At the risk of annoying supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who believe — and argue fervently — that the mainstream news media don't pay attention to their candidate, it must be noted that Twitter and Facebook don't, either.

Accusations that news organizations are ignoring Paul's presidential campaign are an organizing principle of his supporters, who take to Facebook and Twitter to complain that the only reason Paul isn't leading is a "media blackout."

Every day, hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of comments like this appear:

In fact, Paul's rally was covered by the major St. Louis media (here, here and here, for example), but never mind that — perception matters in politics. And the perception in some quarters is that the media are actively trying to sink Paul's campaign.

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That sentiment makes up about 10 percent of posts about Paul this year, according to msnbc.com's computer-assisted analysis of a sample of 9 million Twitter and Facebook posts that have mentioned one of the four major Republican candidates through Friday.

(The analysis uses a tool called ForSight, a data platform developed by Crimson Hexagon Inc., which is used by many media and research organizations to gauge public opinion in new media, among them the Pew Research Center and ESPN. The results aren't a scientific reflection of national opinion. Instead, they're a broad look at what is being said by Americans who follow politics and are active on Facebook, Twitter or both.)

Since the beginning of the year, Paul and his campaign have been mentioned about 1.1 million times on Twitter or Facebook:

Here's the problem: Over the same time, more than 3.7 million posts have mentioned former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney:

More than 2.2 million have mentioned former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia:

And more than 1.9 million have mentioned former Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania:

Here's an especially telling comparison, charting posts that state an actual opinion about one of the four candidates since Jan. 1. Paul is the yellow line at the bottom, often clocking in at fewer than 5,000 opinions a day:

However much his partisans may complain, it's not just the media that are ignoring Ron Paul.

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Updated at 8:02 a.m. ET -- Rick Santorum scored victories in the Mississippi and Alabama primaries on Tuesday, depriving Mitt Romney of a signature win in a conservative stronghold and raising fresh doubts about the viability of Newt Gingrich's campaign.

The former Pennsylvania senator made his case for being the lone, serious Republican challenger to Romney for the remainder of the primary by besting Gingrich in states the former speaker's campaign had previously said were essential to its long-term viability.

However, there were no signs that this race would lose another candidate anytime soon.

---

“We did it again,” Santorum said to wild applause from supporters in Louisiana in response to projections by NBC News that he would win both Mississippi and Alabama. Romney had hoped to score a victory in Mississippi, proving his ability to win a state that composes part of the heart of the modern GOP. But he appeared to be heading to a third-place finish in both contests, failing to even surpass Gingrich.

A former governor of Massachusetts, Romney acknowledged these contests were an “away game” for a figure like him, marking an effort to set low expectations for how he might finish in the contests.

The Romney campaign was able to pick up delegates in both states, contributing to its march to collect the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

"I am pleased that we will be increasing our delegate count in a very substantial way after tonight," Romney said in a written statement. "With the delegates won tonight, we are even closer to the nomination."

His campaign accrued additional delegates in Hawaii. NBC News declared Romney as projected winner of Hawaii's caucuses early Wednesday. He took about 45 percent of the votes in the state. Santorum earned about 25 percent. 

The Associated Press also reported that Romney picked up all six delegates from American Samoa, plus the endorsement of three members of the Republican National Committee.

A total of 107 delegates were up for grabs between Mississippi, Alabama and Hawaii on Tuesday.

View NBC's delegate count

An outright victory for Romney would have helped close the door on the primary campaign and begin to pivot to the general election, even if it would have come because of a split in the conservative vote.

'Misrepresenting the truth'
Romney has sought to project an air of inevitability surrounding his campaign nonetheless.

"Sen. Santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign and is trying in some way to boost his prospects and, frankly, misrepresenting the truth is not a good way of doing that," Romney said Tuesday night on CNN.

But Santorum has shown little interest in backing down.

“For someone who thinks this race is inevitable, he spent a while lot of money against me for being inevitable,” Santorum said, making reference to the money spent by a pro-Romney super PAC in the two states. (A super PAC also spent on Santorum’s behalf, but not nearly to the extent of Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney group.)

The ex-senator has begun openly expressing his desire for the Republican campaign to narrow into a one-on-one showdown between him and Romney. Santorum also sharpened his attacks against Romney, going after Romney's record in the private sector -- questions about which, just two months ago, Santorum had effectively declared off-limits.

But Santorum still faces a challenge in finding a way to ease Gingrich from the race. Exit poll data in Mississippi found that Santorum won the most conservative voters on Tuesday, while "somewhat conservative" voters split three ways. Similar patterns held true in Alabama. Santorum has argued that, with Gingrich out of the race, he would stand to collect many of the former speaker's voters, and be able to beat Romney.

