Many expenditures by the General Services Administration for the October 2010 conference at a resort outside Las Vegas were “excessive and wasteful” and violated the agency’s own policies, said a report by the GSA’s Office of Inspector General.

GSA spent $820,000 on the October 25-29 gathering at M Resort Spa Casino, a cost that included pre-conference scouting trips, a “red carpet” dinner with “theatrical talent” and a post-dinner wrap party in a loft suite, according to an executive summary of the report made public on Monday.

GSA Administrator Martha Johnson submitted her resignation to the White House on Monday. The inspector general’s report first came to the attention of the White House in early March.

The report cited eight ‘scouting trips’ and pre-conference meetings that cost over $130,000 and travel by 31 GSA employees to the M Resort on a ‘dry run’ prior to the event as examples of excessive spending and waste.

Other questionable expenses detailed in the report include clothing purchases for GSA employees, tuxedo rentals and semi-private, catered parties in officials’ hotel rooms or loft suites. A $75,000 contract was also awarded to a vendor for a team-building exercise that included the purchase of 24 bikes, the report said.

“When the White House was informed of the Inspector General’s findings we acted quickly to determine who was responsible for such a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars,” White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said in a statement.

GSA administrator Johnson fired two senior GSA officials and took disciplinary actions against others and ultimately decided that as the head of the agency she is accountable, senior White House officials said.

The report concluded that keeping costs down for the conference was not a goal and that several suggestions to minimize expenses were ignored.

It says one administrator instructed the conference planners to make it “over the top” and to make it bigger and better than previous Western Regions conferences.

(Reporting by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Many expenditures by the General Services Administration for the October 2010 conference at a resort outside Las Vegas were “excessive and wasteful” and violated the agency’s own policies, said a report by the GSA’s Office of Inspector General.

GSA spent $820,000 on the October 25-29 gathering at M Resort Spa Casino, a cost that included pre-conference scouting trips, a “red carpet” dinner with “theatrical talent” and a post-dinner wrap party in a loft suite, according to an executive summary of the report made public on Monday.

GSA Administrator Martha Johnson submitted her resignation to the White House on Monday. The inspector general’s report first came to the attention of the White House in early March.

The report cited eight ‘scouting trips’ and pre-conference meetings that cost over $130,000 and travel by 31 GSA employees to the M Resort on a ‘dry run’ prior to the event as examples of excessive spending and waste.

Other questionable expenses detailed in the report include clothing purchases for GSA employees, tuxedo rentals and semi-private, catered parties in officials’ hotel rooms or loft suites. A $75,000 contract was also awarded to a vendor for a team-building exercise that included the purchase of 24 bikes, the report said.

“When the White House was informed of the Inspector General’s findings we acted quickly to determine who was responsible for such a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars,” White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said in a statement.

GSA administrator Johnson fired two senior GSA officials and took disciplinary actions against others and ultimately decided that as the head of the agency she is accountable, senior White House officials said.

The report concluded that keeping costs down for the conference was not a goal and that several suggestions to minimize expenses were ignored.

It says one administrator instructed the conference planners to make it “over the top” and to make it bigger and better than previous Western Regions conferences.

(Reporting by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

“I am endorsing Mitt Romney and the reason why is not only is he going to be the Republican nominee, but he offers at this point such a stark contrast to the president’s record,” Rubio said in an interview on Fox News.

In the state-by-state race for the right to face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election, Romney leads with an estimated 565 delegates, according to Real Clear Politics.

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is next with 256, delegates, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 141 and Texas Congressman Ron Paul with 66.

Former President George H.W. Bush will formally endorse Romney on Thursday at an event in Houston. A long list of establishment Republicans have endorsed his presidential bid, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

In announcing his support for Romney, Rubio said the White House hopeful’s experience in the private sector “offers a very clear alternative” to the direction Obama is taking the country.

Rubio was critical of the strategies of Santorum and Gingrich to pursue the Republican nomination in a floor fight at the party’s nominating convention in Tampa, Florida, in August.

“I think that’s a recipe to deliver four more years to Barack Obama,” Rubio said.

A first-term senator and rising Republican star, Rubio has often been cited as a potential vice presidential candidate for the Republican nominee. On NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Tuesday, Romney said the Florida senator – the son of Cuban immigrants – represents “the American dream.”

Rubio again shot down speculation that he might accept the second spot on the Republican ticket.

“I don’t believe I’m going to be asked to be the vice presidential nominee,” Rubio said. “That’s not what I intend to be. That’s not what I want to be and that’s not going to happen.”

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Todd Easthm)

Visiting Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny gave Obama the “formal certificate” at an evening reception in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, which earlier saw Maryland Governor Martin  O’Malley singing upbeat Gaelic-inspired tunes alongside a band.

“This will have a special place of honor alongside my birth certificate,” Obama said to raucous applause and laughter.

