Paul told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the caucus strategy made sense for his campaign, which has struggled to raise the amounts of money posted by his competitors or the super PACs that support them. He said he would campaign in primary states only if they allocated delegates proportionally instead of winner take all and the cost of campaigning there didn't exceed his budget.

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"We're going to continue like we are doing, the smaller states, the caucus states where we can accumulate delegates," Paul said. "We had a good day. We are convinced we will win the majority of the delegates out of Maine today."

While the state's GOP chairman announced Saturday that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had won the Maine preference poll with 39% of the vote, the results there are non-binding, meaning delegates could still be awarded to other candidates.

Paul said the cost of campaigning in large states didn't make sense for his operation.

"To compete with someone with hundreds of millions of dollars is difficult," Paul said. "So for us to spend $25 million and the difficulty we have with raising money with the odds of not coming in first, that is not a wise choice of spending money."

Paul agreed the race for the White House is rapidly becoming Romney's to lose.

Think he is pretty much there," Romney said. "He does have the money and the organization. He just doesn't have the enthusiasm that I think we have able to get in our crowds, you know, really excited about what he believes in. I think that's his biggest problem. But I would say yes, he is out in front and people are picking away at him. He lost a few but he picked up a little steam today. You have to give him credit for that."

Paul said Romney's disposition made him more appealing than the other candidates in the race, but that his positions were far from his own.

"It just happens that because I've known Mitt a while longer he is friendlier, but I don't sympathize more with his positions," Paul said.

Yelling, “Get out of here (expletive),” Christopher Renner, a 30 year old accountant from Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, leapt from his seat inside the main ballroom and ran in the general direction of the commotion.

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Although Renner identifies himself as a conservative, a supporter of the tea party movement, and, to a lesser extent, a Republican, he said his reaction was not driven by politics or ideology.

“I’m a veteran of the Marine Corps. I served in Iraq twice, deployed there,” Renner told CNN. "I don’t remember what I said in the next five seconds. I just saw something happening...and instinct took over.”

Renner said he was trying to get close to the commotion in case the protest became a physical altercation.

Renner said he was thinking, “If they are a physical threat to somebody else, I’m going to get in between them and whatever they’re doing.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Renner was in the audience in the same ballroom when a group of national tea party leaders participated in a panel discussion about how their movement differed from the Occupy Wall Street movement.

“I’ve tried to have a lot of sympathy for them,” Renner said of the liberal Occupy Wall Street movement.

“They have some valid points,” Renner said, talking about the recent government bailouts of various industries that have been perceived by many on Main Street as an injustice when many Americans are struggling.

Renner added, “Among anybody here who self-identifies with the tea party, I think you’ll find a lot of sympathy towards the Occupy movement.” But Renner added that “they lose us” by advocating for more government and for more entitlements. “We’re saying the country is being looted, let’s stop the looting. The Occupy movement is increasingly saying the country is being looted, we want some of the loot. And that’s where they’ve kind of diverged and lost [us].”

For the past few days, Occupy movement supporters have been protesting outside the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel where the CPAC meeting is being held in northwest Washington D.C. Several protestors made it inside the building on Friday and Saturday.

Renner said he arrived at the spot in the ballroom Saturday where the protesters had been “probably about five seconds” after they were escorted out by security.

When he realized the situation had been handled, he quickly returned to his seat in the ballroom and listened to the rest of Palin’s speech without incident. This is Renner’s third consecutive year attending the annual gathering of conservative activists.

The victory ended the week on an upswing for Romney - hours before the results were announced he had won a straw poll at the closely watched Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who had swept three states up for grab in Tuesday's primaries and caucuses.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, took 38% of the vote in the poll. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum received 31%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was at 15% and Texas Rep. Ron Paul stood at 12%.

In an interview with CNN and The New York Times before her speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Palin said she was confused by Romney’s declaration here on Friday that he was a “severely conservative Republican.”

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“I wasn’t quite sure what the word 'severely' meant,” Palin said.

She said Romney and his two main rivals - Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich - should be given time to explain the flaws in their record until the Republican National Convention in August, when she said the nomination fight could ultimately be decided.