Santorum sharpens attacks against Romney

Gingrich has been defiant, vowing to fight all the way to the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa, where his campaign argues he could emerge as the nominee if Romney fails to secure a majority of delegates.

"I emphasize going to Tampa because one of the things tonight proves is that the elite media's effort to prove that Mitt Romney is inevitable just collapsed," Gingrich said in Birmingham. "If you're the front-runner and you keep coming in third, then you're not much of a front-runner."

Early exit poll data had raised the Romney campaign's optimism in Mississippi as the possible beneficiary of a split vote between Santorum and Gingrich, and a slightly better-than-expected performance among key blocs such as evangelical or born-again Christians, as well as less educated or less moneyed voters.

Romney viewed as most electable but not enough to help him break through big in Dixie

His campaign stressed the fact that few political observers had expected Romney to win either contest, but aside from some early strongholds this primary cycle Romney has yet to score the kind of signature win needed to demonstrate that core GOP conservatives have acceded to his nomination.

His campaign still has the inside track to win the delegate battle, though that would threaten a prolonged and costly fight for the nomination at a time when many Republicans have worried about the toll this nominating cycle has taken on the party’s brand.

The race now turns to a primary this weekend in Puerto Rico – to which both Romney and Santorum will travel – and a caucus in Missouri that will determine the state’s allocation of delegates (unlike an earlier, nonbinding primary, which Santorum won).

After Puerto Rico, the next primary is slated for Tuesday in Illinois, where Romney has already blanketed the airwaves. Gingrich’s public schedule also calls for stops in Illinois later this week, though Santorum said Tuesday he considers it an uphill battle to win the popular vote in that state.

 

Updated at 7:44 a.m. ET — Mitt Romney scored a narrow victory over Rick Santorum in the Ohio presidential primary following a hard-fought campaign that had been perceived as a turning point in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination. NBC News projected he was the apparent winner in that state.

Both Romney and Santorum won several Super Tuesday caucuses and primaries, but none more prized than Romney's victory in Ohio. The former Massachusetts governor was able to ride a wave of momentum out of Michigan, where he also closely battled Santorum, to erase the former Pennsylvania senator's lead in Ohio over the past week.

The trajectory of the Republican campaign hinged in large part on Ohio, and now Romney may claim the imprimatur associated with winning a state that's considered an essential step toward victory in the general election.

---

But a margin of just a few thousand votes separated Romney and Santorum, representing a kind of moral victory for Santorum given the way the Romney campaign and a supportive super PAC heavily outspent him in Ohio.

In all, Romney appeared to have sealed victories in six Super Tuesday states. In addition to Ohio, NBC News projected Romney as the winner in Vermont, Massachusetts, Idaho and Virginia (where only he and Texas Rep. Ron Paul appeared on the ballot). Early Wednesday, Romney added Alaska to his tally.

NBC News projections suggested that Santorum won Tennessee, Oklahoma and North Dakota, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won Georgia, the state from which he had served as a representative in Congress.

But neither Santorum nor Gingrich, buoyed by their own wins, seemed any closer by the end of the night to ending their campaigns, reflecting the lingering doubts over Romney among conservatives, which were underscored in exit polling.

Check out the full Super Tuesday results here

"We're going to win a few, we're going to lose a few. But as it looks right now, we're going to get at least a couple gold medals and a whole passel full of silver medals," Santorum said in Steubenville, Ohio, before the state's results were announced. "We have won in the West and the Midwest and the South, and we're ready to win across this country."

The states with contests Tuesday were Georgia, Virginia, Vermont, North Dakota, Ohio, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Idaho, Alaska and Wyoming.

More delegates were up for grabs on this Super Tuesday than had been previously allocated to the remaining GOP candidates after two months of voting, according to NBC News projections. Between the 10 states holding primaries or caucuses and Wyoming, which will allocate five of its 26 delegates, a total of 424 of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination are at stake.

Delegate race tells a different GOP story

In addition to Ohio, NBC News projected Romney as the winner in Vermont, Massachusetts, Idaho and Virginia (where only he and Texas Rep. Ron Paul appeared on the ballot). Early Wednesday, Romney added Alaska to his tally.

"There are three states under our belt, and counting. We're going to get more by the time this night is over," Romney told supporters in Boston before firmly declaring: "I'm going to get this nomination."

'We're doing some counting'
Romney emerged as the night's winner in terms of delegate haul, a point which he emphasized in his speech.

