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


SENATE SIREN - RICARDO SANCHEZ RETURNS - Democrats expect Lt. Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, to enter the open-seat Senate race in Texas, Morning Score has confirmed. The party is hoping to make Texas one of its six takeover targets for 2012, but up until now it's lacked a major candidate for the race. An Army veteran of three decades, Sanchez handed over command in Iraq after the Abu Ghraib scandal, though he was not implicated in the mistreatment of prisoners there. McClatchy's Maria Recio first reported the news of the general's possible bid: "Sanchez, reached by phone at his San Antonio home, said, 'I can neither confirm nor deny' ... [Former Lt. Gov. Ben] Barnes, one of the state's last high-profile Democrats, said, 'I talked to him. It sounded to me like he's close to being a candidate ... He's the one guy who could unite the Hispanic vote. He'll get the conservative Hispanic businessman' .... Asked if the Abu Ghraib scandal ... had effectively terminated his military career, Sanchez said, 'That's pretty fair' ... Sanchez emphasized that he hadn't known or had anything to do with the actions at the prison and was cleared by Army investigators." http://bit.ly/ex2CbC


MORE - DSCC CHEERS - Matt Canter, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, touted Sanchez as a potential candidate in an email to Score: "General Sanchez has spent his entire life serving our country, and there's no question he would be a strong candidate if he decides to continue to serve his country in the US Senate. He has a tremendous life story, growing up poor, rising to the rank of General in the Army, and bravely leading more than a hundred thousand troops in both Gulf Wars. He would bring a new perspective to the Senate, as well as a proven commitment to our nation's security and the men and women who fight to protect it. He's exactly the kind of independent leader who can win in Texas."


2012 TALKER - "What's Donald Trump really after?" - POLITICO's Haberman and Smith scoop: "Trump appears likely to launch a formal presidential campaign, hire staff, shake hands in Iowa, participate in debates - in short, run for president. Trump is making the 'types of moves that one makes if they're actually running,' said one top Republican consultant familiar with his efforts. The real estate mogul has spoken to pollster Tony Fabrizio as well as members of Larry Weitzner's Jamestown Associates, sources said. Three Republicans said that Florida-based media consultant Rick Wilson had been recommended to Trump as a potential hire. (Wilson declined to comment on whether he'd been approached or spoken with Trump). He recently called pollster and strategist Kellyanne Conway, who agreed to set him up with some evangelical leaders. 'I would not discount his viability because he crosses the first threshold,' said Conway, citing his name recognition and ability to put money toward a race ... 'He gets mad that people aren't taking him seriously,' said one Republican who's spoken with him." http://politi.co/hZa60X


AND YET - NBC BETS AGAINST: Executives at NBC aren't taking Donald Trump's presidential flirtations seriously - or at least not seriously enough to consider what they'll do with his show, "The Apprentice," in the event that he runs. The New York Times's Bill Carter and Brian Stelter: "[N]o one at NBC has done much serious planning about what to do with 'The Apprentice,' because of what two executives cited as pervasive doubts that Mr. Trump would actually enter the race. 'This is Donald being Donald,' said one senior executive who would be involved in any decision about how NBC handles the show." http://nyti.ms/fH3BJr


As Phil Moffett spins his wheels, another Wisconsin recall advances and Charlie Crist opens his checkbook for a Democrat, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


MONDAY STAKES - Tax day is here. The speeches are already written. The press releases are all teed up. As the annual ritual gets underway, here's Morning Score's take on who has the most to gain or lose in the week ahead:


(1) The Democratic National Committee, which will report its full first-quarter fundraising numbers this week, in what might or might not be a show of force for President Obama's reelection (and against the Republican National Committee); (2) Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who's on an early-state tour that coincides with tax day, a political holiday that couldn't be a better match for the congresswoman and her message; (3) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who needs to find his way back into the 2012 conversation after several weeks of being upstaged by Bachmann, Donald Trump and Rick Santorum; (4) Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who can cement his status as a key Democratic voice on budget reform through the debt-ceiling debate and his work in the fiscally hawkish Gang of Six; (5) Former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman, who created huge opening for competitors in the Republican Senate primary when she raised less than $200,000 last quarter.


THE 2012 SCORE - GLOBE DEFENDS ROMNEY - Mitt Romney is winning praise for his handling of Massachusetts health care reform, and for once it's not from Democrats trying to harm him politically. The Boston Globe writes in a 359-word editorial that the former governor should get credit from conservatives for "warding off various schemes feared by business. After an Urban Institute study recommended an individual mandate, Romney made that the core of his plan. That was a way of sidestepping the approach many Democrats favored: a payroll tax of 5 to 7 percent on businesses that did not offer health coverage ... [T]he role Romney played was of a governor sensitive to business concerns and worried about the state's business climate ... [I]f they weren't hyperventilating about the national law, [conservatives] might come to recognize that the role Romney played on the state level was skillful, creative, and business-friendly." http://bo.st/f8VIch


WRAPPING THE WEEKEND - EVERYBODY WINS - Add this to the pile of evidence that the GOP race is wide open: There's barely any trend to which candidates are winning activist-friendly straw polls in the state. So far, it seems like 90 percent of winning a straw poll is showing up:


- Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain won a pair of tea party straw polls in New Hampshire, according to the Nashua Telegraph: "Americans for Prosperity had asked those attending the Statehouse speechfest to text-message whom they thought gave the best remarks ... Cain easily came out on top with 61 percent ... An affiliated tea party local did a straw poll to which not everyone in the audience responded. Pawlenty won that unscientific survey." http://bit.ly/hn3JCE


- Newt Gingrich won a vote in his home state of Georgia, per the Gainesville Times: "The former U.S. Speaker of the House addressed a group of hundreds of 9th District Republicans on Saturday ... [District Chairman Doug] Grammer said Republicans at the convention dinner on Friday voted Gingrich as their top choice." http://bit.ly/hz6mJW


- Haley Barbour came out on top in Charleston County, S.C., says the AP: "Barbour was making the GOP county convention circuit, where tea party activists have steadily gained influence and leadership positions. On Friday, Barbour won the Charleston County GOP convention's straw poll with 22 percent." http://bit.ly/h6IZc3


- Ron Paul won in Lexington County, S.C., CNN reports: "Paul won the vote at the Lexington County Republican Party convention on Saturday, taking 16 percent of the 139 ballots cast. Lexington is considered a bellwether county in Republican primaries and is home to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, but the party organization there has seen an uptick in libertarian-leaning Paul supporters." http://bit.ly/fbU7pg


COMING THIS WEEK - "Obama to hit road to rally support for debt reduction plan ahead of budget battles" - The Washington Post's Zachary Goldfarb and Perry Bacon: "President Obama will hit the road this week and forcibly deliver his message that a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes on the rich are necessary to rein in the nation's rocketing debt - a high-stakes effort to rally public support ahead of a series of contentious budget battles in Congress. From Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale to Facebook's headquarters in Silicon Valley, Obama will make a series of campaign-style stops in an effort to block a Republican plan that would reduce the deficit by dramatically changing Medicare and reducing spending on education and other social programs." http://wapo.st/hejJgG


TODAY - From the White House guidance: "[T]he President will conduct local interviews with KCNC Denver, WRAL Raleigh, WFAA Dallas and WTHR Indianapolis, to discuss his vision for reducing our debt and bringing down our deficit, based on the values of shared responsibility and shared prosperity."


POLL OF THE DAY - WILLIAMS UP AND DOWN - Kentucky state Senate President David Williams is cruising to the Republican nomination for governor, rolling over tea party-aligned primary challenger Phil Moffett by 35 points, according to the Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll. But the poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, shows Williams at a disadvantage in the general election to Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear: "Among likely Kentucky voters, both Republicans and Democrats, Beshear leads Williams 51 percent to 39 percent if the general election were held today. He would win by about 20 points in a general election race against Moffett or [Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie] Holsclaw ... According to the GOP primary poll, Williams led in all parts of the state but showed the highest numbers in Eastern Kentucky, with 65 percent of the vote." http://bit.ly/guMqSB


THE SCOTT BROWN SEAT - ACTING LIKE A CANDIDATE: Alan Khazei, the City Year founder who ran for the 2009 Democratic Senate nomination in Massachusetts, is holding an event with supporters next week to kick off a potential challenge to GOP Sen. Scott Brown. On Facebook, Khazei describes the April 26 meeting at Boston's Old South Meeting House as his "first exploratory committee event" and "an opportunity to share with you my ideas on how to get our country back on the right track." http://on.fb.me/euDHCl


WISCONSIN BULLETIN - THAT MAKES THREE - Democrats claim to have gathered enough signatures to force a recall vote against a third Republican state senator, Sheila Harsdorf. That's an important threshold because the GOP currently has a three-seat majority in the Senate; if the Democratic petitions hold up, there will be enough recall elections this summer to put the chamber in play. The Inter-County Leader: "The effort to collect signatures has resulted in 110 percent of the signatures needed but the group wants to get 125 percent before filing their petition. That will provide a safe margin, they say, when signatures are challenged by the opposition." http://bit.ly/edmp7P


CHARLIE CRIST VS. ALLEN WEST - Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's political transformation has reached a new stage: He's now donating to Democrats. Or at least one Democrat, the Palm Beach Post reported: "Former Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist gave $1,000 to the congressional campaign of Patrick Murphy, one of the Democrats who has opened a campaign for the seat of U.S. Rep. Allen West ... Murphy's political consultant, Eric Johnson, was an adviser to Crist's failed independent campaign for Senate last year." http://bit.ly/gtyySw


ELSEWHERE IN FLORIDA - WHAT'S BOB GRAHAM UP TO? The former Florida governor and senator has assumed a campaign-like schedule of criticizing Republican Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-held state legislature. The Daytona Beach News-Journal takes note: "[In Tiger Bay,] Graham complained, the governor and Legislature 'think of Florida as a commodity' and mistakenly believe that by degrading the environment and cutting education, they'll be able to sell the state as the cheapest place around to do business ... Graham sees his legacy threatened. And threatened by ideologues, short-timers who just recently showed up in Florida, and as often the case in his 38 years in politics the legislative leadership." The money question: "So, is he gearing up again?" http://bit.ly/eXRFHC


CODA - TWEET OF THE DAY: "Trump appears to be the Deion Sanders of POTUS politics right now...except he can't cover nor high step. Fun reading though." - Mississippi operative and gubernatorial nephew @Austin_Barbour http://bit.ly/h0xVa4

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