But Romney may have the hardest sale to make, she said, asking him to explain his “shifts in ideology” since he left the Massachusetts governorship.

“You have to have the tea party patriots enthused and energized in order to win this nomination, and more importantly in order to defeat Barack Obama,” Palin argued.

If conservatives are “dismissed and they are marginalized” by the Republican establishment, “they are going to be much less enthused and much less willing to put it all on the line for the GOP candidate in the general election.”

“We can’t afford to have low voter turnout in the general election, and that is all the more reason for Romney to really start connecting more with conservatives,” she said.

Though she has spoken warmly about both Gingrich and Santorum, she said she was still making up her mind about which candidate to support.

Her Fox News contract does not prohibit her from weighing in on the presidential race, she said.

Palin said she would not encourage any of the candidates to drop out of the race, saying it’s “not yet” time for Gingrich to step aside and allow Santorum to rally the conservative vote.

She also welcomed the possibility of a brokered convention in Tampa.

“I don’t think that it would be a negative for the party, a brokered convention,” she said. “And people who start screaming that a brokered convention is the worst thing for the GOP, they have an agenda. They have their own personal or political reasons for their own candidate, who they would like to see protected away from a brokered convention. That’s part of the competition, that’s part of the process. And it may happen.”

"I want to be your nominee. I want to beat President Obama," he told caucus-goers in Sanford. "I believe I can. I believe I'm the one person in this race who actually can beat this president. I believe it's essential that we beat this president. That we take America back and that we keep America as it's always been - the hope of the earth."

5:21 p.m. ET - Palin exits to Shania Twain's 2002 hit "She's Not Just a Pretty Face."

Lyrics include:

"She hosts a T.V. show, she rides the rodeo."

"She's on the council–she's on the board."

"She's a politician–she praises the Lord."

5:19 p.m. ET - @DanaBashCNN: Palin dig at Romney: "we need someone who can instinctively turn right..it's too late to teach that or spin...it must be there"

5:15 p.m. ET - Palin said the GOP "must stand united" behind the presidential nominee and "work together to get him over the finish line."

5:14 p.m. ET - @DanaBashCNN: Palin: competition brings out the best in our nominees. Arguing long fight not bad

5:11 p.m. ET - In his reelection effort, Obama will try to "reinvent himself," like "carhartts and steel toed boots are us."

5:07 p.m. ET - Palin said after serving time in Washington, elected officials decide the nation's capital is not a "cesspool," but rather say it is "like a hot tub and they're hoping in and join the jacuzzi."

"It's time to drain the jacuzzi ... throw the bums out with the bath water," she said.

5:03 p.m. ET - @HowardKurtz: Palin says Obama's Washington is home to permanent political class. That wasn't true under Bush?

5:02 p.m. ET - Attempting to paint Washington as "out of touch," Palin said "heck they even have a Lamborghini dealership." Although she said "there's nothing wrong with hot wheels," DC and its surrounding areas are the playgrounds for the "government rich."

4:59 p.m. ET – "This isn't some international community organizing or some social welfare network that's going on," Palin said. "We'll never apologize for America's strength or America's greatness."

4:56 p.m. ET - @DanaBashCNN: Palin litany of plays on obamaisms. God and guns, yes we can, hope and change. Red meat central

4:54 p.m. ET – Palin, describing the president's economic proposals said: "He says that he has a jobs plan to win the future. WTF, I know. And I'm the idiot. His WTF plan."

4:50 p.m. ET - @MMStewartCNN reports: Protesters started chanting "mic check, mic check." The crowd responded by changing "USA USA". A man in the audience jumped out of his seat and headed in their direction yelling "Get the hell out of here you a–holes.". Disruption was quickly calmed down and Palin told the crowd "Now see, you've just won."

4:46 p.m. ET - Sarah Palin said members of the tea party rose up over the last three years because "Americans woke up." Looking straight at the camera the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee said "our movement is one country united under God ... and President Obama, we are threw with you."

"Hope and change? Ya, you gotta hope things change," she said to chants of "U.S.A., U.S.A." ... Followed by "Sarah" chants.

4:41 p.m. ET – @DanaBashCNN: Ron Paul won cpac last 2yrs This year: 4th. But he didnt really compete. His campaign manager told me hes working for real votes (in Maine)

4:39 p.m. ET - @DanaBashCNN: Cpac Crowd now chanting Sarah!