"Tonight we're doing some counting," he said. "We're counting the delegates for the convention and that looks good, and we're counting down the days to the convention, and that looks better."

But exit polls showed Romney continued to struggle with the most conservative voters, the core of the Republican Party, in states like Ohio and Tennessee -- arguably the two most competitive contests held Tuesday.

But Romney performed well among voters who consider the economy their top issue, or who rated a candidate's ability to beat President Barack Obama in November -- two key selling points in the former Massachusetts governor's campaign.

Some Republicans had hoped that Super Tuesday would help propel the Republican race into a new stage, one that draws toward a conclusion given the growing negative cloud surrounding the GOP race.

Santorum camp asking conservatives to pressure Gingrich to drop out

Forty percent of respondents, for instance, said in Monday's NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that the primary process has given them a less favorable opinion of the Republican Party. And more independent voters said in a separate Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll that their impression of the GOP candidates was getting worse as a result of the primary than those who said their opinion was improving.

Gingrich decried that negativity in his election night speech, one in which he vowed to press forward. 

"I want you to know that, in the morning, we are going on to Alabama. We're going on to Mississippi. We're going on to Kansas," he said to cheers. "And that's just this week."

A strong performance by Romney might have moved more Republicans who had harbored doubts about the ex-governor off the fence, and finally create some sustained momentum for Romney. Still, momentum in the primary has come in fits and starts, threatening to make the Republican campaign into a prolonged battle over delegates.

Santorum expressed optimism as he addressed supporters at a rally in Ohio, saying that he and his family are "making a sacrifice for a very big goal," replacing Obama in the White House.

"They are decimating each other ... independent voters are fleeing him," Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday night on NBC in regard to Romney and the GOP campaign. "I feel good about how things have evolved in the last six months."

While the day boasted more primaries and caucuses than any other in 2012, it was a shadow of Super Tuesday in 2008, when there were 20 Republican contests.

There was another big difference, a trend away from winner-take-all contests to a system of allocating delegates in rough proportion to a candidate's share of the popular vote.

Sen. John McCain won eight states on Super Tuesday in 2008 and lost 12 to Romney and Mike Huckabee combined. But six of McCain's victories were winner-take-all primaries, allowing him to build an insurmountable delegate lead that all but sealed his nomination

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rick Santorum is coming under much closer — and more skeptical — scrutiny since he jumped to the top of Republican presidential polls this month, according to a computer-assisted analysis of social media data.

For the first time, politically engaged users of Twitter and Facebook are buzzing about Santorum more than about any other Republican candidate.

Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, swept Republican voting in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado on Feb. 7. Although all three contests were essentially beauty contests, with little official impact on the delegate count, Santorum's victories revived his campaign.

---

Before Feb. 7, Santorum was generally running third behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia in most major national polls. Following those contests, he soared to the top of the major national polls, and he has remained there since.

Santorum's rise has been mirrored on social media, according to msnbc.com's analysis of nearly 2.2 million posts on Twitter and Facebook this month. And as the spotlight has focused on him, it has drawn opponents of his sharp-edged positions out of the shadows.  

The analysis examined posts through Thursday about the four remaining major Republican candidates, filtering out straight news reports and neutral posts, such as tweets noting that a candidate would be making a campaign appearance. The resulting sample was 1.2 million tweets and Facebook posts that expressed clear support for or opposition to one of them.

In the week leading up to the Feb. 7 contests, those Facebook and Twitter users preferred to talk about Romney by a ratio of more than 6 to 1 over Santorum. 

Beginning Feb. 8, however, Santorum has been the No. 1 topic of conversation. This week, more than two-fifths of every post expressing an opinion — 41 percent — were about Santorum, compared to 32 percent for Romney, 15 percent for Gingrich and 12 percent for Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Follow the campaign on NBCPolitics.com

(The analysis uses a tool called ForSight, a data platform developed by Crimson Hexagon Inc., which is used by many media and research organizations to gauge public opinion in new media, among them the Pew Research Center and ESPN. The results aren't a scientific reflection of national opinion. Instead, they're a broad look at what is being said by Americans who follow politics and are active on Facebook, Twitter or both.) 

Nonpartisan research indicates that Republicans and Democrats use social networking sites in roughly equal proportions. The demographics have gradually been trending older and more conservative as the sites are adopted by a larger proportion of the American public, studies indicate.

Pew Research Center Internet and American Life Project: Social Media and the 2010 Election (.pdf)

The msnbc.com analysis suggests that while people are much more enthusiastic about talking about Santorum, they're not any more enthusiastic about the man himself. On Feb. 7, before results of the three contests were known, 42 percent of Santorum's comments were positive to 58 percent negative; Thursday, after a debate Wednesday night in Mesa, Ariz., where Santorum came under sustained attack from Romney and Paul, the breakdown was 38 percent to 62 percent.

