It's regularly been pointed out that the average compensation—that includes pay and benefits—for federal workers is now double the private sector average. Defenders of federal employees have routinely insisted that this is an unfair comparison.

The question was, "We have many qualified, Hispanic leaders. Which of our Hispanic leaders would you consider to serve in your cabinet?" Santorum, by dint of his position on stage, got to speak first, picking the very obvious choice of up-and-coming Florida senator Marco Rubio. Gingrich came in second and it wouldn't have sufficed to say, "I agree." The former speaker hinted at Rubio as a future commander in chief and also mentioned New Mexico governor Susana Martinez and Florida congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Poor Mitt Romney was third in line for questioning and knew he, too, had to top his rivals. His answer was lengthy but impressive:

Several of our favorite journals showed up recently in The Scrapbook’s mailbox (no, The Scrapbook hasn’t fully converted to the digital era yet), and they seemed to be even more chock-a-block than usual with interesting articles.

In the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Newt Gingrich has a sizable lead over his Republican rival Mitt Romney. NBC reports: 

Tim Mak of Politico reports on the latest 

In his latest Bloomberg column, Ezra Klein pushes back on the GOP critique of the president. As far as he is concerned, the president is really a pragmatic center-leftist.

 “President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial,” Mitt Romney says. But fear not, because the former governor of Massachusetts “will offer the American ideals of economic freedom a clear and unapologetic defense.”

More than anyone else during any of the previous Republican presidential debates, Rick Santorum took dead aim tonight at the similarities between Romneycare and Obamacare. Arguing that those similarities could pose great problems for the Republican party and for the prospects for repeal if Mitt Romney were to win the nomination, Santorum implored GOP voters to remember, “We can’t give this issue away in this election.”

Between Sunday and Wednesday, Newt Gingrich went from leading Mitt Romney by 8 points to trailing Mitt Romney by 8 points in the Florida GOP primary polls. Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville was Gingrich's best opportunity--and most likely his only--ahead of Tuesday's primary to reverse Romney's momentum. But far from landing a knockout blow, it was Gingrich who was thrown back on his heels.

Mark Salter, writing at RealClearPolitics:

We had an excellent example of the statesmanship missing in our public affairs a few minutes after the president high-fived his way out of the House chamber when Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels offered the Republican response.

Washington Times: "Issa calls for second prosecutor to testify about ‘Fast and Furious’"

The latest Pew poll finds that Americans are concernced about Iran: