After losses, Santorum reaches out to women

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Although when he walked on the stage the race here had yet to be called for Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum gave an address that seemed to focus on some of the mistakes he has made over the past week.

"A  month ago they didn't know who we are, but they do now," Santorum said,  flanked by his wife, eldest daughter Elizabeth, and son John. "We came to the backyard of one of my opponents, in a race where people said, 'You know, just ignore it, you're going to have no chance here.' And the people of Michigan looked into the hearts of the candidates, and all I have to say is, 'I love you back.'"

The crowd was enthusiastic, with one man shouting, "I love you," but there was a sad tone in the air that began even before they took the stage, as the theme song to the "The Natural" played.

Santorum mentioned his 93-year-old mother, something he hasn't in previous speeches, and he told the audience in what seemed to be a pitch to female voters who might feel put off by some of his previous comments about women in the workplace, that his mother made more money than his father.

"She was someone who did get a job in the 1930s and was a nurse, and worked full time. She continued to work through my childhood years," Santorum said to the crowd that was heavy on families with young children. "She balanced time working different schedules. A professional who made more money than her husband."

Santorum's mother was a nurse and his father was a psychologist for the Veteran's Administration.

The former Pennsylvania senator also touted his wife's work experience, saying she was a "professional" as well, and thanked his daughter, Elizabeth, who has been on the campaign trail with him since the early days in Iowa.

"[Karen] worked as a nurse, but after we got married, she decided to walk away, yet didn't quit working. She was a mother, and also wrote two books," Santorum said, in what also seemed to be an appeal to female voters.

He spent most of his speech repeating the themes he does on the stump, including his mention of the Declaration of Independence, but this evening there was a twist on that, too.

"The men and women who signed that declaration wrote the final phrase, 'We pledge to each other our lives, our fortune, and our sacred honor," Santorum said.

There were no women who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Longtime Santorum strategist John Brabender said it wasn't a direct appeal, but more about mentioning and thanking other people in the candidate's life besides his grandfather, who Santorum consistently talks about the trail.  Brabender did acknowledge they have to "struggle with misperceptions" and said that is "something we will always be doing."

Brabender said they have won at least five districts here and tried to spin the loss that Santorum may come out of Romney's home state as the victor of the popular vote.

He said the campaign is "much better organized" than it has ever have before, but he called it the "MacGyver campaign," a reference to the TV series in which the main character is a special agent who is constantly able to create complex devices out of everyday objects.

"Every pundit, every opponent acknowledges the Santorum campaign does more with less," Brabender said. "And we are doing pretty darn well so far."

After the speech, Brabender told reporters they wouldn't call on Newt Gingrich to drop out of the race, but did urge "conservatives and tea party supporters" to "unify" to "stop a moderate like Mitt Romney."

During his speech, Santorum hardly mentioned his rival, Romney, who won his home state and received a phone call from Santorum conceding before he even took the stage. The call was made when Santorum was away from his advisers and just sitting with his family before he took the stage.

"I just congratulated him, he had a very good night," Santorum told reporters about the phone call.

Despite the loss - a win in Romney's home state would have been devastating - he said he "feels great."

"This was going to be Romney's night," Santorum told reporters while greeting supporters on the ropeline. "The question was going to be how big? And it wasn't very big. It is a two-person race right now. We are doing excellently."

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Congress reaches payroll tax-cut deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans, set to expire at the end of this month, would be extended through December under a bipartisan deal announced early on Thursday by U.S. congressional leaders.

The accord would also renew expiring jobless benefits for millions of others and prevent a pay cut for doctors of elderly Medicare patients.

The comprehensive agreement represents a victory for President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats in Congress, and allows Republicans to put behind them a tax debate that threatened to hurt them in the November elections.

Economists say the tax cut extension and renewal of jobless benefits should provide a lift to the U.S. economy, certain to be a key issue in the battle for control of Congress and the White House in the run-up to Election Day.

"We have reached an agreement and we're moving forward," Republican Representative Dave Camp, who headed the negotiating committee, told reporters shortly after midnight EST on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear when the House of Representatives and Senate would vote on the deal, but lawmakers hoped to do so before they leave Friday for a week-long recess.

While congressional leaders announced a deal, they said a few undisclosed details had to be resolved before the agreement could be turned into a final bill. They expressed confidence this would be done quickly.

Senator Max Baucus, a lead Democratic negotiator, said, "This is very important to a lot of people: 160 million Americans are now going to maintain their payroll tax cuts (and) a lot of folks who lost their jobs through no fault of their own are going to be receiving unemployment benefits."

Their announcement capped a long day of fits and starts, political drama and high-level negotiating.

At one point, the deal seemed in jeopardy just hours after aides said it had been struck by lead negotiators.

Democrats complained that Senate Republicans were suddenly demanding that a new restriction on physician-owned hospitals had to be eased to gain their support.

Aides said some Democratic negotiators were also reluctant to sign off on the deal because of cuts in the pensions of federal workers.

The overarching issue, however, was the proposed extension for 10 months of the payroll tax cut set to expire on February 29.

Many Republicans had initially balked at the extension while others insisted that its cost had to be offset by spending cuts to prevent an increase in the U.S. deficit.

Their positions drew fire from many fellow Republicans, who argued that the party had long been for lower taxes and that blocking a tax-cut extension could rile voters in advance of the November elections.

House Speaker John Boehner and fellow Republican leaders cleared the way for a deal on Monday when they dropped their demand that there be spending reductions to pay for the tax-cut extension.

The payroll tax was first reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent in the beginning of 2011 at the request of Obama as part of his bid to stimulate the economy.

The new deal would continue the 4.2 percent rate until the end of this year, during which it is projected to put an additional $1,000 in the pockets of the average American working family.

Analysts said opinion polls showing public disgust with a gridlocked Congress may have helped drive lawmakers, many of whom are up for re-election this year, toward a deal.

(Reporting By Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Philip Barbara)

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