Consistently, the largest driver of sentiment about Santorum is his strong stance against same-sex marriage, making up 18 percent of all opinions expressed about him and 28 percent of all negative sentiment this week — proportions that have remained remarkably consistent since June, when msnbc.com began collecting data.

In a Facebook post typical of the anti-Santorum commentary, Jay A. Small of Vancouver, Wash., wrote this week:

From Rick Santorum's website: "Marriage is, and has always been through human history, a union of a man and woman – and for a reason. These unions are special because they are the ones we all depend on to make new life and to connect those new lives to their mom and dad." 

So, Mr. Santorum, your religion's typical intolerance must then also stand for banning marriage between couples who do not choose, or are not able to procreate.

First Read: Santorum hits on religious tones in speech

But other issues are now emerging around which significant opposition is crystallizing. The sentiment that Santorum is "too conservative," particularly in the prominence of his religious views — previously just one of several scattered notions — has broken into double digits this month, rising to 13 percent of all commentary and 20 percent of all negative opinion, such as this tweet by an Alaskan woman who describes herself as a Christian "pro-life supporter":

The picture is different for Romney, who (at least according to msnbc.com's analysis) has yet to give voters a clear reason to vote for or against him. That suggests his supporters could be swayed by other candidates — or that he still could galvanize support with clearly articulated positions.

'Most electable'?
In fact, the No. 1 reason social media commentators give for supporting Romney — both this week and going all the way back to June — is their belief that he is the "most electable" Republican in the race, a sentiment that has driven 36 percent of all positive opinions this week:

A quarter cite Romney's competence or leadership; no other issue even makes it into double digits.

Likewise, opposition to Romney is widely scattered. A quarter of those expressing negative opinions this week cited his wealth, with many suggesting that he is out of touch with the majority of Americans, as in this tweet from Michaele Swiderski, a Tennessee woman who describes herself as a Jesus-loving conservative:

But 15 percent also expressed concern over his Mormon faith, another 15 percent thought he was too closely tied to corporate interests, and 14 percent pinned the RINO label on him — that is, "Republican In Name Only," or not truly conservative.

Even in Michigan — his native state, which holds an important primary Tuesday — the single most mentioned word in social media posts about Romney this week (after his own name) isn't any political issue or position.

It's "Santorum."

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U.S. Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich lent their support to the idea of arming the Syrian opposition in its fight to topple President Bashar Assad, as a group of more than 70 countries prepared to discuss the crisis.

Romney and Gingrich, speaking in Wednesday night's GOP presidential candidate debate, both advocated helping the rebels to defend themselves.

---

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton heads to Tunisia for a meeting of the Friends of Syria group of countries to look at ways to assist Assad's opponents, which now include hundreds of defected military officers and soldiers.

Assad's tanks move in to Syria rebel stronghold

The Times newspaper in the U.K., which operates behind a paywall, said the group would discuss a plan to set up a humanitarian zone along Syria's border with Turkey to protect protesters and also consider proposals to create aid corridors and send protected medical convoys into Syria to treat the wounded.

The Times said the group's priority was to persuade Assad's regime to agree to a two-hour cease-fire every day in the city of Homs.

On Wednesday, Syrian government forces killed more than 80 people in assaults on villages and an artillery barrage on the restive city of Homs, including two Western journalists, American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik.

Journalist needs urgent medical care
Syrian activists said at least two other Western journalists — French reporter Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro and British photographer Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times — were wounded in Wednesday's shelling.

Amateur video posted online showed Bouvier and Conroy in a makeshift clinic.

NYT: As others isolate Syria, Chavez ships fuel to it

Bouvier had her left leg tied from the thigh down in a cast. A doctor in the video explained that she needed emergency medical care. Conroy appeared in the video and the doctors said he had deep gashes in his left leg.

A statement by Syria's Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud said there was "no information" about Colvin, Ochlik and other foreign journalists in Syria who entered without official permission, the state-run news agency SANA reported.

NBC's Richard Engel answers reader questions about Syria

It warned all foreign journalists to come forward to "regularize their status."

Speaking at a CNN debate in Mesa, Arizona, Romney said the United States needed to team up with allies to help the rebels.

American, French journalists killed in Syria

"We need to work with Saudi Arabia and with Turkey to say, 'You guys provide the kind of weaponry that's needed to help the rebels inside Syria,'" the former Massachusetts governor said.

The Republican seen most likely to face President Barack Obama in November's presidential election, Romney said such support was needed to turn Syria away from Iran at a critical time when Tehran was possibly trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Activists: Scores killed as Syria targets civilians

"If we can turn Syria and Lebanon away from Iran, we finally have the capacity to get Iran to pull back," Romney said. He added that the United States should make it clear that military action would be taken if Iran pursued nuclear weapons.

Gingrich slams Obama
Speaking at the debate, Gingrich said that U.S. allies — which he did not name — were covertly helping destroy the Assad regime, and that there were weapons available in the region to arm the opposition.

"There are plenty of Arab-speaking groups that would be quite happy. There are lots of weapons available in the Middle East," he said, taking a swipe at the Obama administration's policy on Syria.

"This is an administration which, as long as you're America's enemy, you're safe. You know, the only people you've got to worry about is if you're an American ally."

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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

 

Updated 9:38 p.m. ET

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney staked his claim to the distinction of being the frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination with a win Tuesday in Florida’s Republican primary.

Romney easily won the contest, which was limited to only registered Republican voters, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the winner of the Jan. 21 South Carolina GOP primary, in a distant second. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished third, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul came in fourth.

Romney, in remarks shortly after polls closed, turned his attention back to President Obama and sought to project Republican unity. Gingrich, meanwhile, defiantly vowed to carry on in his presidential bid, all the way through August's Republican convention.

Romney’s victory reflects a rebound in his fortunes over the past 10 days, during which Gingrich had initially seemed to be charging into Florida with momentum after the Palmetto State victory. The ex-speaker seemed to emerge as a primary threat to Romney’s shot at the nomination, mostly by stoking doubts among conservatives about the former Massachusetts governor’s ideological core.

But Gingrich ran into a barrage of advertising in Florida sponsored by both the Romney campaign and a super PAC working on Romney’s behalf, which questioned the baggage Gingrich had accumulated as speaker, and pointed to the work Gingrich had done as speaker on behalf of troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac after leaving office.

Romney made a veiled reference to the hard-fought Florida battle in his remarks, in which he sought to posture himself as the GOP's standard-bearer.

"A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us. And we will win," Romney said, adding later: "I stand ready to lead this party and to lead our nation."

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The Romney campaign and the super PAC, Restore Our Future, outspent the Gingrich campaign and a super PAC supporting the former speaker by a 4-to-1 ratio in Florida, a testament to the effectiveness of negative advertising, especially in a large, expensive state that prizes TV ads.

The contest had essentially become a two-man showdown in Florida, since Santorum and Paul – the two other remaining GOP candidates – scarcely competed in Florida, and barely spent any resources in the state.

Gingrich, in his remarks following Florida's results, said the race would be a two-person race going forward as well.

"It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate," the former speaker said of the results in Florida. "We are going to contest every place, and we are going to win, and we are going to be in Tampa as the nominee in August."

Romney's victory over Gingrich, though, was mostly complete, spreading over most parts of the state, and he beat Gingrich among every age, race, gender and income group, according to exit poll data. Romney did particularly well with women, who made up almost half of the primary electorate, and Latinos – who, in Florida, were mostly Cuban voters.

Romney also performed well with voters who rated the economy as their top issue, and voters who named the ability to beat President Obama as the most important quality in a candidate. Both are core strengths of Romney’s candidacy, and Gingrich edged Romney in both categories in South Carolina.

But while the former Massachusetts governor beat Gingrich among self-described conservatives as a whole, the exit poll data suggested that Romney still faces challenges in winning over the most conservative elements of the GOP.

Gingrich beat Romney among “very conservative” voters in the primary, who made up about a third of the electorate. Strong supporters of the Tea Party – who composed roughly 35 percent of voters – also broke for Gingrich.

And while Republican primary voters Tuesday in Florida expressed positive opinions of Romney as a person, about four in 10 voters said his positions on issues are insufficiently conservative. Thirty-eight percent of primary voters said they wished another Republican candidate would enter the race, underscoring the lingering reluctance of Republicans – especially conservatives – to coalesce behind Romney.

But for as much as Romney took strides to tamp down Gingrich during the last 10 days in Florida, he turned his attention back to the president in much of his victory speech.

"Together, we will build an America where 'hope' is a new job with a paycheck, not a faded word on an old bumper sticker," he said.

Still, the primary battle is set to go forward, though Tuesday's contest caps a relatively busy month for the Republican candidates, which saw Santorum eke out a victory in Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses, and Romney decisively win New Hampshire's Jan. 10 primary.

