Michael Hirsch: “It would be a cruel irony indeed for Mitt Romney, whose father’s political career was ended with one indelible word — ‘brainwashed’ — if the son suffered the same fate at the hands of one of his most loyal aides, Eric Fehrnstrom. But if the Obama campaign were smart, right now it would be using some of its millions of dollars to hire the best former Saturday Night Live writers out there, all in an effort to keep the country laughing at the image of Mitt Romney as ‘the Etch A Sketch candidate.'”

Capitol Hill sources tell Howey Politics Indiana that Club for Growth is planning to spend $1.8 million on behalf of Richard Mourdock (R) in his GOP primary challenge to Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN).

A new Pew Research poll looks at “quick, off-the-cuff public impressions” of the GOP presidential candidates.

For Mitt Romney, the overall number of people citing money or wealth has soared since late last year, with mentions of his religion way down. His top five in the new poll are “no,” “rich,” “good,” “Mormon” and “moderate.”

The top five for Rick Santorum: “conservative,” “no,” “good,” “OK,” and “crazy.”

For Newt Gingrich: “old,” “no,” “idiot,” “untrustworthy” and “dislike.”

“There is a keen awareness in the party, particularly among fund raisers and elected officials, that Santorum is playing to hurt Romney so that Romney loses. Santorum sees himself as the nominee in 2016, and he’s playing a 2016 game. You wouldn’t continue to rip at Romney and tear at Romney and try to damage Romney if you were playing the normal, second-place game. The normal second-place approach is to rally around the nominee and become part of the leadership of the party.”

— Romney fundraiser Wayne Berman, quoted by Mike Allen.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who just lost his primary for re-election, is heading back to Washington state next month, “stoking speculation he might be considering a comeback bid on the West Coast,” Roll Call reports.

The New York Times notes that “in the world after Sarah Palin and Game Change, the chances of Mitt Romney or anyone else choosing a first-term governor lacking a national brand name and experience are greatly diminished.”

“And the fallout from the McCain campaign’s selection of Ms. Palin for the No. 2 place on the ticket will extend well beyond the chances of any individual. For any Republican who makes it onto the short list of possible vice presidential nominees, the vetting process this year promises to be as thorough and intrusive as the vetting of Ms. Palin was rushed and incomplete.”

“If presidential campaigns are M.R.I.’s for the soul, as David Axelrod, President Obama’s political strategist, likes to say, vice presidential vetting this year will be a body-cavity search.”

Michelle Cottle hopes the news about John Edwards linked to a prostitution ring isn’t proven.

“I want to believe this latest Edwards monkey business isn’t true — not because I harbor a shred of fondness or respect for him, but because I find it unnerving that a man this reckless, this self-indulgent, this irretrievably stupid came within a thousand miles of occupying the White House.”

“Imagine if Ohio had gone blue in 2004. If being a failed VP candidate turned Edwards into a narcissistic fool, what would winning have done to him?”

Howard Kurtz: “At the cable news networks, including CNN, the only one to provide continuous primary coverage on Tuesday, the word is out that the presidential campaign is sending the ratings south. Television, in short, has pretty much decided the race is over, Mitt Romney has won, the thing is boring everyone to death, and it’s time, at least for now, to move on. The campaign is occupying less front-page real estate in the major papers as well.”

Vice President Joe Biden is poised to attack the Republican presidential candidates over entitlement programs through a speech in Florida, CNN reports.

Biden will say, “Make no mistake, if Republicans in Congress and their amen corner of Romney, Santorum and Gingrich get their hands on the White House, they will end Medicare as we know it.”

“I’m going to wait to see which Romney it is.”

— Former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), in an interview with The Hill, saying he’s considering voting for Mitt Romney this November.

A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Rick Santorum is headed for a commanding win in Louisiana on
Saturday. He leads Mitt Romney, 42% to 28%, followed by Newt
Gingrich at 18%, Ron Paul at 8% and Buddy Roemer at 2%.

Key findings: “It’s interesting to look at these numbers in the context of last week’s
results in Alabama and Mississippi. Mitt Romney averaged 30% in those
two contests, and that’s about where he is here. Rick Santorum and Newt
Gingrich combined for 64% in those two contests, and they combine for a
relatively similar 60% here. The big difference though is that
conservative voters appears to be abandoning Gingrich for Santorum now,
and that’s why Louisiana is likely to be much more lopsided than either
of last week’s contests were.”

A new American Research Group survey shows Santorum leading Romney, 43% to 27%, followed by Gingrich at 20% and Paul at 6%.

“You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for
our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than
the person in there. If you’re going to be a little
different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a
risk with what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate of the future.”

— Rick Santorum, quoted by NBC News, suggesting Republicans may be better off with President Obama than Mitt Romney.

Alex Koppelman: “In the modern, post-machine-politics era, individual endorsements simply don’t matter as much as we sometimes pretend they do. The exceptions are, typically, the endorsements from those politicians who still do have a machine — or at least a robust activist and fundraising operation — that can be employed on the endorsee’s behalf.”