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OK. I'll admit it. Newt Gingrich got me on this one. I walked into the CPAC 2012 conference this morning with my guard down (first mistake), and picked up what I thought was up updated schedule of events for the main ballroom.

Then I read it.

I knew it was going to be a good day when the first thing I saw at CPAC was Herman Cain's bus.

I'm going to give Herman the benefit of the doubt that he sat in the front of the bus this time.

Michele Bachmann's speech at CPAC 2012 wasn't quite the start turn that her appearance in 2011 — when Americas Bachmannia infection started spreading. I guess that's the difference between being a newly-announced presidential candidate and being a newly-dropped-out presidential candidate. (She was asked to leave. Twice. So, did she drop out or was she dismissed? A little from Column A, and a little from Column B?)

Bachman scored some laughs about the three things she learned as a presidential candidate

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), free from the constraints of running for president, opened her speech at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference with a joke.

"Running for President of the United States is really one series of humiliations after another, but it's also a very educational experience," she said.

"I know where John Wayne was born."

"I know the day Elvis Presley was born."

"Thirdly, I learned never forget the three things that you learn," she said.

Then she launched into a foreign policy speech that revealed how much she has yet to learn.

I caught most of Sen. Marco Rubio's speech at CPAC this morning, and it was very well received. Based on that alone, I'd be tempted to agree with his categorization as a "CPAC darling." He's rumored to be on the short list for VP, though he says he's not interested. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that Rubio appeared at CPAC the same day he introduced legislation that could cut off contraceptive coverage for millions. That seemed to the issue that roused conservatives the most at CPAC. (I actually, I heard more about contraception from speakers than I did about gay marriage — or job creation.)

But apparently Rubio's contraceptive bill wasn't enough to endear him to everyone at CPAC.

They’re at it again. The same congressional Republicans who find any excuse to cut taxes for multimillionaires are blocking renewal of tax cuts to help the middle class stay afloat in this struggling economy.

Just when the economy seems to be gaining momentum, congressional Republicans seem intent on sabotaging it.

The Federal government and the Attorneys General from 49 states have signed a deal with five major banks over charges of fraud, including reported acts of widespread perjury and forgery, in the so-called “robo-signing” scandal.

A few days ago we suggested that any deal be scored against five basic principles: openness, justice, restitution, deterrence, and reconciliation. It's clear that this deal falls short in every category. The best thing that can be said about it is that, thanks to a few tough holdouts led by New York AG Eric Schneiderman, it now allows additional civil and criminal investigations to proceed.

That's far from nothing, and it could be a big deal. But it will only be a big deal if the Administration stops coddling banks and devotes a lot more resources to helping homeowners and upholding justice.

Up to now, the fight has been to prevent the Administration from doing another cushy bank deal. Now that the door's been left open to further action, there's a new fight: to demand that they devote the Federal government's resources to investigating Wall Street crime.

Our own scoring of the agreement follows, based on the criteria we set out last week. Others may have a different opinion. But now that the deal's done, the way forward is clear. To paraphrase Joe Hill, don't mourn or celebrate: Organize.

A Missouri grand jury handed down multiple felony indictments for foreclosure fraud on Monday. That's the same kind of crime being negotiated in nationwide settlement talks with America's big banks. If people can be indicted for doing it, why should bankers be allowed to write a check and walk away?

"Robo-signing" is the nickname that's been given to the practice of hiring large groups of inexperienced workers (they called them "Burger King Kids" at JPMorgan Chase) to file false statements with local courts in order to process foreclosures. In a typical "robo-signing," someone who sign a statement testifying that they had personally reviewed documents that prove the bank has title to a home that's being foreclosed - and might do that many times every hour. That's either perjury or forgery, depending on the way in which the robo-signing was done.

Forgery and perjury are serious crimes. It's an even more serious crime to ask others to do it for you.

Banks, and some friendly and lazy journalists, were quick to dismiss the whole issue as a "paperwork problem." If robo-signing is a "paperwork problem," then the St. Valentine's Day Massacre was a "misplaced bullet problem."