Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum to be put to test in Michigan

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are virtually tied heading into the critical Republican presidential primary in Michigan on Tuesday, where the outcome could further boost Romney's tenuous front-runner position or upend the race for the party's nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in November.
The vote in Michigan will test former Pennsylvania senator Santorum's far-right message on social issues and determine how badly Romney has damaged his chances in his native state by continuing to insist that Obama was wrong to bailout the US auto industry, the heart of the state's ailing industrial base, says News24.

"The biggest misconception would be that I'm a guy that comes from Massachusetts and therefore I can't be conservative,'' Romney told "Fox News Sunday.'' In his one term as Massachusetts governor, he said, he balanced budgets, reduced taxes, enforced immigration laws, "stood up for traditional marriage'' and was "a pro-life governor.''
"I'm a solid conservative,'' Romney said.
The exchanges highlighted the choice facing Republican voters in Arizona and Michigan on Tuesday, and another 10 states a week after that, according to Boston.com.

From Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina and beyond, it was rare to attend a Clinton or Obama campaign event that wasn't jammed to the rafters with supporters. The queues outside often extended around auditoriums, out of crowded parking lots, down side streets.
Ahead of the Texas primary four years ago in March, Obama drew 20,000 people to a campus rally on the San Marcos River. People climbed trees along the riverbank for a glimpse of the candidate, informs Montreal Gazette.

On Sunday night, Santorum used an event outside of Flint to jab repeatedly at Romney, especially over his ads that question Santorum's conservative bona fides.
"I get a big kick out of Governor Romney running ads against me that I am not the conservative in this race," Santorum said.Santorum repeatedly hammered home his argument that he's more conservative on a host of issues than the former Massachusetts Governor, as Santorum accused Romney of being a moderate in disguise.
"He ran to the left of Ted Kennedy," Santorum said, referring to Romney's unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, as the former Senator urged his backers to do all they can to bring about a win on Tuesday, reports Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog).