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


POLITICO SNEAK PEEK - DCCC VS. PAUL RYAN - The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hoping to make vulnerable House Republicans run for reelection with Paul Ryan's budget plan hanging around their necks. In a new offensive launching today, the DCCC will target 10 Republican lawmakers - including eight freshmen - with newspaper ads, e-mails and automated and live phone calls, tying them to the House Budget chief's pledge to overhaul Social Security and Medicare. "Cutting retirement benefits but protecting big oil?" one newspaper ad reads. "Paul Gosar and his leaders want to CUT your hard-earned Social Security and Medicare benefits rather than cutting big tax breaks for big oil." The DCCC has also created a website to serve as an online hub for the new offensive: www.stopbenefitcuts.com


MORE - THE FULL TARGET LIST: On the receiving end of the campaign will be Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, Florida Reps. Bill Young and Allen West, Michigan Rep. Dan Benishek, Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta, Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy and West Virginia Rep. David McKinley - plus Ryan himself. It's the newest push in the DCCC's "Drive to 25" initiative to gain ground early in the fight for the House.


POPPING OVERNIGHT - UNITE THE CLANS - Hours after announcing on Facebook that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for president, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty pitched himself to supporters on a conference call as the one candidate who can "really authentically appeal to the whole conservative movement and unify it." The Star-Tribune: "[T]he governor cast himself as Republican Party uniter. 'I think I'm going to be unique in the field to be able to deeply and genuinely appeal across that whole spectrum,' Pawlenty said of the different conservative factions ... People on the town hall call got to ask Pawlenty questions, but perhaps not surprisingly, five of the seven questions were from Iowa and New Hampshire ... He was also asked about his lack of name recognition, but Pawlenty said that the early polls - where he's consistently remained in single digits - didn't mean much because he didn't have a national profile yet." http://bit.ly/eeibjc


THE BIG PICTURE - "Mapping Tim Pawlenty's path to the nomination" - POLITICO's James Hohmann and Kendra Marr: "Pawlenty, 50, is betting that jumping in early will improve his name ID and position him as a top tier contender in a wide open race that lacks a strong front-runner ... For the former governor, early success in Iowa, which neighbors his home state, will be critical to his hopes of sustaining his candidacy through next February ... With a softer rhetorical style that he couples with strong pitches to each constituency of the conservative movement, Pawlenty doesn't alienate any wing of the party and has some appeal to all of them ... 'I can see him appealing in Iowa as sort of a Midwestern, aw-shucks type guy...but he's also got enough feistiness that the people in New Hampshire will like,' Greg Mueller, a veteran conservative political consultant who is uncommitted, said of Pawlenty." http://politi.co/gHy4tD


PLUS - ON LIBYA - Pawlenty, who will roll out top supporters in early primary states this week, told Fox's Greta Van Susteren last night that he supports the mission in Libya and wishes the White House had moved on a no-fly zone sooner. "I called for a no-fly zone ... maybe the earliest person to do it, some weeks ago," Pawlenty said. http://fxn.ws/h8fDYX


As Sarah Palin flies home, Lois Frankel throws down the gauntlet and Sharron Angle channels Frank Sinatra, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


OHIO PREVIEW - DEWINE TAPS BEARSON: The Ohio Republican Party is poised to announce the appointment of Darren Bearson, a former RNC regional political director and Bush administration official, to serve as its new executive director. Bearson did stints in the Energy Department and as associate White House political director, after working as executive director of the Minnesota GOP. He's also the president of Compass Point Strategies, a political consulting firm. Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine hailed the choice in a statement: "Darren is one of the most talented and widely respected operatives in the nation ... We have a lot at stake in the 2012 presidential election, and I look forward to working alongside Darren as we build a strong, well-funded party operation in Ohio."


THE CALIFORNIA SPECIAL - EXCLUSIVE: Democratic congressional candidate Janice Hahn has won the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor in her bid to succeed former California Rep. Jane Harman. Hahn, a Los Angeles City Councilwoman, has earned strong support from unions during the first month and a half of the short special election campaign.


NOT 2010 ANYMORE - DEMS WIN FEBRUARY: All three Democratic federal campaign committees outraised their Republican counterparts last month, with the Democrats collecting a combined total of $15.5 million to the Republicans' $13.4 million. The DSCC and the NRSC were the last committees to announce their totals, with the DSCC eking out a small, $100,000 advantage. But Democrats also have more debt across the board - a total of $43.8 million to the GOP's $35.8 million. More than half of the Republicans' debt comes from the RNC, while Democratic debt is largely split between the DCCC and the DNC. Democratic campaign committees have a total of $21.5 million in the bank, versus $7.3 million for Republicans.


