“Tonight was a bad night for Mitt Romney, plain and simple.  What should have been a night where he began to consolidate Republican support instead has shown that Republicans are reluctant to get behind him.   Republicans are giving the field of candidates another look, demonstrating that the more people get to know Mitt Romney, the less they like him.  They know he'll say anything to get elected, and they don't want a candidate they can't trust.

"Also alarming for Republicans is the lack of enthusiasm and low turnout we're seeing in these contests. In state after state, turnout among Republican voters is lower than it was in 2008, and they are increasingly dissatisfied with their choice of candidates.

“No candidate embodies that dissatisfaction more than Mitt Romney, who hasn't managed to lock this nomination up. The presumed front runner of the GOP field lost two of tonight’s contests so far – that math speaks for itself.  He is losing support from independent voters nationally, and tonight we saw he's not gaining the favor of Republican primary voters either. They clearly don't appreciate being ignored as Mitt Romney did to Minnesota and they know his failed record as Governor of Massachusetts on the key issue of jobs, his background as a corporate raider, and his economic proposals would leave the middle class behind."

Romney's attack has been called an "outright lie"—and it certainly doesn't square with his own record as Massachusetts governor, when he stood behind a state law that required all FDA-approved contraception, including emergency contraception, must be covered.

In other words, Romney is attacking President Obama for providing women with the very same access to contraception and preventive care that Romney did as governor of Massachusetts. It's another breathtaking example of Romney's hypocrisy—and his willingness to do and say whatever he thinks it takes to get elected.

This infographic shows that the Massachusetts law and the federal law are nearly identical. Share it widely.

On this, the 12th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I remember my sister-in-law’s fight with the disease. Tragically, she did not win that fight—she left behind a devastated husband and five-year-old daughter. But it is in her memory, and the memory of all the friends and loved ones we have lost, that we vow to keep working toward the day when HIV/AIDS is history.

Read Valerie Jarrett’s entire statement here. For more information about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and this administration’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the black community, visit http://www.aids.gov.

The President spoke about the ways in which the values of fairness, compassion, and shared responsibility have guided him not just in his private life, but in his public life and leadership of our nation. “I’d be remiss if…my values were limited to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends. So instead, I must try – imperfectly, but I must try – to make sure those values motivate me as one leaders of this great nation.” His actions back up his words. The President’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has been busy at work empowering religious and community organizations to improve low-income schools, create social networks to help people find jobs, increase access to vital healthcare and nutrition services, ensure our veterans are employed and promote strong fatherhood. President Obama has also increased funding to Catholic charity organizations and provided grants to organizations like World Vision, American Jewish World Service and Islamic Relief for life-saving aid across the world.

President Obama’s values greatly inform his prioritization of policies that augment the impact of faith-based and community organizations throughout the country. His values also guide his approach to issues like expanding opportunity for all, protecting the most vulnerable, and making sure our housing and financial sectors are working for Americans rather than against them. The President reiterated this in his remarks. "Treating others as you want to be treated.  Requiring much from those who have been given so much.  Living by the principle that we are our brother’s keeper.  Caring for the poor and those in need…Today, with as many challenges as we face, these are the values I believe we’re going to have to return to in the hopes that God will buttress our efforts.”

The President closed by reflecting upon a moving personal encounter with The Reverend Dr. Billy Graham: “I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment -- asking God for guidance not just in my personal life and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong.  I know that He will guide us.  He always has, and He always will.  And I pray his richest blessings on each of you in the days ahead.”

In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs—non-candidate political committees that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests. For the first time, these committees could accept money from corporations, not just wealthy individuals.

The decision has accelerated a dangerous trend toward a political system increasingly dominated by big-money interests with disproportionate power to spend freely to influence our elections and our government.

It's a trend the President has fought against, coming into office with a mission to limit special-interest influence in Washington. He put in place the most sweeping ethics reforms in history to close the revolving door between government and lobbyists. And he's overseen the most open administration ever—reversing Bush-era policies designed to limit Freedom of Information Act requests and disclosing White House visitor records so that Americans can see how their government works.

The President opposed the Citizens United decision. He understood that with the dramatic growth in opportunities to raise and spend unlimited special-interest money, we would see new strategies to hide it from public view. He continues to support a law to force full disclosure of all funding intended to influence our elections, a reform that was blocked in 2010 by a unanimous Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate. And the President favors action—by constitutional amendment, if necessary—to place reasonable limits on all such spending.

But this cycle, our campaign has to face the reality of the law as it currently stands.

Over the last few months, Super PACs affiliated with Republican presidential candidates have spent more than $40 million on television and radio, almost all of it for negative ads.

Last week, filings showed that the Super PAC affiliated with Mitt Romney's campaign raised $30 million in 2011 from fewer than 200 contributors, most of them from the financial sector. Governor Romney personally helped raise money for this group, which is run by some of his closest allies.

Meanwhile, other Super PACs established for the sole purpose of defeating the President—along with "nonprofits" that also aren't required to disclose the sources of their funding—have raised more than $50 million. In the aggregate, these groups are expected to spend half a billion dollars, above and beyond what the Republican nominee and party are expected to commit to try to defeat the President.

With so much at stake, we can't allow for two sets of rules in this election whereby the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm.

Therefore, the campaign has decided to do what we can, consistent with the law, to support Priorities USA in its effort to counter the weight of the GOP Super PAC. We will do so only in the knowledge and with the expectation that all of its donations will be fully disclosed as required by law to the Federal Election Commission.