The campaign is now set to enter a new phase, with a relatively dead period for candidates in the next month.

Nevada and Maine host caucuses on Saturday; Romney won in the former (which has a sizable Mormon population) in 2008. Colorado and Minnesota each hold caucuses on Feb. 7, too. Because caucuses typically favor candidates with money and organization, Romney and Ron Paul, who's focused intently on those contests, are expected to perform best.

Those are the only nominating contests until late February, when Arizona and Michigan host its primaries. The Wolverine State is expected to strongly favor Romney -- it is where he was raised and where his father served as governor.

The structure of the calendar means that Romney could work to secure a stranglehold on the race for the nomination or, if nothing else, dismiss competitors like Gingrich with the kind of relentless advertising that took its toll on the former speaker in the last week.

Gingrich has defiantly vowed to take his candidacy all the way to the Republican convention, signifying the prospect of a prolonged battle for delegates. The former speaker might have his best chance to pick up some of those delegates on March 6 -- the "Super Tuesday" of the 2012 cycle, when a number of southern and more conservative-leaning states, which tend to favor Gingrich, hold their nominating contests.

Santorum commented on the results in Nevada after a town hall, arguing that the Florida results show that he -- and not Gingrich -- was the candidate best positioned to challenge Romney.

"We need another alternative, we need someone who doesn't have the baggage, and the personal issues as well as the inconsistencies in policies that Newt has to be the clear alternative Mitt Romney," he said.

The former Pennsylvania senator also took aim at Romney, promising to deliver a speech on Wednesday on "Romneycare and Obamacare."

NBC's Andrew Rafferty contributed reporting.

 

President Obama drew one of his sharpest contrasts with Republicans at Tuesday night's State of the Union address when he called for Congress to pass legislation giving illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

The president urged lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform, or, absent that, a law like the DREAM Act that gives immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children a way to earn U.S. citizenship under certain conditions.

"I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office," Obama said in his remarks on Capitol Hill.

---

 

"The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now," Obama added. "But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away."

Obama declares 'we've come too far to turn back now'

It was a portion of tonight's speech that was imbued in politics, both in its appeal to Latino voters who could help fuel Obama's re-election in key swing states, but also in its contrast from Republican presidential candidates, who have expressed opposition to such legislation.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said at a Republican presidential debate on Monday night that he would sign a limited version of the DREAM Act, which the Senate rejected in December of 2010 in a bipartisan vote.

"I think any young person living in the United States who happened to have been brought here by their parents when they were young should have the same opportunity to join the American military and earn citizenship which they would have had from back home," he said, adding that he wouldn't support a version that would grant citizenship simply because an undocumented immigrant attends college.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has gone a step futher by vowing to veto the DREAM Act. But he's said he wouldn't favor a policy in which the government rounds up and deports immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally.

"The answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here because they don’t have legal documentation to allow them to work here. And so we’re not going to round people up," Romney said.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released tax records on Tuesday indicating he is paying $6.2 million in taxes on a total of $42.5 million in income over the years 2010 and 2011.

Bowing to increasing political pressure to provide more detail about his vast wealth, the former private equity executive released tax returns indicating he and his wife, Ann, paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010. They expect to pay a 15.4 percent rate when they file their returns for 2011.

Romney's 2010 returns show the candidate is among the top 1 percent of taxpayers.

---

Romney's tax rate is below that of most wage-earning Americans because most of his income, as outlined in more than 500 pages of tax documents, flows from capital gains on investments.

• Vote: How would you change the tax code?

Under the U.S. tax code, capital gains are taxed at 15 percent, compared with a top tax rate of 35 percent for wage earners.

Rival Newt Gingrich made public his returns on Saturday, showing he paid almost $1 million in income taxes — a tax rate of about 31 percent.

'Not a dollar more'
Romney released the tax returns after a week in which Gingrich questioned whether Romney was hiding information about his finances and cast him as being out of touch with most Americans.

Romney's campaign confirmed the details of his tax information after several news organizations saw a preview of the documents. He had said planned to release his returns in full Tuesday morning, and campaign officials would be prepared to discuss them in detail with reporters.

"You'll see my income, how much taxes I've paid, how much I've paid to charity," Romney said during Monday night's debate in Tampa. "I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. I don't think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes."

Gingrich's attacks on Romney helped him upset the former Massachusetts governor in the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

• Q & A: What Romney's tax returns reveal - and omit

Since then, Romney has vowed to be more aggressive in returning fire.

He has launched a series of attacks questioning Gingrich's character, judgment and lucrative work as a Washington consultant, and released his tax returns to try to nullify Gingrich's criticisms on that front.

