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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


2012 TALKER - NOT SPIKING THE FOOTBALL, BUT ... President Barack Obama touted the killing of Osama bin Laden as a landmark achievement for his administration Tuesday evening during a fundraising swing through Texas. Speaking to Democratic donors in Austin, Obama said Bin Laden's death should inspire Americans to "finish what we started." OBAMA: "We removed 100,000 troops from Iraq. We ended combat missions there, just like I promised we would. We're taking the fight to al Qaeda. And because of the extraordinary bravery of the men and women who wear this nation's uniform and the outstanding work of our intelligence agencies, Osama bin Laden will never again threaten the United States of America. We couldn't be prouder of them."


AND - HE'LL BE BACK: The White House wouldn't go way out on a limb and predict a competitive 2012 race in Texas, but press secretary Jay Carney said in an Air Force One gaggle that Obama will return to the state. The question: "Can I ask about the political dimensions of the visit to Texas? He's raising money in Austin. How confident is the President about carrying the state of Texas in the 2012 election?" And Carney's answer: "Well, he obviously did not carry it in 2008, but the President believes strongly that he doesn't give up on any state ... I've heard him talk on other occasions about how much he enjoys coming to Texas. He's glad to be here. He knows he has a lot of supporters here; it's a big state. And I'm sure he'll be back."


ELSEWHERE IN TEXAS - BREAKING IN THE SENATE RACE - Retired three-star Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez will file to run for Senate as a Democrat in San Antonio today, and plans to announce his campaign on Facebook. National Democrats are very high on Sanchez, a former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq who stepped down after the Abu Ghraib scandal (he was cleared of any responsibility.) Party strategists hope that an eye-catching Hispanic nominee could shake up an open-seat race in the nation's largest red state. Said one Democrat close to the campaign: "Demographics are changing dramatically in Texas, and the Hispanic vote will be critical. In addition, the Republican primary is likely to produce a nominee who is far right of the mainstream, even in Texas, which could provide an opening for Democrats."


THE GOP SHRUGS - Recalling a list of highly touted Democratic recruits who have gone up in smoke in Texas, NRSC communications director Brian Walsh zings: "Texans do not support Barack Obama's liberal, tax-and-spend agenda and whoever the Democratic nominee ultimately is, that individual will be campaigning side-by-side at the top of the ticket next year with President Obama. So we'll leave it to national Democrats to crow about their latest hand-picked candidate because as any observer of Texas politics knows, we've heard it all before and we have no doubt this seat will remain in Republican hands."


As Mitt Romney revs up, Joe Biden works the Midwest and Mitch Daniels focuses on the family, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


ANY TIME NOW - ZERO HOUR FOR NEWT - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to announce his campaign for president on Twitter and Facebook this morning, before taking his message to Sean Hannity's show this evening. Here's Newt's path to the nomination, according to POLITICO's Jonathan Martin: "Unlike some of his likely rivals, who are looking to downplay or even flat out skip some states on the primary calendar, Gingrich is headed down a different path, a more traditional route in which he competes aggressively all across the early-state map and among all blocs within the party ... Because the wealthy Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman have the capacity to spend their own millions on the campaign and remain on the airwaves even after sustaining early losses, advisers to the former House speaker don't believe it's possible to lock up the nomination by winning one or even two of the initial contests ... 'You've got to compete everywhere and appeal to Republican primary voters across the board - you can't cherry-pick places you think you can win,' said Dave Carney, a New Hampshire-based Gingrich strategist and longtime GOP consultant, predicting a 'long, hard-fought battle.'" http://politi.co/mOt0Az


THE NEW YORK SPECIAL - NUKING DAVIS - American Crossroads, the powerful conservative independent group, is unloading on independent House candidate Jack Davis in a six-figure ad campaign aimed at shoring up the GOP in New York's 26th District. Davis, a self-funding former Democrat-turned-tea party candidate, has been splitting the conservative vote with Republican Jane Corwin. From the script hitting him: "Millionaire career candidate Jack Davis is trying to buy another office ... Jack's pretending to be a conservative, but he ran as a Democrat ... Jack claims he's for American jobs, but in the past he invested his millions in companies that ship jobs overseas ... You can't trust Jack." Watch the ad here: http://bit.ly/mdRkpG


MORE - DEMS PULL THE TRIGGER - With Crossroads planning to spend $650,000 in the last two weeks of the race, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reports the DCCC is going in, too: "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is placing a $250,000 TV ad buy in the race for a vacant western New York congressional seat ... The DCCC has been quietly engaged in the race until now, funneling close to $100,000 to Democrat Kathy Hochul's campaign. The National Republican Congressional Committee has yet to invest in the contest. A poll released Monday showed Hochul leading Republican Jane Corwin in the race for the GOP-leaning seat." http://politi.co/ldh8z5


THE MOST IMPORTANT SPEECH THIS WEEK? Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will deliver a major address on health care on Thursday in Ann Arbor, giving a PowerPoint presentation on how to "repeal and replace Obamacare," according to Time's The Page. The speech is expected to be forward-looking, without an apology for Romney's role in creating a universal health care system in Massachusetts http://ti.me/lLADy9


EARLY LOOK - DETAILS - The Boston Globe got these bullet points on the proposals in Romney's high-stakes address: "Restore to the states the responsibility and resources to care for their poor, uninsured, and chronically ill ... Give a tax deduction to those who buy their own health insurance, just like those who buy it through their employers ... Streamline the federal regulation of healthcare ... Reduce the influence of lawsuits on medical practice and costs ... Make healthcare more like a consumer market and less like a government program." http://bo.st/l9jXDg


