades nearly 50 years ago added a personal dimension to Democrats claim that hes out of step on the sensitive topic.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar faced the biggest threat of his nearly four-decade career Tuesday, North Carolina voters weighed a gay-marriage ban and Democrats were picking a nominee to challenge Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in a June recall election.The races overshadowed Mitt Romneys all-but-certain presidential primary victories in three states, expected to bring him close to the 1,144 he needs to clinch the nomination.

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Talking about Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs’ wonderful new book “The Presidents Club.” Watch here.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rick Santorum won the Louisiana Republican presidential primary Saturday, beating front-runner Mitt Romney in yet another conservative Southern state.

“We’re still here. We’re still fighting. We still believe, as this race really shows,” Santorum told supporters in Green Bay, Wis.

Although the victory gives Santorum bragging rights and 10 more delegates, it does not change the overall dynamics of the race; the former Pennsylvania senator still dramatically lags behind Romney in the hunt for delegates to the GOP’s summertime nominating convention.

Even so, Santorum’s win underscores a pattern in the drawn-out race.

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Hillary Clinton’s possible presidential run and the premiere of HBO’s Game Change. Watch here.

Chatting with Chuck Todd and the panel on “The Daily Rundown” the day of the New Hampshire primary.

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I did an interview with John Oliver during Sarah Palin’s One Nation bus tour up the East Coast. A brief comment made it in – at the 1:25 mark!

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The first Republican presidential primary debate — with some of the key contenders AWOL — kicked off the nomination fight Thursday with shots at President Barack Obama’s domestic and foreign policy.

The faceoff, co-sponsored by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party, came just days after Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Bin Laden’s death sharply reoriented the debate among the five candidates here — the first 15 minutes were spent on foreign policy — not jobs, the economy or the national debt, which have been key issues for the GOP.

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On NPR’s All Things Considered talking about how the Tucson shooting will affect the tone in the new Congress.

You can listen here.

I loved writing this story about Giffords’ marriage to Mark Kelly. Many thanks to the personal friends who took the time to talk to me.

TUCSON, Ariz. — NASA’s selection Thursday of a backup commander for astronaut Mark Kelly served as a reminder that the shooting in Tucson affected another community nearly as much as Capitol Hill — the one affiliated with America’s manned space programs.

For critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and Kelly had become the first couple of space exploration, a unique, high-profile team that took to the national stage as some of the most critical decisions in the history of U.S. human spaceflight were on the agenda.

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Photo credit: Reuters via POLITICO.