4:36 p.m. ET - @DanaBashCNN: Who does cpac want for vp? Marco Rubio tops the list 34 percent. Chris Christie next with 9 percent. Tied with bob mcdonnell at 9 percent

4:27 p.m. ET – CPAC Presidential Straw Poll Results:

Mitt Romney: 38%
Rick Santorum: 31%
Newt Gingrich: 15%
Ron Paul: 12%

Total participants: 3,408

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4:21 p.m. ET - @PeterHambyCNN: the mere mention of Sarah Palin's name just elicited a louder roar from the #CPAC crowd than any of the Republican candidates did

4:16 p.m. ET - Norquist said the 2012 Republican presidential race is "confusing" but that the ups and downs are a sign the GOP is "winning." Republicans, he said, need someone to sign the proposals, like Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposal, not "someone to think it up."

4:11 p.m. ET - "The only person in the country who smokes cigarettes and makes more than $250,000 per year is named Barack Obama," Norquist said while criticizing tax increases backed by the president.

4:08 p.m. ET - The anti-tax crusader Norquist said proponents of tax increases are as "monomaniacal as a teenage boy on a prom date."

4:02 p.m. ET - Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said the tea party movement and the Ron Paul movement came into the Republican party and made it "bigger, stronger and more conservative."

"More people are a good idea in a party an in a movement," Norquist said.

3:33 p.m. ET - Ryan Hecker, founder of Contract from America, described what he sees is the biggest difference between the tea party movement and Occupy Wall Street: "We care about this country and they care about themselves."

3:30 p.m ET - Dana Loesch, Editor-in-Chief of Big Journalism and CNN contributor, appearing on the same panel, said the president has already "been beaten," but the "media is keeping him on a lifeline right now."

3:20 p.m. ET - Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer said the tea party movement is not dead. She said the grassroots movement should not be judged by the number of signs or people at their rallies, but rather by votes on Election Day, when Occupy Wall Street protesters are "still out at their rallies or their protests." Kremer appeared as part of a panel discussion, "Taking Back Wall Street: The Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street."

3:08 p.m. ET - Palin calls on Romney to work harder for the conservative vote

3:00 p.m. ET - Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spent much of his speech criticizing Attorney General Eric Holder, including his positions over the closing of Guantanamo Bay, the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and CIA interrogators. The senator said Holder is more concerned with "satisfying Obama's left wing base" than "doing his job."

He charged the audience with electing a new Republican president and GOP Senate majority to ensure Holder is replaced.

2:57 p.m. ET - Sen. John Cornyn of Texas at the beginning of his remarks: "I'll be brief because I know I'm one of the last speakers between you and Sarah Palin." The former Alaska governor is scheduled to speak at 4:30 p.m. ET.

1:53 p.m. ET - @PeterHambyCNN: Palin tells @jeffzeleny & me that Romney "really needs to start connecting more with conservatives." If he's nominee, she warns turnout could suffer

12:57 p.m. ET - @PrestonCNN: An image from #cpac that best describes the current state of the GOP race for president. lockerz.com/s/182797931

12:50 p.m. ET - In a round of word association (a sampling):

"Iraq"
Carlson: Sand
Begala: Lies

"IRS"
Carlson: Authoritarianism
Begala: Necessary

"Flat tax"
Carlson: Much needed
Begala: Flat earth

"China"
Carlson: Threat
Begala: Rival

"Unions"
Carlson: Appalling, unnecessary
Begala: All-American, essential

"Poor people"
Carlson: Something I'd rather not be
Begala: Beloved by God

"Kim Kardashian"
Carlson: Wouldn't know her if she got in the shower with me
Begala: Republican

12:38 p.m. ET - When asked if the tea party movement or Rev. Al Sharpton were "more racist," Carlson said neither the tea party nor Sharpton are racist, adding Sharpton "only hates patronizing liberal white people."

12:37 p.m. ET – Begala was greeted with boos when he asked the audience why conservatives "hate the constitution so much." He equated calls for constitutional amendments to a new husband who tells his wife he loves her as she is and then on their honeymoon asks her to get plastic surgery.