HALEY'S EXPECTATIONS - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who backed Romney for president in 2008, set the bar for his Thursday speech to TPM: "Massachusetts made a decision within their state and they decided that was right for them. It certainly is not right for South Carolina, it's not something I want to see, so what we want to hear from him is that this isn't something he's going to impose as President across all states in the country." http://bit.ly/krwqFS


AND FROM THE LEFT - Protect Your Care spokesman Eddie Vale, whose group was set up to defend the Affordable Care Act, said Romney should stick to his guns on Massachusetts health care: "We hope Romney's speech on Thursday is as thorough a defense of his policy as he gave in 2007 & 2008. When he stood next to Ted Kennedy and signed a health care law - including the crucial personal responsibility provision - he helped lay the foundation for passing the Affordable Care Act."


PLUS - COMING SOON - THE FULL CIRCUIT - Romney's not just tackling health care: Over the next few weeks, he'll accelerate the pace of his whole campaign with visits to South Carolina and Iowa. The Des Moines Register broke the news of Romney's May 27 Iowa trip: "His speech at a [Greater Des Moines Partnership] event signals his intention to focus on economic issues rather than gay marriage, abortion or other religious issues that are the focus of other Iowa presidential events organized by Christian conservatives, Romney's supporters said. Romney will do a walk-and-talk event prior to the Des Moines event, and then he will head to eastern Iowa for an event hosted by the Linn and Johnson County Republican committees." http://bit.ly/jnz7Zz


BACK IN WASHINGTON - From today's White House guidance: "In the afternoon, the President will participate in a CBS News Townhall Meeting on the Economy at the Newseum in Washington, DC ... Later in the afternoon, the President will meet with the Senate Democratic Caucus in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to discuss the range of important issues." And for the VP: "In the morning, the Vice President will travel to St. Louis, Missouri. At 12:00 PM, the Vice President will attend a Democratic National Committee event. Afterwards, the Vice President will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota. At 4:00 PM, he will attend a Democratic National Committee event."


DANIELS WATCH - ONE STEP FORWARD ... The Indiana governor told reporters Tuesday that his odds of beating Barack Obama would be "quite good." And then Daniels offered a huge note of caution to observers who think he's moving toward a campaign: "As some reports indicated that his wife's reluctance could be the only roadblock between Daniels and a run for the presidency, the governor declined to explain Cheri's stance, other than to say her opinion is important. 'I'm not going to speak either to that or for her, and it's kind of between us. But I'll just say, I love her and I love the family we've got, and you don't lightly trifle with that,' he said." http://bit.ly/mMMVhW


DELAY OF GAME - NO CHRISTIE SIT-DOWN - Former Ambassador Jon Huntsman won't meet with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie this week, due to scheduling problems. POLITICO's Kasie Hunt: "He was supposed to meet with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday, but that meeting has been postponed, Huntsman spokesman Matt David said in an e-mail. It has not yet been rescheduled." Huntsman is planning a major sweep through New Hampshire, from May 19-23. Details here: http://politi.co/kttJJw


CABLE BAIT - TRUMP RETURNS: His poll numbers are plunging, his TV ratings are down and his signature issue is dead, but Donald Trump is going back to New Hampshire. WMUR previews the trip: "Trump will arrive in Portsmouth on Wednesday morning and speak to reporters ... Republican National Committee member Steve Duprey said Trump's actions during his visit will tell New Hampshire voters what they need to know. 'He's going to have to come up here and do the kind of retail campaigning that's been the hallmark of every winner of the primary,' Duprey said." http://bit.ly/ju7TAN


NOT A GOOD HEADLINE - "Trump has thrived with government's generosity" - The Los Angeles Times: "From his first high-profile project in New York City in the 1970s to his recent campaigns to reduce taxes on property he owns around the country, Trump has displayed a consistent pattern. He courted public officials, sought their backing for government tax breaks under extraordinarily beneficial terms and fought any resistance to deals he negotiated. He has boasted of manipulating government agencies, misleading officials ..." and so much more. Read the whole thing: http://lat.ms/mPakEx


STRETCHING THE MAP - DEMS TARGET WOLF: Retired Air Force Gen. John Douglass is running against Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf in 2012, giving Democrats an early recruit in a district that's eluded past challengers. The Washington Post: "Wolf has won reelection with ease in recent years despite concerted Democratic efforts to beat him ... Democrats are hopeful that 2012 might be different, partly because of Wolf's votes in favor of bills to cut government spending in a district that is packed with federal workers and installations." http://wapo.st/moGxOG


AND THE GOP GUNS FOR CICILLINE: Former Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Brendan Doherty is expected to challenge Rep. David Cicilline, the first-term Democrat mired in low approval ratings linked to his tenure as mayor of Providence. The Providence Journal had the story: "Doherty ... is expected to run as a Republican. Since leaving the superintendent's job in late March, political observers have speculated Doherty would run for either the House or the U.S. Senate, the seat now held by Sheldon Whitehouse." http://bit.ly/lBC3aT


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The conventions will always be targets ... It's just a place for terrorists and would-be terrorists to make a statement." - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, back in the saddle http://politi.co/ji81Hh

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