A lot of brouhaha was made over Obama’s ancestral ties to the island nation.

The president recounted his third great grandfather Falmouth Kearney’s immigration from the town of Moneygall — which Obama visited as part of his official trip to Ireland last May– to New York City in 1850. He went on to praise Irish influence in American culture and history.

“The green strands they have woven into America’s heart, from their tiniest villages to our greatest cities, is something truly unique on the world stage,” Obama said.

On hand to help the president celebrate the occasion was his eighth cousin Henry Healy, whom the president met on his visit last year. Healy had also accompanied the president  Saturday to the The Dubliner, a Washington pub , where they shared a pint  of Guinness.

In his speech,  Kenny reaffirmed Ireland’s strong partnership with the U.S.  The prime minister also said the president’s visit last year had changed Ireland for the better.

“When you came to Ireland, like your predecessors President Kennedy and President Clinton, you made us dream again,” he said. “On these days of St. Patrick, we hope that you will be able to fulfill your promise to come home again in the springtime.”

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Chris Kleponis (Kenny and Obama at St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House)

The question drew boos from the audience and impassioned statements from the four candidates on the stage in Mesa, Arizona, last night.

“Since birth control is the latest hot topic, which candidate believes in birth control, and if not, why?” was the question posed via cnnpolitics.com.

It sparked a lengthy discourse by the candidates on religious freedom, contraception, and family structure. None of the White House hopefuls directly responded to the question.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has taken on the media in previous debates, said it was legitimate to question “the power of the government to impose on religion activities which any religion opposes,” before questioning CNN moderator John King and zeroing in on Democrat Barack Obama.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney provided backup, saying Obama had launched “the worst attack on religious conscience in the history of the United States.”

In post-debate commentary, CNN senior political analyst David Gergen said: “There are a lot of women out there on Twitter who believe that these candidates really live in the past,” and “it will be interesting to see how that plays out.”

Emily’s List, which supports pro-choice Democratic women candidates, tweeted: “Most Insulting Rhetoric: @MittRomney for ‘This argument isn’t about contraceptives’ & dismissing the discussion of women’s health #cnndebate.”

Santorum, who has been at the center of the debate over hot-button social issues, does have some women in his corner. The anti-abortion women’s activist group Susan B. Anthony List opened a bus tour and ad campaign in Michigan encouraging people to vote for the former Pennsylvania senator on Tuesday. The ad says Santorum has “stood up time and again for the rights of women and unborn children.”

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Lott (Candidates at Arizona debate)

Correction: An earlier version of this blog post stated that the debate question referred to abortion. The question was about contraception, not abortion.

Santorum explained his comments during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, saying he was questioning the president’s world view — not his faith.

“I accept the fact that the president’s Christian,” Santorum said. “I just said that when you have a world view that elevates the earth above man says that, you know, we can’t take those resources because we’re going to harm the earth by things that are frankly just not scientifically proven.”

A devout Roman Catholic and social conservative, Santorum brought up the theology issue a day earlier in Columbus, Ohio, as he addressed supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement. (Here’s the story from Reuters’ Sam Jacobs)

On ABC’s “This Week,” Robert Gibbs, a senior advisor to Obama’s re-election campaign said Santorum’s “phony theology” comment crosses a line and was dragging the presidential campaign down.

“I can’t help but think that those remarks are well over the line,” Gibbs said. “It’s wrong. It’s destructive. It makes it virtually impossible to solve the problems that we all face together as Americans.”

Here’s Santorum on “Face the Nation”

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Matt Sullivan (Santorum speaks during a Tea Party Rally in Columbus)

Whatever it was, Santorum — a staunch social conservative – said he’s not going to be responsible for what his supporters say.

“I’m not going to play that game,” the former Pennsylvania senator told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren Thursday night when asked about what Foster Friess said earlier in the day.

Friess, the chief donor to the pro-Santorum SuperPAC, was asked whether he had any concerns about the candidate’s views on social issues. Part of his response raised eyebrows.

“Back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly,” he told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

Here’s video from the MSNBC interview:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

At one point in her interview with Santorum, Van Susteren referred to Friess as his “creepy supporter.” She asked whether Santorum would “at least correct” Friess because “most women don’t think it was the funniest comment.”

Santorum did not “correct” his friend nor did he apologize for the comment.

“Foster is known in political circles for telling a lot of jokes and that some of them were are particularly funny, which this one was not,” Santorum said.

“He’s not creepy. He’s a good man. He’s a great philanthropist. He’s a very successful businessman,” Santorum added, in his donor’s defense.

“He told a bad, off-color joke and he should not have done it. That’s his business,” Sanotum said.  “It certainly doesn’t, in my opinion, reflect on the campaign or me because he wasn’t doing it as part of our campaign.”

Van Susteren took back her “creepy” description. “I shouldn’t have said he’s creepy… what he said was creepy.”

In the end they both agreed that it was “a stupid joke.”