• Gingrich contract with Freddie Mac leaves questions unanswered

The tax rates Romney reported paying could add fuel to a national debate over the fairness of the tax code, and coincides with broader concerns about income inequality symbolized by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Swiss bank account closed in '10
Romney's campaign officials stressed that his tax rate is based mostly on income from investments. His holdings include an undisclosed amount in funds based in the Grand Cayman Islands and other overseas entities.

Romney advisers stressed that the holdings in the Caymans -- along with those in a Swiss bank account that was closed in 2010 after an investment adviser decided it could be politically embarrassing to Romney -- were reported on tax returns and were not vehicles to avoid taxes.

• Slideshow: Mitt Romney's life in photos

They also stressed that Romney, whose holdings are in three blind trusts, makes no decisions as to how his money is invested.

Regardless, the emerging picture was of a man of great means who contributes mightily to charity. The documents showed he and his wife contributed $7 million in charity over the two years, much of it going to his Mormon church. That represents more than 15 percent of the Romneys' income for those years.

• New state, new strategy as Romney comes out swinging

Romney, whose estimated net worth is $190 million to $250 million, is among the wealthiest Americans ever to seek the presidency.

Top campaign officials and the director of Romney's blind trust, Brad Malt, briefed Reuters on the details ahead of a more general release of the information Tuesday morning.

'We're proud of it'
Campaign counsel Ben Ginsberg, asked why Romney was not releasing tax records for the years in the 1980s and 1990s in which Romney made his fortune at private equity firm Bain Capital, said the two years covered by the tax returns should give a broad picture of Romney's financial situation.

"We're not going to get into the game of once you give them something, they demand more," Ginsberg said. "This is a fulsome release and we're proud of it."

The tax issue may have been a factor in Romney's loss to Gingrich in South Carolina. It became a distraction to Romney's campaign, and Romney's fuzzy answers on when and if he would release his records aggravated the problem.

First he said he might release them, or might not. When the questions kept coming, he said he would put them out in April, after his 2011 forms were completed. Only after he was defeated in South Carolina did his aides say he would release them this week. Gingrich has released his returns for 2010, but has not released an estimate for last year, as Romney did.

Long considered the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Romney was staggered by Gingrich's lopsided win in South Carolina, and is looking to regain enough momentum to defeat Gingrich in Florida, which votes on January 31.

• Gingrich foes fight to remind GOP of ex-speaker's ethics woes

Before the tax records were released, Romney's old investments in two controversial government-backed housing lenders stirred up new questions at the same time his campaign targeted Gingrich for his work for Freddie Mac.

Gingrich earned $1.6 million in consulting fees from Freddie Mac even though Romney has as much as $500,000 invested in the U.S.-backed lender and its sister entity, Fannie Mae.

Tax experts told The Associated Press that Romney's income tax returns may contain other charity structures and tax strategies designed to both boost his income and charity donations, while minimizing his involvement because of his presidential ambitions.

 Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

Updated 10:07 p.m.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, each battling furiously for a win in Saturday's South Carolina primary, pointedly questioned each other's experience to be president, while being forced to account for standing questions about the challenges they face to winning the nomination and beating President Obama.

The two leading candidates in South Carolina's primary this weekend largely avoided sniping at each other in the first half hour of the debate -- a spirited affair less than 36 hours before voting begins in the Palmetto State -- but engaged each other more directly as the evening progressed.

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Gingrich was pressed to explain his past support for a mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance, and his manner of leadership as speaker of the House, a tenure described by critics as erratic.

But Gingrich scored early -- and decisively -- with a fiery response to allegations from an ex-wife that drew wild applause from the crowd in attendance.

Romney, meanwhile, had to defend his business record and answer questions as to why he wouldn't release his income tax records, all while relitigating conservative criticism of the health care reform he signed as governor of Massachusetts.

Through this, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, crowned the winner this morning of the Iowa Caucuses after a retabulation of results, was anxious to take on both Romney and Gingrich, distinguishing himself as a steady if not-flashy alternative to the two leading candidates.

The debate, the 17th of the cycle, followed one of the most dramatic days of the 2012 campaign. Thursday saw Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s exit from the campaign trail, new extramarital allegations against Gingrich, polling data showing Romney’s advantage slipping in South Carolina, and a new declaration by the Iowa GOP anointing former Santorum – not Romney – the winner of its Jan. 3 caucus after certifying official results.