"Love it and leave it alone, it's our constitution," Begala said.

12:32 p.m. ET – Before their debate, Democrat Paul Begala, a CNN contributor, and Tucker Carlson, Fox News contributor, were introduced as Paul "Big Government" Begala and Tucker "Cut It All" Carlson.

12:16 p.m. ET - @PaulBegala: About to debate @TuckerCarlson at #CPAC. 1,100 screaming wingers vs me. I like my odds.

11:29 a.m. ET - Scott said he ran for governor in 2010 on his "7-7-7" plan to cut the Sunshine State's deficit while promoting private sector job growth. He said he was flattered when former presidential candidate Herman Cain soared to the top of the GOP field on his "9-9-9 plan."

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Scott said, before adding: "I was first."

11:27 a.m. ET - Florida Gov. Rick Scott said it is not government's role to pick the "winners and losers" in society.

"Freedom to succeed also means freedom to fail," Scott said.

10:52 a.m. ET - Bolton said the death of Osama bin laden was "ten years in the making" and "what Obama did was get out of the way."

"That does not equal a foreign policy," Bolton added.

10:44 a.m. ET - To achieve a "Reaganite foreign policy," Bolton said the next president has an "enormous task ahead" to strengthen American defense so no country entertains the idea of threatening the U.S.

Bolton, who considered running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, said Obama has significantly cut defense spending to the determent of the country.

"American weakness is provocative to our adversaries and we have a president who specializes in it," Bolton said.

10:39 a.m. ET - John Bloton, former U.S. representative to the United Nations, contrasted the late President Ronald Reagan with Obama, saying while Reagan was "proud to be American," Obama believes in American exceptionalism "about as much as he believes in freedom of religion."

10:22 p.m. ET - @sinderbrandcnn reports: Suit-wearing protesters unfurled a sign while the criminal justice panel was underway ... but in a different room. The sign: "Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State. I'm not a racist, I just work for them." They made it all the way to the lectern table before security arrived.

10:12 p.m. ET - Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Romney supporter who helped craft the controversial immigration laws in Arizona and Alabama, said the U.S. is on the verge of making national immigration policy that includes self deportation with the election of a Republican president. Want to create a job for an American tomorrow? "Deport an illegal alien today," Kobach said.

9:43 a.m. ET - Conservative author Dinesh D'Souza opened remarks with: "Welcome to Indian-American morning at CPAC" ... followed by laughs.

9:35 a.m. ET - Jindal said his personal experience with Obama administration after the gulf oil spill is the reason the 2012 election is so important.

He said he interacted with people who were "very book smart but never run anything in the private sector."

"They refused to listen to the people that knew better than all the experts," Jindal said.

9:30 a.m. ET - Jindal said teacher quality is the most important aspect of education, more than class size or facilities. He said he's supporting teacher compensation and tenure reform because while 99% of teachers receive a satisfactory grade under the current system, 45% of schools received a "D" or "F" under the letter grade scale he instituted in the state. He also stressed the importance of parental involvement.

"We live in a country where every child should be free to pursue the American dream," Jindal said. "The government doesn't owe you equal results but it does owe you equal opportunity."

"Our children only grow up once," he added.

9:21 a.m. ET - After touting his record of cutting taxes and spending in his state, Jindal said he will tackle reforming pension programs for public employees and education during the upcoming legislative session.

9:10 a.m. ET - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized the Obama administration's recent steps regarding contraception, saying the action "let the American people see what's behind that curtain." The last time the president gave Americans a glimpse of his true feelings was when he said small town Americans "cling to guns or religion," the former representative said.

"We love us some guns and religion and we make no apologies for it," Jindal told the crowd.

He said the media didn't need to fact check him because he was engaging in "hyperbole."

"Today's proposal continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deploy held convictions," the statement said.

President Barack Obama zeroed in on the payroll tax cut extension, which remains stuck on Capitol Hill after lawmakers failed to agree on terms of a 10-month extension earlier this week. Congress passed a two-month extension of the cut in December, but members of Congress and the president are loathe to continue extending the measure in 60-day increments.

