WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle host their sixth State Dinner on Wednesday night, for British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha featuring produce from the White House garden.

Below, the menu. The White House has stopped listing the names of wines served at State Dinners.

First Course

Crisped Halibut with Potato Crust
Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Applewood Smoked Bacon

Second Course

Spring Garden Lettuces,
Shallot Dressing, Shaved Breakfast Radish,
Cucumbers and Avocados

Main Course

Bison Wellington,
Red Wine Reduction, French Beans, Cipollini Onion

Dessert

Warm Meyer Lemon Steamed Pudding
with Idaho Huckleberry Sauce
and Newtown Pippin Apples

An American wine will be paired with each course.

WASHINGTON--While Rick Santorum gets his props for winning the popular votes in Alabama and Mississippi, Mitt Romney won more delegates in the four Tuesday contests than any of his rivals.

After Tuesday votes in Mississippi, Alabama, Hawaii and American Samoa:
DELEGATES WON
41 Romney
35 Santorum
24 Gingrich
1 Paul

source: ABC NEWS

Photo courtesy of Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obamafoodorama

From Obamafoodorama: "Mrs. Samantha Cameron was newly arrived in Washington, DC, on Tuesday afternoon when she joined First Lady Michelle Obama for a mini-Olympics event at the Bender Arena Sports Center at American University. The two watched as Olympians and Paralympians played games with local fifth graders in the huge gym, which was devoid of spectators...except for the students' parents. Above, they share a laugh with US Womens Soccer stars Lori Lindsey and Becky Sauerbrunn."

WASHINGTON--President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, back from an NCAA game in Dayton, spend a jammed Wednesday together capped by a state dinner (well, the Queen is the official head of state, but the White House is calling it a state dinner anyway...)

The history of the "Special Relationship" from the British perspective is HERE.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will make a statement on Wednesday--at 5:02 p.m. CST, his last before reporting to a federal prison in Colorado.

According to his publicist, Glenn Selig, Blagojevich will not be taking any questions.

Blagojevich will speak from his home in Ravenswood Manor.

WASHINGTON--Jonathan Alter has been covering Rahm Emanuel since 1992, through two White Houses, Congress and back to Chicago's City Hall. Alter, in "Meet the New Boss" in The Atlantic, brings a unique perspective of a national writer who grew up on Chicago's North Side; his mother, the late Joanne Alter, was a crusading commissioner at what was then called the Metropolitan Sanitary District.

Excerpt: "My parents met Rahm before I did, and disagreed with each other about him. My mother, the late Joanne Alter, was a feminist reformer who went to the first Mayor Daley in 1972 and told him that it was the 20th century and he must let women into the Democratic Party. Daley, clever about neutralizing opposition, slated her for a position near the bottom of the ticket, commissioner of the Water Reclamation District, and she became the first woman elected to public office in Cook County. Later, she turned down a young Rahm Emanuel for a job on one of her campaigns because she thought he was arrogant and obnoxious, the kind of guy, she said, who was always looking over your shoulder to see if someone more important was in the room (although she would have loved his present-day focus on cleaning up the riverbanks of the Chicago River, one of her pet causes).

"My father, Jim Alter, a retired Chicago businessman, has long admired Rahm's political skills. He was impressed that his congressman managed to both offer outstanding constituent services and rise in just four years to the House leadership. It didn't hurt when Rahm arranged for a local documentary to be made about World War II veterans in his district that featured my father's exploits as a combat aviator."

WASHINGTON--Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) has recovered so much from his stroke that Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.)--who visited him on Sunday night --said he is mentally sharp enough to cast "knowledgeable" votes.

"Senator Mark Kirk is coming back," Shimkus said in a column he wrote after seeing Kirk.

When Shimkus visited with Kirk at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, "Mark was sitting up with a smile on his face. His short hair reminded me of Sgt. Carter from the TV show Gomer Pyle, USMC," Shimkus wrote.

Shimkus' report is the first to give a sense of Kirk's condition--and his progress towards returning to the Senate-- following his January stroke.

Kirk, a Navy reserve officer, told Shimkus about his "tough" physical therapy sessions and how prayer has helped him through this ordeal.

Shimkus said Kirk told him "that nothing he has done has been as difficult as this road to recovery. Every day, Mark pushes himself through tough physical therapy sessions, on a treadmill and walking the hallways. Some days are better than others but his progress is consistent, and he knows we are cheering him on.

"Mentally he is sharp. I believe he could cast knowledgeable votes today. But he is in a critical time to continue to focus on improvement and strengthening his body and soul for the important work he looks forward to resuming.

"We did talk about faith and he pointed again to the window ledge where his Bible sits. He mentioned the daily visit of the rehab center chaplain and time spent in prayer. How quickly I and many others have dropped Mark off our prayer lists. I would ask that we all continue to pray for his speedy recovery," Shimkus wrote.

The two talked about the main Illinois issues of the day: the refusal of the federal government to grant emergency assistance to five counties in tornado ravaged southern Illinois, the transportation bill and Tuesday's Illinois primary.

And when Shimkus said goodbye, Kirk gave him a "strong handshake."