Perry drops out of GOP presidential race, endorses Gingrich

The tone of the forum was set early when Gingrich angrily assailed CNN moderator John King for opening the debate by asking Gingrich to answer allegations made by his ex-wife, Marianne, in an interview with ABC News, saying the then-speaker of the House asked to engage in an "open marriage," or else he would file for divorce.

"I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that," Gingrich said, earning wild applause from the audience. "To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine."

Gingrich angrily rebuffs questions about ex-wife

Gingrich disputed the allegations as "false," and his three fellow Republicans onstage resisted piling on. ("Let's get on to the real issues," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said.)

Recent pollng of the race suggests that Gingrich has been enjoying a late surge in South Carolina, one that could threaten Romney's bid for a win that, his campaign hopes, would all but seal the nomination for the former Massachusetts governor.

An NBC News-Marist poll released Thursday found Romney leading at 34 percent among likely primary voters in the state, followed by Gingrich at 24 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 16 percent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 14 percent, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 4 percent. But in the latter half of the two-day poll, following Gingrich's strong performance during a Monday debate, Romney's lead winnowed to five points.

NBC poll: Newt Gingrich gains ground on Mitt Romney in South Carolina
 
South Carolina has correctly predicted the eventual Republican nominee since the inception of its primary in 1980; in each subsequent contest, the winner has gone on to become the GOP standard-bearer.

Romney has sought to project an air of inevitability surrounding his candidacy, but has been dogged by questions about the business practices of Bain Capital, the private equity firm he cofounded, that go to the core of his argument that he is the candidate most experienced to repair the U.S. economy. Romney's work for Bain also made him wealthy, and Romney's GOP rivals have pressed him to release his tax returns.

He dealt with both issues Thursday evening. Romney sought to explain Bain's work in greater detail, highlighting instances in which its work created jobs. He avoided engaging with Republicans, like Gingrich, who have questioned Romney's private sector record.

"I'm someone who believes in free enterprise," he said. "And I'm going to stand and defend capitalism across this country, throughout this campaign. I know we're going to get hit hard from President Obama, but we're going to stuff it down his throat and point out it is capitalism and freedom that makes America strong."

Romney also faced pressure to release his tax returns. He said he would release records -- going back an unspecified number of "multiple" years -- but not until April, by which time the primary may well be settled.

It was Santorum, though, who put the most pointed questions to the two frontrunners. Santorum, who served in Congress while Gingrich was speaker, raised questions about whether Gingrich's conduct as a leader would lead to a "worrisome moment" for the GOP.

"Grandiosity has never been a problem with Newt Gingrich. He handles it very, very well," Santorum said, later adding: "I knew what the problems were going on in the House of Representatives when Newt Gingrich was leading there. It was an idea a minute, no discipline, no ability to be able to pull things together."

That exchange opened up a broader, sharper discussion between the candidates on their backgrounds. Romney characterized Gingrich as a lifelong insider, and again touted his business experience as the best qualification for his candidacy.

"I was in business 25 years. So you're not going to get credit for my 25 years," Romney said. "I don't recall a single day saying, 'Oh, thanks heavens Washington is there for me.'"

But Romney was also put on the spot by Santorum, and later, Gingrich, over his record in Massachusetts. Gingrich accused Romney of continuing to support abortions even after having announced his opposition to abortion rights. And Santorum went on the attack on Massachusetts health care reform.

"It is not a free-market health care system. It is not bottom-up. It is prescriptive and government. It was the basis for Obamacare," Santorum said.

Romney stumbled at moments and offered wonky answers in response to the criticism, repeatedly vowing that, for whatever his past record shows, he would govern in opposition to abortion rights.

"I did my very best to be a pro-life governor. I will be a pro-life president," Romney said. 

Texas Rep. Ron Paul at times fell to the background, having to make quips at moment about not being afforded an opportunity to join the scrum onstage.  At one point, when the moderator was ready to move on after a question on abortion, the crowd complained that Paul hadn't been given an opportunity to answer.

The debate came after one of the most momentus days in the campaign. Perry ended his bid for the nomination and threw his support behind Gingrich, who has shown signs of revival in South Carolina, and who has sought to rally conservatives under the banner of being the best alternative to Romney.

That narrative shaped Thursday night's debate, which saw Gingrich engage in frequent crowd-pleasing answers, dropping references to Ronald Reagan and taking frequent shots at the media.

Whether Romney did much to reverse his slide likely won't be known until Saturday, when South Carolinians head to the polls. Debate settings have been a strength for Gingrich, and he, Paul and Santorum have relished the opportunity to pile on Romney in these settings. (Another debate is scheduled for Monday night in Florida.)

The debate, hosted by CNN and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, was broadcast at 8 p.m. ET.