In his address, Obama laid out the ramifications of letting the payroll tax cut expire.
"At the end of the month, taxes are set to go up on 160 million working Americans," Obama said. "If you're one of them, then you know better than anyone that the last thing you need right now is a tax hike. But if Congress refuses to act, middle class taxes will go up. It's that simple."

Congressional Republicans insist the 2% payroll tax cut be fully paid for in order to pass. The total cost is estimated to be $160 billion.

Obama said Saturday that the delay boiled down to political posturing.

"Congress needs to stop this middle class tax hike from happening," Obama said. "Period. No drama. No delay. And no ideological side issues that have nothing to do with this tax cut. Now is not the time for self-inflicted wounds to our recovery. Now is the time for common-sense action. And this tax cut is common-sense."

Obama encouraged listeners to contact their representatives and urge them to pass the extension.
Meanwhile Saturday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell also levied the charge of political obstructionism in the weekly Republican address, saying Obama and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid were stalling on presenting a federal budget proposal.

"While federal law mandates that the president release his budget on the first Monday of every February, the administration has extended that period another seven days," McDonnell said.

On Friday, the White House released their budget proposal, which forecast a $901 billion deficit in 2013, and included plans to make investments in infrastructure while raises taxes for the rich.

McDonnell also charged Reid with holding up the budget process, saying, "Senator Harry Reid's majority hasn't passed a budget in over 1,000 days. Now, the senator is refusing to even consider a budget on the floor. This is an astounding failure of leadership and management of the nation's finances."

McDonnell went on to predict portions of Obama's budget, saying he expected the president to increase taxes, ignore entitlement reform and fail to address the federal debt.

"In short, we can expect that this will not be a proactive budget built to promote fiscal responsibility and future prosperity," McDonnell said. "Rather it appears we'll see a bloated budget that doubles down on the failed policies of the past. Republicans know that we can do better."

McDonnell said Obama and Senate Democrats were ignoring their responsibilities as leaders, saying, "At every level, governments should pass budgets on time that fund core functions like education, transportation, and public safety well, and don't waste precious taxpayer dollars. And, at every level, governments should enact policies that ensure our private sector job creators, small business owners, and entrepreneurs can compete against the world, create jobs, and innovate."

An independent audit, ordered by president Obama, said the DOE's loan program would cost the government $2.7 billion due to risk from defaults, a little less than the $2.9 billion in costs the energy department had predicted.

President Barack Obama signed the bill in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday with the former Arizona congresswoman and her husband, Mark Kelly, looking on.

The White House bills the document as a "blueprint for how we can rebuild an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded."

"For the Republican establishment, managing the decay is preferable to changing the trajectory because changing the trajectory requires real fights and a real willingness to roll up sleeves and actually take on the left," Gingrich said.

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Pointing to the 1996 and 2008 election years, the former House speaker forcefully argued the Republican establishment can't win a presidential election.

"They don't have the toughness, they don't have the commitment, and they don't have the philosophy necessary to grow a majority in this country," he said.

He boasted his conservative bona fides following a speech on the same stage Friday by opponent Rick Santorum, who charged ahead of Gingrich in the GOP horse race this week with three big wins in the Republican nominating process, followed by a major fundraising boost and surging poll numbers.

Mitt Romney, a candidate criticized by the far right as being the establishment's choice in the GOP presidential field, also spoke before Gingrich Friday.

But Gingrich made no attempt to attack his opponents, focusing instead on outlining his platform and striking a chord with his CPAC audience, a crowd known for its strongly conservative turnout.

Tapping into the recent fervor against a federal rule requiring religious affiliated employers to include contraception coverage–a policy the White House announced Friday it would retract–Gingrich used his moment on stage to charge the president with dividing the country.

"This administration is waging war on religion. But so are the courts. This is why we need a movement that's bigger than just beating Obama," he said.

Gingrich won big cheers when he called for the repeal of President Obama's sweeping health care reform, as well as the financial reform bill signed in 2010.

The former speaker also presented his energy plans and economic ideas, part of which call for an end to the estate tax and a 12.5% corporate tax rate.

And while he laid out nearly his entire platform in the almost half-hour speech, Gingrich refrained from touching on his space plans, policies he has frequently touted in recent weeks.