At about the same time, Friess was back on MSNBC, making light of his earlier comments — and clarifying that he wasn’t actually giving medical advice.

“I don’t have a license,” he said laughing. “You can not believe some of the people didn’t get the joke.”

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Nathan Armes (Santorum at campaign rally in Loveland, Colorado)

The poster — featuring the Republican presidential candidate flanked by endorsers of his White House bid  — was offered to supporters Tuesday in a new fundraising appeal.

The Dream Team photo was unveiled at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington last week. The Gingrich campaign said it was hit, and now conservatives across the  country are clamoring for a copy of their own.

We wondered whether the Gingrich folks were inspired by the reported success of rival Rick Santorum’s sweater vest campaign.  But there was no immediate response to an email inquiry about the initial poster offering.

By its own account, the Santorum campaign’s  “thank you” gift to small donors — supporters without SuperPAC money — has been a hit too.

The Santorum camp has  “extended by popular demand” — for a limited time — its offer of  the official Rick Santorum For President sweater vest, which can be had for a minimum contribution of $100.  “It’s a great way to show your support for Rick,” the campaign says, describing the vest  as 100 percent cotton, made in the USA, and grey (shouldn’t that be g-r-a-y?).

And that’s not even the biggest acknowledgement being offered to people willing to make small contributions to their favorite candidate.

For a $5 donation to Mitt Romney’s campaign, supporters get a chance at winning a day on the campaign trail with the former Massachusetts governor.  For a few dollars more or less,  supporters can “gear up” up with hats, buttons and other campaign goods purchased from the Romney campaign’s online store.

Republican hopeful  Ron Paul launched a Money Bomb fundraiser on Valentine’s Day, appealing to small donors  to send cash to help the Texas congressman extend his campaign over the next several weeks. In exchange for a donation, contributors get their names included on a scrolling list of  “recent donors” prominently displayed on the Texas congressman Web site.

Democrat Barack Obama, who’s campaigning for a second term in the White House, also offers the potential of a big payoff for small donors.  For a donation of $3 or more, supporters (“people like you – not Washington lobbyists or special -interest PACs,”  the campaign says) get a chance at being invited to dine with the president.  The yet-to-be-named winners of the last contest round get “Dinner with Barack and Michelle.”

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Can you name the members of Newt’s Dream Team?

(left to right) Chuck Norris,  J.C. Watts, Kellyanne Conway, Fred Thompson, Gingrich,  Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Herman Cain,  Michael Reagan, Linda Upmeyer

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Anthony Bolante (Santorum pulls off his jacket at campaign rally in Tacoma, Washington); Screen Grab from Newt Gingrich 2012

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping signaled beforehand that tending to the state of the  “dynamic and promising” U.S.-China connection would be the at the heart of his White House visit on Tuesday.

The economic and trade relationship between the two countries is far too important to be frayed by “frictions and differences,” Xi wrote in a Q&A submitted to the Washington Post and published on the eve of his White House meeting with President Barack Obama.

“What is important is that we properly handle these differences through coordination based on equality, mutual benefit, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation. We must not allow frictions and differences to undermine the larger interests of our business cooperation,” Xi wrote.

The man many see as China’s leader-in-waiting promised to do better and called on the United States to make an effort too — but he might not be feeling any love from the Republicans seeking to upset Obama in the Nov. 6 election.

Tough talk on China has been a recurring theme on the campaign trail — especially for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.  He calls China a cheater and says, if elected, he’d work  to get Bejing labeled a currency manipulator,  something the U.S. Treasury has so far refrained from doing.

In a speech last week, the Republican lumped China with Russia and jihadism. (It didn’t have the same ring of George W. Bush’s axis of evil, but the point was made.) Romney, a leading candidate now tied in recent polls, said that trio threatened to compete with the United States and the West for world leadership.

Romney’s closest rival at the moment, Rick Santorum said in one of the early Republican debates that he wanted to go to war with China — presumably he was speaking metaphorically — in the context of trade. (Check out the video except here).

And another candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, has talked about looking for ways to “dramatically raise the pain level” on China for alleged cheating, hacking and theft of intellectual property.

In his Q&A with The Washington Post (questions and answers supplied by his government),  Xi appeared to hold out  hope of finding some common ground in his meeting with the Democratic president on some of  the thorny issues between Washington and Beijing –  the valuation of  the Chinese currency, respect for  intellectual property rights, alleged unfair trade practices and the treatment of dissidents.

And if not, Xi and Obama could always bond over a love of basketball –  the sport is widely watched in China and is one of the president’s favorite sports.

Photo Credits:  REUTERS/Andy Wong/Pool (Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (C), U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke (L) shakes hand with  Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in  January); REUTERS/Joshua Lott (Romney at campaign event in Mesa, Arizona); REUTERS/Luong Thai Linh/Pool(Xi Jinping on arrival at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi in December)