Mitt Romney, under suspicion by many conservatives because of his past as a center-right governor and political candidate, tried to make himself clear Friday:

"I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism."

The former Massachusetts governor got a good response from the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a three day convention of activists.

Here's how Romney explained his conservatism:

"I was raised in a home shaped by and rooted in conservative values. My mother’s father – my grandfather – came to America from England.  As a teenager, he was alone in a new country, but he risked it all for a chance at religious liberty and economic opportunity.

"You’ve probably heard how proud I am of my father.  He was born to American parents living in Mexico.  When he was five, they moved back to the United States.  His dad was a builder who went bust more than once.  My Dad grew up poor and never had a chance to finish his college degree.  But he believed in a country where the circumstances of one’s birth were not a barrier to achievement.  And with hard work, he became the head of a car company and the Governor of the great state of Michigan.

"The values that allowed my parents to achieve their dreams are the same values they instilled in my siblings and me.  Those aren’t values I just talk about; they are values that I live every day.  My 42-year marriage to my wife, Ann; the life we’ve built with our five sons; and the faith that sustains us – these conservative constants have shaped my life.

"In business, if you’re not fiscally conservative, you’re bankrupt.  I spent 25 years balancing budgets, eliminating waste, and keeping as far away from government as was humanly possible. I did things conservatism is designed for – I started new businesses and turned around broken ones. And I am not ashamed to say that I was very successful at it."

An hour before former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was to speak to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Mitt Romney released a blast at his rival.

"tSenator Santorum now decries the obscene growth in federal spending and our national debt, but he was in Washington as this fiscal crisis grew – supporting billions in earmarks, repeatedly voting to raise the debt ceiling, and admitting that deficits no longer bothered him," Romney spokesman Andrea Saul said in a memo to media.

"Americans want a president who can offer solutions, not a lifelong politician who was part of the problem in the first place."

The Romney camp then recalls statements Santorum has made supporting earmarks, or local projects lawmakers routinely insert into spending legislation. Santorum has explained that was part of his job.

Santorum is popular among conservatives; Romney, less so. Both are to speak to the conference Friday.

Republican voters still aren't crazy about their potential presidential nominees, according to a new Pew Reserach Center poll.

52 percent of GOP and GOP-leaning registered voters said the field is fair or poor. 46 percent have positive views of the field.

The survey was conducted Jan. 26-29 among 1,006 adults, including 341 Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters.

A month ago, just before the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary, 51 percent gave the field excellent or good ratings. 44 percent rated it fair or poor.

The poll also found that more voters thought President Barack Obama understood the problems of average Americans more than top Republican contenders Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. 55 percent said the president understood them very or fairly well.

But 39 percent thought Romney understood well, and 36 percent felt that way about Gingrich.

Mitt Romney grew up in Michigan, and he had a stark message Friday for President Barack Obama as he visited the state: "Mr. President," Romney said, "forgive me for being blunt, but when it comes to economic affairs, you’re out of your depth." 

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor seeking the Republican nomination to run against Obama, is the son of former Michigan  Gov. George Romney. Michigan holds its presidential primary Feb. 28.

Mitt Romney offered his views in an "open letter" to Obama, who was speaking in Ann Arbor Friday morning.

"I recognize, of course, as do all Americans, that you inherited an economic crisis. But you’ve now had three years to turn things around. The record of those three years is clear. Your policies have failed, and not only in Michigan, but across the nation," Romney wrote.

He told Obama his promises "now ring hollow."

After all, Romney said, "If you have brought new ideas to Michigan for creating jobs, why have you waited three years to unveil them? Have you suddenly had a revelation, or is it because 2012 is an election year?

"Whatever the case, what you are offering Michigan now is too little, too late. What Michigan needs, and what the country needs, is not four more years of economic mismanagement and failed leadership, but a fundamental change in direction. I was born and raised in Michigan at a time when our state was the pride of America. With new leadership, Michigan can feel that pride once more."

Mitt Romney told about 300 people at American Douglas Metals in Orlando that President Barack Obama is "detached from reality."

Romney was giving his reaction to Tuesday's State of the Union address. "I took some notes," he told the crowd as he unfurled a piece of paper.

His message was clear about Obama: "He's detached from the people. He's detached from his own words."

Romney, who didn't mention his Republican rivals, recalled how the president visited Disney World last week and thought he was still there. "He was speaking in Fantasyland last night,' Romney said.

But when in Florida , "he didn’t' spend much time in f land or communities around the state. If you really think things are going well in this country and we're on the right track you ought to vote for him."

Romney then offered a long list of times Obama's words didn't match his action.

"There was that whole riff about regulation," Romney said. "He says he wants to cut regulations even though he's the guy who's dramatically increased them."

Romney said that when he work up Wednesday, his wife Ann was already awake. 'She turned to me," he said, and advised her husband to think about what Obama did not say.

 "What he didn't say was even more disturbing and detached from reality than the things he did say," Mitt Romney said; he wanted more talk about the nation's debt.

And he didn’t say how he would provide leadership, just a plea to Congress to send him the proper legislation.

"Aren't you the leader of the free world? Why don't you draft some legislation?" Romney asked.

The crowd was largely enthusiastic Romney backers—but not everyone was  impressed.

"It sounds like the same stuff out of every politician's mouth, "said Jerry McCormack, manager of an Orlando semi-trailer leasing business.

"Romney's a good guy, but I think Gingrich is a good guy," said Rick Pearce, co-owner of an Orlando printing company. "I have to find out what the truth is. They've got records; I'll look them up."

Democrats see Mitt Romney's decisive victory in Tuesday's New Hampshire Republican primary in a different light.

Here's Ray Buckley, New Hampshire Democratic chairman, on the result:

"While he may have won, Mitt Romney, who has spent five years campaigning here in hopes of winning by a huge margin, fell well short on a number of fronts. He lost among self-identified independents. He finished a distant fourth among voters who care about 'strong moral character.'

"He lost the middle class vote, and he lost among New Hampshire residents who said they voted on the issues. The reason is plain: Mitt Romney will say and stand for anything to get elected, and voters clearly don't trust him. He's demonstrated he is out of touch with middle class Americans, and tonight's results make that clear."

 House of Representatives Republican leaders met Wednesday in a largely-empty Capitol, ready to iron out a compromise on the Social Security payroll tax break.

But Democrats, and Senate Republicans, have not named negotiators, so there were no talks.

"We’re here. We’re ready to go to work. And we’re hoping that Senate Democrats will appoint negotiators, come to the table, and resolve these differences," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"I think it’s important to note that the president, bipartisan leaders in the House and bipartisan leaders in the Senate, have all really asked for the same thing over the course of the last several months: let’s extend the payroll tax credit for a year. And all we’re asking for is to get the Senate members over here to work with us to resolve our differences so we can do what everybody wants to do: extend the payroll tax credit for the next year. I’m hoping that they’re ready to work as we are.”

So House Speaker John Boehner has named Republicans to a conference, or negotiating committee, to seek a compromise on the Social Security payroll tax plan. What about the Democrats?

They won't play the Charlie Brown role, says their House of Representatives leader.

"Are you not in some ways to blame for the stalemate by not naming your conferees?" Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was asked at a Tuesday news conference.

"No," she said. "It is not a question of blame for stalemate. It is a question of there is a bill that has passed the House and Senate that was designed to pass. The Republicans have put forth a path that is designed to fail. This bill that the Republicans passed in the House was not even brought up in the Senate. The Republicans in the Senate objected to it being brought up because they said they knew it would fail. And the bill that is in the House was not brought up by the House Republicans because, the Senate bill, because they knew it would pass.

"He is not Lucy. I'm not Charlie Brown. We are not falling for that football stunt again. Senator Mitch McConnell fell for it, but we are not falling for it. This is not about getting a bill passed. This is about not getting a bill passed."

The Senate passed a bipartisan compromise Saturday; the House, in a largely party-line vote, rejected it.

"Make no mistake," Pelosi said, "the fact is a clear one, if we do not have a payroll tax cut, it is because the Republicans in the House of Representatives have chosen to paint themselves in a different place than the Republicans in the country and the Republicans in the United States Senate. They are clearly isolating themselves.

" And I will not play Charlie Brown to their Lucy. They have pulled this football every single time. We are not going to let them mislead the American people."

 House of Representatives Republicans are ready to negotiate on the Social Security payroll tax break.

After voting to disagree with the Senate approach--a two-month extension--Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he'd appoint negotiators to pursue a one-year extension.

“The House voted to extend payroll tax relief, and to extend and reform unemployment insurance, for a full year – as requested by the president. Senate Democrats voted to extend these programs for only two months – a proposal that non-partisan experts say will create substantial confusion and new costs for job creators,” he said.

“There’s no reason for millions of Americans to see their taxes go up or for Washington to make things harder on struggling small businesses. A formal House-Senate conference committee can resolve the differences between our year-long tax cut extension and Democrats’ short-term bill. We can avoid a needless tax hike on middle class families if Senate Democrats will work with us and appoint negotiators to extend the payroll tax cut for another year and help create new jobs.”

The appointees to the committee include: Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Dave Camp (R-MI), Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Nan Hayworth (R-NY), Tom Price (R-GA), Tom Reed (R-NY), and Fred Upton (R-MI).

No announcements yet from Democrats.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR)

House Democratic leaders made it clear after meeting with rank-and-file members Monday: They want the Senate bill on the Social Security payroll tax passed.

House Republicans are balking, saying the two-month extension is too short. They want a year. Well, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., so do we. But the two parties could not agree how to fund  a year extension, so two months is the compromise.

"The Senate did compromise" she told reporters. The Senate voted 89-10 Saturday to pass the plan.

But, a reporter said, House GOP leaders were not involved in that compromise.

"No," Pelosi said, "but the Speaker has said very clearly all along that (Senate Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid should negotiate with (Senate Republican) Leader (Mitch) McConnell.  This is the compromise.  This is the compromise.  This isn’t a bill that we were advocating.  We want one year.  This is the compromise.  This is just moving the goal post."