Between the Lines: By Mark Halperin

Anxious Republicans are letting their imaginations run wild: if Mitt Romney loses the Michigan primary on Feb. 28, a prospect even some Romney aides acknowledge, they could be better off with Rick Santorum as their nominee … Some old-school GOPers say that if economic gains make a November win seem elusive, they might prefer to set down an ideological marker with a Goldwater-style conservative like Santorum … The pundit consensus: if Romney can’t beat Santorum in the state where he grew up and his father was an icon, he sure as heck can’t beat Obama … Also: the hara-kiri primaries may have pushed Romney’s unfavorability ratings to lethal levels …

Barack Obama’s advisers now believe Santorum has a real chance to be their fall opponent, but they still expect to face the well-funded Romney … Some muse that Santorum could be the tougher foe, with his blue-collar roots, talk of manufacturing tax breaks and what-you-see-is-what-you-get personality … Democrats counting electoral votes see Santorum’s strength in critical Midwestern battleground states … Still, the Obama-Biden team has ample opposition research on Santorum (including video) and doesn’t see the ex-Pennsylvania Senator appealing any more than Romney to such key groups as Hispanic voters …

Newt Gingrich aides, dubious that their man can fight to the convention without a big break, are dreaming of a bank-shot comeback in which Santorum knocks out Romney in Michigan and Gingrich picks up the pieces … Obama’s campaign has opened offices in more than 40 states, soon to be 50 … Despite the lightning zigzags of this election cycle, the Washington smart money is now on an Obama re-election.

Obama’s Big Transportation Budget

WASHINGTON

When President Barack Obama barnstorms the country this year in pursuit of a second term, he’ll appeal to voters with nearly a half-trillion dollars’ worth of proposed transportation goodies. Part of his $3.8 trillion annual spending request to Congress, which delays deficit reduction in favor of near-term job creation, Obama’s infrastructure plan requests $50 billion for “shovel ready” projects for roads, bridges, railways and runways. The rest of the proposed $476 billion would be spread over six years and includes funding for Administration favorites like high-speed rail. House Republicans call Obama’s spending proposal unaffordable and have offered their own $276 billion surface-transportation plan. Congress has currently approved infrastructure spending at a little more than $50 billion a year.

DOG SHOW

America’s Top Dog

Valentine’s Day brought more than love for Malachy, the 11-lb., 4-year-old Pekingese who took Best in Show at the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club contest. The little lapdog passed 2,000 purebred canines of 185 types to win top honors.

NUMBER 1

Operational icebreakers in the U.S. fleet, forcing the U.S. to hire the Russian icebreaker Vladimir Ignatyuk to clear the way for the American military supply vessel Maersk Peary to deliver fuel to McMurdo Station, the U.S. research post in Antarctica

SOCIETY

Two Gay-Union Laws, One Fight

Feb. 13 was a big day for same-sex-marriage proponents. Washington became the seventh state to legalize the practice, and New Jersey’s senate approved a bill to do the same. But while Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed her state’s bill into law, Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has vowed a veto. New Jersey is a holdout among Northeastern states–including New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire–that recognize gay unions. But Christie, a national GOP star, doesn’t share what polling says is majority support in his blue state for same-sex marriage. So he’s proposing to let voters decide the issue on the November ballot. In Washington, meanwhile, gay couples can proceed down the aisle starting on June 7.