NYTimes looks at black Mormons. 'Grand flushes' planned. June's primary implications.

Happy Thursday. The New York Times takes at the LDS Church and black members -- and how they're handling this year's election between Mormon Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. As a Mormon in the story says: "A Mormon candidate and a black candidate? Who would have thunk?" Ms. Driessen said. "I think 30 years ago, we would not have had this choice." [NYTimes]

Topping the news: Howard Kurtz writes in the Daily Beast that Mitt Romney is prote...

The efforts to put heat on Sen. Orrin Hatch to debate Dan Liljenquist got a little pointed recently when a Liljenquist supporter created a Facebook group questioning if the 78-year-old senator was dodging debates to hide his senility.

Alan Mortensen, a prominent attorney who had previously offered to foot the bill to stage a debate in Washington, created the group called “Is Hatch afraid to debate because of Dementia?” last week, putting front-and-center a topic that has been whispered about for some time.

A Hatch spokeswoman, Evelyn Call, posted her thoughts on the page: “This may be the most despicable [Facebook] group ...

Palin for Hatch. Study offers bad news for Romney's Mormon problem. SLTrib's new Romney page.

Happy Wednesday. Sen. Orrin Hatch snagged a nice endorsement last night when ex-Alaska Guv and former VP candidate Sarah Palin endorsed him on Fox News' Greta Van Susteren: "I want him to win. I join Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and other conservatives who would like to see Mr. Balanced Budget return to Washington. He's part of that one percent you hear about. Not the one percent that's mocked and criticized in the press lately but the one percent of national politicians who I believe should be reelected and sent to Congress because of his commitment to see a balanced budget in the United S...

Sen. Orrin Hatch picked up the endorsement of Sarah Palin on Tuesday, adding to the list of conservative commentators who support his reelection effort.

Palin told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren: "I want him to win. I join Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and other conservatives who would like to see Mr. Balanced Budget return to Washington."

This isn't the first time Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, said nice things about Hatch on Van Susteren's show. Last August, Palin and Van Susteren agreed that the tea party should embrace Hatch. But on Tuesday, Palin gave a full throated endorsement and no...

Romney's time at Harvard. Republican Guv's association helps Utah GOP/Herbert. Liljenquist's first ad.

Happy Tuesday! NPR continues its look at the two major presidential candidates by sharing stories from Mitt Romney's time at Harvard, a tumultuous period of history during the Vietnam War. Romney, married to Ann by that time and with son, Tagg, lived in the suburbs and was more of a necktie guy to everyone else's tie-dye fashion sense, friends said.

"He was almost sort of like a Boy Scout thrown into the middle of a late Vietnam War campus," says a former classmate. [

Romney's faith helped shape his life. Mountain Meadows haunts the Mormon candidate. Matheson's dual campaign fights.

Happy Monday! The New York Times takes a fascinating look at Mitt Romney's faith and how it shaped the presidential candidate, noting how he takes time, wherever he is, to attend church and how serving as a church leader helped define who he is. [NYTimes]

-> Also, in Romney's presidential run, many Mormons are seeing a path to acceptance as a mainstream religion. [

>Last year, Sen. Mike Lee penned his first book, The Freedom Agenda: Why a Balanced Budget Amendment is Necessary to Restore Constitutional Government. The title pretty much says it all.

The book, which touts Lee's belief in making the government live within its means and explains how a balanced budget amendment would increase Americans liberty and safety, also made the senator about $25,000 richer.

Conservative book maker, Regnery Publishing, paid Lee $24,999.99 last year, according to the senator's personal financial disclosure filed this week.

So why not make it an even $25,000? Is there some secret threshold they didn't want to hit or did Regnery not want to c...

Romney to air ads in swing states. Huntsman for NYC mayor? Lee sells home in short sale.

Happy Friday. Mitt Romney is going on the air with his first national TV ad today, hitting the battleground states of Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa and Virginia with what he says is a "positive" spot. While we're not sure yet of the details, it's likely a response to the ad ran by President Barack Obama highlighting the plant closing that's tied to Romney's former company. [CNN]

Topping the news: Romney would be, if elected, the wea...

Romney's faith may help with voters. Hatch Act under fire. Special session expected.

Happy Thursday! While it's a popular belief that Romney's Mormon religion will be a point of contention for voters, a new study hints that it may actually boost his chances.

"Our results should not be taken as definitive, particularly because they are not based on a nationally representative sample," according to the authors of a new Brookings Institute report. "But they do suggest that concerns over Mitt Romney's 'religion problem' have been overblown." [

There are a myriad of ways to respond to having your truck broken into - rants and tirades spring immediately to mind. But Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, opted for a more Zen-like approach.

On Facebook.