"My goal, with your help, is that by the time President Obama lands in Chicago, we will have repudiated at least 40 percent of his government on the opening day," Gingrich said.

Also see:

Santorum says opposition to contraception rule doesn't restrict women's rights

Romney meets privately with conservative leaders at CPAC

As Santorum and Romney battle, Paul slams both as liberal

Who's the biggest earmarker of them all?

Hogan Gidley wrote Friday, "Breaking. @RickSantorum campaign: 3 States, 3 Wins, 3 Days, 3 Million. Today is 3rd consecutive million $ day. #cpac #gameon #momentum

On the day following his victories in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, Santorum announced he raised $1 million in 24 hours, and his campaign reported an overwhelming increase in traffic to their website. The GOP presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator told reporters his organization raised $800,000 in online donations alone.

Following his three big wins, Santorum travelled to Texas to meet with conservative donors, hoping to boost fundraising after the spike in campaign momentum.

Romney was originally only scheduled to participate in a single town hall meeting in Portland on Friday.

CNN Live: Tune in Saturday at 6 p.m. ET for CNN's live special coverage of the Maine caucuses and follow real-time results on CNNPolitics.com and on Twitter at #cnnelections. Stay up to date with CNN apps for iPhone, iPad, Android or other phones.

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In 2008, Romney won Maine's GOP caucuses with 52% of the vote, and he won New Hampshire's presidential primary in January with 39% of the vote. Romney was governor of another New England state, Massachusetts, from 2003-2007.

Another candidate, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, has campaigned the most in Maine, hoping that his libertarian views will appeal to Maine's fiscally-conservative Republicans.

There are 24 delegates at stake in Maine.

CNN's Steve Brusk contributed to this report.

Also see:

Santorum says opposition to contraception rule doesn't restrict women's rights

Romney meets privately with conservative leaders at CPAC

As Santorum and Romney battle, Paul slams both as liberal

Who's the biggest earmarker of them all?

"If you're out there, for example, in a group, or just two people, and some people, because of women, have, as you know with respect to physical capabilities, they don't have the same requirements that men do in the military, and may be in a position if someone is injured, has to be brought back," Santorum said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." The full interview will air Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

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"The other example is the emotions of men, dealing with women in combat, and having men not focusing potentially on the mission but on the natural instinct to protect someone that's a female," Santorum added.

The Pentagon announced Thursday it would begin placing female troops closer to the front lines of combat. Under a 1994 policy, women are restricted from formally serving in small ground units directly involved in combat; however, many military positions-such as military police or medics-place women in harm's way.

On Thursday, Santorum responded to a question from CNN Chief National Correspondent John King on the role of women in the military, saying, "I think that could be a very compromising situation, where people naturally may do things that may not be in the interest of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved."

Many questioned what the former Pennsylvania senator and GOP presidential candidate meant by "emotions," though he later clarified he was speaking about the emotional impact on men serving alongside women in the military.

On Friday, Santorum pointed to the Israeli army, which assigns women many non-combat roles, as a good example of females serving effectively in a military. The Israeli army also allows openly gay and lesbian troops, but Santorum said he did not support that kind of provision in America.

"I laid out the rationale Israelis used, because they in fact do have a lot more utilization of different people in their military," Santorum said. "But they have drawn the line here because that potentially undermines the mission that needs to be accomplished."

Responding to rival Mitt Romney's recent attacks on his record of spending in Congress, Santorum said it was a last-ditch attempt to affect voters' thinking.

"Well that's sort of the new tactic," Santorum said. "I'm sure they poll tested this one, figured out how to go after Rick Santorum, because he's obviously a very strong conservative so they can't really attack from right. So we have to use another tool to tear him down. Maybe experience in the job you're actually running for would be a good place to go."

Looking forward, Santorum said he was planning a nationwide campaign, even hoping to fare well in Saturday's Maine caucuses.

"We're up there, made a couple visits to Maine very early in the year, we're working hard up there," Santorum said. "We've got a great team of volunteers helping us. Obviously that's not my backyard, as we saw from the results in New Hampshire, but I think we might do better than expected."

