WASHINGTON — Three of the four GOP presidential candidates are addressing a major conservative gathering in Washington, giving them a high-profile stage to reshape their messages at a moment of uncertainty in the contest.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum rocked the Republican world this week by winning caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota, plus a nonbinding primary in Missouri.

His victories have raised new questions about Mitt Romney’s ability to inspire conservatives, and about Newt Gingrich’s claim to be the top alternative to Romney.

Santorum, Romney and Gingrich will separately address the annual Conservative Political Action Conference today. Rep. Ron Paul, whose libertarian leanings put him at odds with some mainstream conservatives, does not plan to attend.

The CPAC stage will give Santorum a chance to sharpen his two-pronged message. He says Romney is too moderate to carry the GOP banner against President Barack Obama this fall. And he says Gingrich is too weighted down by past controversies and policy shifts.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is likely to try to reassure conservatives that he represents their views and is best-positioned to beat Obama.

Conventioneers will watch Gingrich, the former House speaker, to see whether he brings his fierce, fighting side to the stage or his gentler persona of big ideas and national optimism.

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Santorum: Obama trying to allow Iran to have nuke

OKLAHOMA CITY – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Thursday accused President Barack Obama of actively seeking ways to allow Iran to gain a nuclear weapon and suggested that the administration had betrayed Israel by publicly disclosing what may be a plan to attack the Muslim nation.

Santorum drew connections between the administration’s opposition to the Keystone pipeline project, which would bring oil from Canada to U.S. refineries, and American dependency on foreign oil and U.S.-Israel relations.

“We’re throwing Israel under the bus because we know we’re going to be dependent upon OPEC,” Santorum said during a speech in Oklahoma City. “We’re going to say, ‘Oh, Iran, we don’t want you to get a nuclear weapon – wink, wink, nod, nod – go ahead, just give us your oil.’ Folks, the president of the United States is selling the economic security of the United States down the river right now.”

The U.S. doesn’t purchase oil from Iran but its allies do. Pulling Iranian oil from the world market would wreak havoc on oil prices in the U.S. and elsewhere. 

Santorum later told CNN that Obama’s actions support the view that the president was choosing Iran over Israel. He accused Defense Secretary Leon Panetta of divulging sensitive information about Israel’s plans to strike Iran and then invited scorn upon the Jewish state from the rest of the world.

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Foreign donations are a risk in super PAC setting

WASHINGTON – Money pouring into the presidential election from super political action committees and nonprofit campaign groups appears so far to be strictly American in origin, donated by U.S. companies, unions and millionaires. But it’s easier than ever to conceal the source of money and the identities of contributors, making conditions ripe for illegal donations from foreigners, overseas companies or governments attempting to help a favored candidate for the White House.

“Clearly it is more difficult to enforce the ban on foreign spending when the source of the money is not publicly disclosed,” said Trevor Potter, head of the Campaign Legal Center and former chairman of the Federal Elections Commission. Potter is the attorney advising television comedian Stephen Colbert, who set up his own super PAC to illustrate absurdities of how money affects U.S. elections.

Foreign political donations have been outlawed since 1966, and a brief U.S. Supreme Court order last month upheld the ban for foreigners living in the U.S. as well as corporations and individuals abroad.

At the same time, a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2010 – known as the Citizens United case – enabled corporations and other well-financed donors to give money to political committees that avoid direct coordination with campaigns. The decision led to super PACs, and later court and government rulings gave the groups more latitude by allowing donors to make unlimited donations with minimal disclosure requirements.

Election law experts said the result is an environment that could breed foreign money abuses by political committees willing to knowingly violate the law or by foreign donors who covertly funnel money to favored U.S. candidates and causes.

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Gingrich hopes high road, new funds can save him

CLEVELAND – Newt Gingrich, suddenly in danger of losing his perch as Mitt Romney’s strongest GOP challenger, is fine-tuning his presidential campaign to place more emphasis on raising money, guarding his home turf and trying to avoid nasty quarrels with the front-runner.

Rick Santorum’s stunning success in this week’s elections in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri has fueled his claim that he, not Gingrich, is best qualified to rally conservatives who feel Romney is too moderate and unreliable.

Gingrich, the former House speaker, again faces a dilemma that has dogged him for much of the election. Should he show his feistier, meaner side at the risk of turning off voters who want pragmatic solutions more than expressions of anger? Or should he use a tamer, high-minded tone and risk losing economically anxious, resentful Republicans such as those who handed him his only victory, in South Carolina?

His aide R.C. Hammond said Gingrich favors the second option, at least for now.

“We need to go hard at demonstrating we are the one campaign of leadership,” Hammond said in an interview in Cleveland, where Gingrich spoke Wednesday without mentioning Santorum, Romney or his own poor showing in Tuesday’s voting.

Gingrich wants to avoid the harsh personal exchanges with Romney that have sometimes dominated the Republican campaign, Hammond said, and he wants to show he’s a better choice than Santorum by letting voters compare their records.

Gingrich plans few public appearances in the coming week, and none in highly competitive states.

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