STEELE NOT HELPING: The RNC is disputing a $2,500 charge that former Chairman Michael Steele appears to have racked up during a trip to Italy last year. He wasn't exactly traveling on RNC business, POLITICO's Maggie Haberman reports: "[T]wo sources with knowledge of the charge said it was from Steele's trip to Italy in November, nearly three weeks after the elections, to see then-Archbishop Donald Wuerl, of the Archdiocese of Washington, get elevated to Cardinal. The credit card charge was made around the Thanksgiving holiday. At the time, it was clear Steele was going to be facing a handful of challengers for his job two months later." http://politi.co/ePLRmQ


THE 2012 SCORE - LET'S MAKE A (BOOK) DEAL: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has inked a contract with a Penguin imprint to author a book titled, "Keeping the Republic: Limited Government, Unlimited Citizens." The AP reports that Daniels insists it's not a signal of his plans for 2012, though the timing is impeccable: "The book is scheduled to come out in September and is being billed by Sentinel as a reminder of 'America's urgent need for limited but more effective government, fiscal discipline at all levels, increased liberty for individuals, and a restoration of our national greatness' ... Friends and colleagues have been suggesting for more than a year that he write a book, but the governor said he needed time to figure out what kind. He decided against a memoir because he hadn't 'led that interesting a life.'" http://bit.ly/fEQE7C


OFF CAMERA (SORTA) IN JERUSALEM: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before finishing up her first visit to Israel. The Jerusalem Post reports the potential 2012 candidate plans to return soon: "Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu's office checked with Palin to see whether they could expand it to a full reception for her with other politicians and aides, but she politely declined ... Palin also declined all requests for interviews and did her best to avoid the media as she toured the Mount of Olives and Christian sites in Jerusalem ... In private conversations, she vowed to return soon - for a full week - and said she would meet with more politicians and the media then." Photo of Palin with Netanyahu here: http://bit.ly/f61Dns


PERDUE FOR NEWT: Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue pledged he would support former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for president, saying the "idea of a Newt Gingrich candidacy is very intriguing." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Perdue said he and Gingrich have kept in touch over the years and that the race to upset President Barack Obama will be about 'ideas.' 'The American people are very hungry for a way back to prosperity,' Perdue said. 'Newt Gingrich can articulate that in a way that will appeal to a lot of people' ... Perdue made his first major public appearance since leaving the governor's office after eight years." http://bit.ly/gfbGMD


AND - COMING SOON: Gingrich has scheduled a pair of almost back-to-back trips to New Hampshire, with the first coming at the end of the month. The Union Leader says Gingrich "will return on March 30 for a series of media interviews and private meetings with key Republicans on the Seacoast ... Gingrich will be back again on April 4, with the featured appearance at 10 a.m. at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics ... Hancock-based nationally-known GOP political consultant David Carney and James McKay, Carney's partner at Norway Hill Associates, are making arrangements for the two upcoming Gingrich visits, as they did for last week's visit." http://bit.ly/fA0IIb


ELECTION DAY IN TAMPA - This might be the most important election you're not paying attention to: Voters in the politically pivotal city of Tampa are choosing a new mayor today. The competitors are Democrat Bob Buckhorn and Republican Rose Ferlita, one of whom will give their party a victory of both symbolic and practical importance as the 2012 cycle begins. The Tampa Tribune sums up where things stand: "It's still unclear who has the edge. Ferlita ... received 984 more votes than Buckhorn in the March 1 elections, when three other contenders were edged out the race. And a recent Chamber of Commerce poll showed her with a 10 point lead. Buckhorn ... has gobbled up key endorsements - including [outgoing Mayor Pam] Iorio and the city's politically influential fire and police unions - and his campaign seems to have gained in momentum since emerging from the first round three weeks ago." http://bit.ly/fJfddE


POLL OF THE DAY - 70 PERCENT - That's the strong majority of Americans that now supports a no-fly zone over Libya, a 14 percentage point increase since last week. CNN has more on the poll: "As with previous presidents, the survey suggests that Obama has a natural advantage on foreign policy compared to domestic issues. Fifty-four percent approve of how the president is handling foreign affairs, and 50 percent approve of his policy in Libya. By contrast, only 36 percent approve of Obama's track record on the deficit, only 39 percent like his economic policy, and 41 percent approve of how he's handling health care." http://bit.ly/eO05Yo


LOSING ALTITUDE: Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill should buckle her seatbelt and return her tray table to the upright position, because she her aviation-related troubles just got much worse. The first-term Democrat announced Monday she would sell a private plane and pay $287,273 in back taxes on the aircraft, POLITICO's Scott Wong and John Bresnahan report: "McCaskill has been answering questions about the plane since POLITICO recently reported that she billed taxpayers for a political trip around Missouri ... McCaskill's announcement Monday is the latest twist in a political scandal that has dogged her for the past two weeks. The expensive fiasco clashes with her self-made image as a reformer and good-government advocate during her first term in the Senate. McCaskill has now shelled out more than $375,000 in payments to cover the cost of the plane flights and back taxes, a series of events the senator herself has called 'embarrassing.'" McCaskill is scheduled to be in New York City today, to raise money for her reelection campaign http://politi.co/eYWrjH and http://politi.co/hoenqr


'THRILLA IN MANILA' - West Palm Beach Mayor and former Florida state Rep. Lois Frankel announced Monday that she'll challenge firebrand GOP Rep. Allen West in 2012, giving Democrats a well-known (though not liability-free) candidate for this highly competitive race. Sunshine State political reporter Brian Crowley explains why this is a race to watch: "This will be Frankel's second bid for a congressional seat. Her first effort was against Democrat Alcee Hastings who famously called Frankel a 'racist bitch' in one of 1992's most heated congressional races ... She has been an energetic and controversial mayor. Frankel's style is often confrontational and she's not afraid to slash at the media and political opponents. Frankel does not take slights easily. In some way's Frankel and West are two sides of the same coin." http://bit.ly/gukIvc


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'm still standing." - Newly minted House candidate Sharron Angle, in a Monday press conference where she tried to hit the reset button on her relationship with Nevada political reporters http://bit.ly/en3whf

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