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.

Herman Cain revved up the crowd Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, urging them to use their brain power to defeat the liberals.

"We must outsmart the stupid people who are trying to run America," he said. "We outnumber the stupid people, trust me."

Cain suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination after reports about sexual harassment. He revived talk of his 9-9-9 tax plan Thursday, and spoke about how something has to be done about the federal debt. The day his grandchild was born, he already owed $48,000 "and he hadn't done anything yet."

The conference is scheduled to hear from GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich Friday.

Congress' approval rating, already dismal last year, has hit a new low.

Gallup found in its Feb. 2-5 survey that Congress' approval rating had sunk to 10 percent.

The rating averaged 17 percent last year, with the highest number, 24 percent, logged in May. 

But Congress was beset last year by partisan gridlock, leading to a bitter summer fight over raising the nation's debt ceiling and a pre-Christmas showdown over continuing a Social Security payroll tax cut.

"It is difficult to pinpoint any specific recent actions that may have led to the continuing deterioration in Congress' image, particularly because much of the political attention in January and early February has focused on the Republican presidential race," a Gallup analyis said.

"Congress at this point is again wrangling over the extension of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits -- both of which were temporarily extended late last year in a short-term fix that expires at the end of February."

1,029 people were sureyed. Margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Mitt Romney could be in for a rough night Tuesday, as polls suggest former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has a chance to win the Minnesota caucuses.

Romney's camp put out a memo Tuesday morning that looks ahead, and perhaps tries to lessen the impact of the Tuesday result.

"It is difficult to see what (former Massachusetts) Governor Romney’s opponents can do to change the dynamics of the race in February," said political director Rich Beeson in the memo. "No delegates will be awarded on February 7 -- Colorado and Minnesota hold caucuses with nonbinding preference polls, and the Missouri primary is purely a beauty contest.

"Except for the Maine and Wyoming nonbinding caucuses running through February, the next contests are on February 28 in states where Governor Romney is strong. Arizona’s 29 delegates will be bound in a winner-take-all contest. Michigan, the state where Governor Romney grew up, binds 30 delegates"

Beeson then looked ahead to March, with optimism.

"The rules for the March states offer even less comfort to Governor Romney’s opponents. With so many states and territories voting, organization and resources are key. Ours is the only campaign to be active in all of these states, and we have the resources and organization to maximize delegate totals according to each state’s rules," he said.

Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul all see possibilities in March. Gingrich and Santorum eye southern states holding primaries and caucuses, where GOP voters tend to be more conservative. Paul is pushing hard in caucus states.

Beeson says he's unworried. "Governor Romney is the only candidate prepared to compete in simultaneous contests across the country," he said.

"Speaker Gingrich’s and Senator Santorum’s campaigns have resource challenges. The remaining February states may not be kind to them, and their hopes for a comeback in March may be very difficult and based on an incomplete understanding of the delegate selection rules."

Just in time for the rest of the caucuses and primaries, trading card manufacturer Upper Deck is releasing "World of Politics" trading cards featuring the presidential contenders: from still-in-the-running President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum to also-rans like Rick Perry and Herman Cain.

The California-based company says nine subjects will be featured in all: "With so much attention around the 2012 election, we thought it was only fitting to produce a set of cards that would help pay tribute to all the highs and lows of this presidential race by capturing the top candidates on cardboard," said Jason Masherah, Upper Deck's marketing veep. The cards will be released Feb. 21.

It's not Obama's first time on a trading card: the trading card company released a caricature of Obama after he won in 2008. 

Younger voters have tended to be Mitt Romney's weakest age group, but he won more support Tuesday from voters under 30 than any of the Republican candidates.

The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, which studies youth voting issues, found in a preliminary analysis that Romney topped Texas Rep. Ron Paul by 16 percentage points.

About 100,000 young Floridians voted in the Tuesday GOP primary. Romney got 41 percent. Paul had 25 percent, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 21 percent, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, 13 percent.

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's lead is 20 in a new Suffolk University/7NEWS (WSVN-Miami) poll of likely Republican voters in Tuesday's Florida primary.

The former Massachusetts governor had 47 percent, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 27 percent. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum got 12 percent, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 9 percent.

“It is almost certain that Mitt Romney will top his 39 percent showing in New Hampshire,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. “This poll also tells us that Romney could reverse and exceed Newt Gingrich’s percentage and margin in South Carolina – and do it in Gingrich’s backyard.”

Total spending on ads for Florida's Republican primary is more than $24 million, NBC reported Monday, most of it by Mitt Romney and his supporters.

Here's the breakdown on major candidates from NBC/Smart Media Group Delta:

-- Ads for Romney: $15.9 million. Romney campaign has spent $7 million. Restore Our Future, a SuperPAC supporting Romney, has spent $8.9 million.

--Ads for Newt Gingrich: $4 million. Gingrich campaign has spent $1.2 million. Winning Our Future, a SuperPAC supporting him, has spent $2.8 million.