The lawmaker, who works as a retail manager for wireless carrier Sprint, posted a four-point message to the robber - or robbers - who broke into his truck and stole a laptop Tuesday night. He said the only reason he left the stuff in the truck was because he was still wearing a sling from rotator cuff surgery and decided not to carry it in that night.

From Wilcox's Facebook post Wednesday morning:

1. That laptop is encrypted beyond your ability to use. It'...

Romney, Obama: Hate the media. Utah tech chief resigns. UDOT audit finds misspent funds.

Happy Wednesday. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney share at least one thing: a disdain for the news media. Both presidential candidates (including the president himself) like to blame the media -- with Romney known as a media outsider and Obama expected to be a media insider. [Politico]

Topping the news: More than a month after the medical data breach, Governor Herbert announces the resignation of the Technology Services Director and foreshadows that more fir...

Hatch going on air in Utah. Paul ends WH bid. A look at Romney's French mission.

Happy Tuesday. Sen. Orrin Hatch is going on the air in Utah with advertisements ahead of the Republican primary. The $133,000 buy on broadcast and cable will be positive, Hatch's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, tells Politico. Hatch is still sitting on a substantial amount of cash in trying to tamp down the challenge from former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist, and Utahns should expect to see Hatch greeting them often from their TV sets.

Topping the news: At...

Washington's 'Little Provo'. Senate to take up DOMA repeal. 'Mini Mitt.'

Happy Monday. CNN takes a look at "Little Provo," also known as Crystal City, and the growing population of Mormons in the Washington region. The LDS faithful include those in the Obama administration, members of Congress, lobbyists and other powerful spots. There's been an "absolute explosion in Mormon growth inside the beltway," according to one Mormon bishop. [CNN]

Topping the news: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who now supports gay marr...

Romney apologizes for high school stunt. Harry Reid supports gay marriage. Obama raises $15 million in Hollywood shindig.

Happy Friday. Mitt Romney led a group of high schoolers who held down a student presumed to be gay and cut off his bleached blond hair, according to five people who saw the incident. Romney says he doesn't remember it. [WaPost]

But in a TV interview he apologized: “I don’t recall the incident myself, but I’ve seen the reports and I’m not going to argue with that. There’s ...

The political impacts of Obama's new gay marriage stance. Indiana's Mourdock wants to be like Mike Lee. DeChristopher appeals his conviction.

Happy Thursday. For the first time, a sitting U.S. president has announced his support for the legalization of gay marriage. President Barack Obama explained his change of position in an exclusive with ABC News, a move that is likely to have some major political ramifications.

"I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said. [

Sen. Lugar gives the tea party a new scalp. Hatch agrees to a radio debate with Liljenquist. Bush's $80,000 phone bill.

Happy Wednesday. Remember all that controversy involving the 2nd District candidates at the GOP convention? There were accusations that four were secretly teaming up to smear Chris Stewart and counter-claims that Stewart had a plant in the field to cause trouble. Well, Utah Republican Chairman Thomas Wright released his investigation, which found no illegality or conspiracies. Mostly, he says candidates made accusations they couldn't back up and he scolded Eureka Mayor Milt Hanks for it.

"Mr. Hanks acted irresponsibly in accusing four candidates of m...

Lugar done? Hatch doesn't want to be next. Santorum endorses Romney in an email. Salazar to announce a big Utah energy project.

Happy Tuesday. Tonight, Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar, who was sworn in the same day as Sen. Orrin Hatch, will face his moment of truth, as voters decide whether the 80-year-old senator will get dumped for tea party challenger, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock. It is not looking good for Lugar.

"I don’t think they anticipated the strength of the opposition they have encountered," said Indiana University professor Leslie Lenkowsky. [Trib]

The parallels between Romney and Obama. Sandstrom's change of heart. Utah's intriguing House race.

Happy Monday. France has a new president and he's a moderate Socalist. Francois Hollande narrowly defeated conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is the latest European leader to fall in part because of the continent's massive fiscal problems. And Hollande is expected to challenge the economic plan to recovery.

"Austerity can no longer be something that is inevitable," he said. [Guardian] [

Romney's tough road to the White House. Herbert taps a new energy adviser. Liljenquist finance chairman in trouble with the SEC.

Happy Friday. A presidential race always comes down to the Electoral College and plenty of people are analyzing the map, including Mitt Romney and his team of advisers who say they have identified five paths to the presidency, but all come with significant challenges.

As Dan Balz and Philip Rucker report: "Romney’s team acknowledges that any realistic course to 270 starts with winning back three historically Republican states that Obama won in 2008 — Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia — and believes that changing demographics in Virginia ...

The spokespeople and surrogates for Sen. Orrin Hatch and former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist seem to have regular skirmishes on Twitter. We thought it might be interesting to take a few snapshots of those fights and put it in an easier to read format using Storify. Enjoy!