Also see:

Santorum says opposition to contraception rule doesn't restrict women's rights

Romney meets privately with conservative leaders at CPAC

As Santorum and Romney battle, Paul slams both as liberal

Who's the biggest earmarker of them all?

The Gallup daily tracking poll of registered Republicans released Friday showed the former Pennsylvania senator with 22% support, behind Mitt Romney's 34% and ahead of Gingrich's 18% and Ron Paul's 10%. The most recent survey was taken before and after Santorum's trifecta of wins Tuesday.

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An earlier survey released two days ago, which was taken entirely before Tuesday's wins, showed Gingrich leading Santorum, 21% to 17% and Paul with 12% support.

Gallup polled 1,000 registered Republicans between February 3 and February 9 with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The insurgent GOP contender and his entourage stormed into CPAC ready to rumble with Mitt Romney. Santorum's haymaker of the day was aimed at the former Massachusetts governor's health care plan.

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"Who has supported in fact the step-child of 'Obamacare,' the person in Massachusetts who built the largest government-run healthcare system in the United States," Santorum asked the crowd.

Santorum defended the comment in a brief interview with CNN at CPAC.

"Look, it's Obamacare at the state level. And he still continues to advocate for it. It is a top-down government controlled approach to solving the health care problem," Santorum told CNN.

The former Pennsylvania senator had a tough act to follow. Foster Friess, the multi-millionaire mutual fund manager, warmed up the crowd with a joke at Romney's expense. Not everybody enjoyed the punch line.

"There is a little bar a couple doors down and recently a conservative, a liberal and moderate walked into a bar and the bartender says, 'Hi, Mitt,'" Friess quipped.

Santorum staffers shook their heads and smiled at the wise-crack. Friess, one aide told CNN, is not scripted.

That may explain Freiss' reaction to CNN when asked about Romney's unrelenting assaults on Santorum's record backing earmarks in Congress.

"I think Rick's in the recovery program," Friess quipped to CNN.

Santorum's top surrogate joked the program has 12 steps. "Well he's pretty well through the 12th because he's realized the abuses that earmarks had."

Team Santorum was milking its new momentum, escorting the former Pennsylvania senator from one interview to the next with a steady stream of bloggers, reporters and radio talk show hosts.

Down in the bowels of the CPAC conference, his campaign booth featured a life-size cardboard cut-out of Santorum for conservatives who failed to grab a quick grip and grin with the GOP contender.

Also at the booth, Santorum sweater vests were selling like… well better than sweater vests. So far, 80 vests had been sold at $100 a pop, the campaign told CNN.

Santorum's sons and a few of their friends were all wearing sweater vests of their own, leading one journalist to dub the crew: "the vestie boys."

Santorum was trying his best to not let it all go to his head. Asked whether the race is turning his way, he offered a quip of his own.

"If you don't like the state of the race, just wait a couple of weeks," Santorum told CNN.

– CNN's Matt Hoye and Sarah Baker contributed to this report.

Addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference, Romney described his record in Massachusetts in almost startling terms, calling himself "a severely conservative Republican governor" who stood firmly with social conservatives in the fight against same-sex marriage and abortion.

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Political Notebook: CNN's Peter Hamby and Bob Costantini talk about Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum's speeches to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Republican voters just can't settle.

Romney said that as governor, he fiercely opposed same-sex marriage, fought for abstinence education in public schools and vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for women to obtain abortions.

His remarks were met with a warm reception from the CPAC crowd, but not as friendly as the applause that greeted his surging rival Rick Santorum just hours earlier.

Though he walked the crowd through his record in Massachusetts, he made no mention of the health care reform law that he signed in 2006, which later became a model for the federal health care law that he is now promising to repeal.

Romney largely framed his conservatism in comfortable terms, through the prism of his stable family life and experience in the private sector.

"My path to conservatism came from my family, my faith, and my life's work," Romney said. "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."

He won a standing ovation for defending his successful business record, which has come under attack from his Republican rivals at various points in the presidential race.

"I started new businesses and turned around broken ones, and I am not ashamed to say that I was very successful at it," he said. "I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism."

He referred to his GOP opponents in only the vaguest terms, questioning how the beltway veterans like Santorum or Newt Gingrich could enact "serious change and real reform" in Washington.