What this change means practically: Senior campaign officials as well as some White House and Cabinet officials will attend and speak at Priorities USA fundraising events. While campaign officials may be appearing at events to amplify our message, these folks won't be soliciting contributions for Priorities USA. I should also note that the President, Vice President, and First Lady will not be a part of this effort; their political activity will remain focused on the President's campaign.

But here's what this doesn't change: the fact that ordinary people stepping up to take control of the political process is essential to our strategy.

This decision will help fill a hole on our side. But it's only one part of the overall effort.

Supporting Priorities USA means that our side will not concede the battles on the air in the months to come, but we continue to believe that this election will be won on the ground. Super PACs haven't opened offices. They haven't hired organizers. They haven't registered voters. They haven't knocked on doors or made the kind of personal contact with voters that we know is the single most effective way to persuade people and turn them out on Election Day.

And this is where we have the advantage. It will be up to us—the grassroots organization, funded by an average donation of $55—to win this election.

It's a point of pride that 98 percent of all our donations are $250 or less. Mitt Romney won't reveal that number about his own campaign, but filings show that just 9 percent of the Romney campaign's money in the fourth quarter of last year came from people giving less than $200.

Americans across the country are supporting the most extensive neighbor-to-neighbor, grassroots organization in history.

It's my hope that by making this decision and doing what we can to neutralize the onslaught of special-interest money, we can ensure that the decisive factor in this election won't be an unprecedented flood of special-interest spending, and the outcome will be back in the hands of ordinary Americans.

"Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl campaign ad, is a despicable example of Republican race-baiting cloaked in the guise of genuine political debate and, quite simply, is offensive to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Hoekstra stoops to using racial stereotypes and fails to engage honestly and credibly on the issues. The only point of an ad like this is to gin up anti-Asian American sentiment at a time when we need to be united as a nation in order to move all Americans forward.

There's no room—anytime, anywhere—for this kind of ignorance and intolerance in campaigning or governing. The hard-working families of Michigan deserve real debate and real solutions. Sadly, Pete Hoekstra's latest ad clearly demonstrates that he lacks the values and vision to move Michigan forward. Hoekstra merely offers the kind of ignorance and intolerance that harms every single family in Michigan and beyond."

Bel Leong-Hong, DNC AAPI Caucus Chair:

“Ads like these that play on fear and racial stereotypes must never be tolerated. We must focus on the economic issues at hand, because the people of Michigan deserve better. Our nation deserves better representatives in Congress who can stick to the issues and not use harmful, divisive measures for political gain.”

Thanks to President Obama, the worst abuses of mortgage companies, credit card companies and payday lenders are being reigned in. The Wall Street reform bill he signed will prevent future bailouts, and put some common sense rules of the road in the places that will protect consumers. The President has made it clear that boosting American manufacturing is critical to putting people back to work. But we’ll need a well-educated population if we have any hopes of competing with the rest of the world so he’s raised education standards, helped make college more affordable and invested in community colleges that provide the training for many of the manufacturing jobs we will create.

It's rewarding to witness President Obama utilize his exceptional intellect on behalf of the people of America. When I think of his steady and uncompromising leadership I'm reminded of these words, "we owe so much to those who walked ahead, who kept the faith, who carried the lamb of freedom for us all." President Obama never lost his faith in the American people, and that’s why we need to keep the faith in him. We need to do everything possible to re-elect the President and help him finish the job he started in 2008.

To get more information about how the President is trying to build an economy that’s built to last, click here.

• In 2011 alone, 3.6 million people with Medicare have saved $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs, an average of $604 per person.
• Medicare Advantage premiums are down by 16 percent since 2010, and enrollment is up by about 10 percent.
• By 2021 the average person with Medicare will save nearly $4,200 because of the Affordable Care Act.

For older Americans and people on disability living on a fixed income, these discounts are invaluable, as are the even bigger savings to come in the years ahead.

You can find out more about these and future discounts in the full HHS report. Also, be sure to read Kathleen Sebelius’s blog about the report as well as HHS Assistant Secretary on Aging Kathy Greenlee’s blog for the White House.

You might have been hearing a lot of false claims from the Republicans about the newest guidelines surrounding contraception under the Affordable Care Act. Here's the bottom line: Women will now have access to contraception with no co-pays or deductibles under most insurance plans—saving many women up to $600 a year.

For more, check out this infographic from barackobama.com—and share it with women you know.

Sacrifice, service, and love of country are a few words that come to mind when I think about my time served as an Officer in the United States Army.  At the age of 34 I have had the high privilege to serve my country in and out of uniform.  When I was in uniform I saw tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan while serving with some of the bravest men and women I have ever known.  Many of our stories were the same.  We came from all parts of America, united under one cause, to protect Freedom. 

I know that I stand on the shoulders of so many African-American service men and women who came before me and endured indignities that I could never imagine.  Because of their sacrifice many African-American service members have served at the highest levels of the enlisted and officer ranks.  They opened the door for a young soldier like me to walk through and have opportunities that a generation ago they could never have seen. 

Like the service members before me I was able to take advantage of educational opportunities like the Post 9/11 GI Reform Act that was initiated under President Obama’s administration.  This benefit allowed me to complete my Juris Doctor degree from William & Mary School of Law the nation’s oldest legal institution and return home to the Town of Spring Lake, NC where I was recently elected the youngest mayor in our town’s history. 

I support President Obama because his commitment to veterans has been unyielding, like the recently announced Veterans Jobs Corps.The President’s economic incentives to train and help our soldier’s transition into the civilian workforce will be critical to our country continued economic recovery.  It will take Sacrifice, Service, and Love of Country to continue to move America forward, and our nations veterans stand ready to serve once again.