Click below for full Shimkus column on Sen. Mark Kirk's road to recovery....

Chicagoan Louis Sussman, the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, is in Washington for the official visit of British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha. Obama met with Cameron in July, 2008, in London while an Illinois senator during his campaign swing in Europe. Sussman was one of the official greeters at Andrews Air Force Base.

WASHINGTON--As the Obama re-election team puts increasing focus on ten battleground states, the campaign is opening a new financial front to raise millions for state Democratic parties in these crucial states.

First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Minneapolis on Monday for a fund-raiser to benefit the Obama 2012 campaign and the Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic parties in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The tab for her event ranges from $250 general admission to $1,000 for "preferred seating" to $5,000 for a guest photo and cocktail reception to $25,000 raised or donated.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the ailing Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), recovering from a stroke, and the Illinois congressional have urged President Barack Obama to come through for his adopted home state and provide disaster assistance to five southern Illinois counties.

Durbin and representatives from Kirk's office said in a statement they "will meet with Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator (FEMA) Craig Fugate and, TOMORROW, March 14, 2012 at 11:15 AM EDT. The meeting will take place in room S-321 of the Capitol. Durbin called for the meeting following FEMA's announcement on Sunday that aid would be denied in order to discuss the State of Illinois' appeal of this decision. Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn are expected to join the meeting by phone."

WASHINGTON--Two goals of the Newt Gingrich organization are to prevent Gingrich from being written off as not viable if he does not do well in the Alabama and Mississippi contests today and to try to derail the narrative--promoted by the Mitt Romney campaign and by independent observers--that Romney has a nearly insurmountable lead. The reality is if Gingrich does not do well in these southern states, it will be hard for him to argue he is the conservative alternative to Rick Santorum.

Gingrich campaign director Michael Krull said in a Tuesday memo, "the Romney Campaign, Washington Establishment, and elite media are all trying to prematurely end the Republican primary. But in reality, it's not even halftime. In the memo below, Newt 2012 political director Martin Baker and senior advisor Randy Evans breakdown the state-by-state delegate math and explain why Newt is well positioned for the second half."

Click below for the memo....

Mitt Romney's Illinois campaign announced more endorsements on Tuesday, a week before the Illinois primary. Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford and State Sen. Christine Radogno are leading just finished a conference call starting now touting the Romney Illinois bid.

While the Romney-allied SuperPac has bought TV time in Illinois--about $ million for spots--Rutherford said Romney campaign ads are going to run in Illinois.

Rutherford noted at the start of the call that chief rival Rick Santorum did not file a full slate of delegates in Illinois--covering 44 out of 54 slots.

"I feel very well organized," said Rutherford.

Radogno said Romney was the "best person" to "put together a coalition" to win.

Romney for now--this may change--has no plans to stump in person in Illinois until Monday, the day before the election where we know he has a fund-raiser in Peoria. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are all in Illinois this week.

Rutherford predict good turnout--fueled by local legislative GOP primaries and the big contest were Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is pitted against Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.)

Illinois State Senators Endorsing Mitt Romney announced on Tuesday.

Senator Dave Luechtefeld
Senator John Millner
Senator Sue Rezin
Senator Dale Righter
Senator Pam Althoff

GOP White House hopeful Ron Paul Illinois supporters don't have money, but they do have a strategy: use St. Patrick's Day parades in advance of the Illinois primary next Tuesday--to rally support. Politicians always populate Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parade, and the Paul backers have a slot.

"Lets make the Ron Paul portion of the parade dwarf all other candidates, right here in Obama's backyard, with the media to capture it," is the message on Illinois Paul websites.

Paul backers are also being urged to be part of the Monday St. Patrick's parades in Palatine and Rock Island.

Paul himself headlines a Wednesday rally at the auditorium on the quad at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

UPDATE
The University of Illinois rally has been moved to a larger location, according to the Paul campaign...
Wednesday, March 14, 2012

7:00 p.m.
Ron Paul Campus Town Hall Meeting
University of Illinois - George Huff Hall
1206 South Fourth Street
Champaign, IL 61820

While Alabama and Mississippi vote today--southern states that are tough for Mitt Romney--he moves on to stump in the more fertile Missouri, which has a vote on Saturday. Romney spokesman Andrea Saul argues that no matter what happens in the south on Tuesday, Romney has a delegate lead that Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich can't beat.

Romney's three tv interviews in St. Louis today are in a market which beams over to southern Illinois across the Mississippi River and can serve two purposes: the Illinois primary is next Tuesday.

From Saul...

Today is another election day and yet another day that our opponents will be unable to make up the ground needed to get to 1,144 delegates. Gov. Romney looks to pick up additional delegates in Hawaii and American Samoa. And, from public polling, it seems as if in Alabama and Mississippi the candidates will split the vote, and, thus the delegates, three ways with no one candidate being able to cut in to Gov. Romney's already large delegate lead and march to the nomination.

Sen. Santorum has recently taken to arguing that he will lose a majority of states but somehow magically win at the convention. This is pure fantasy, or vanity, or both. First of all, Sen. Santorum, couldn't put together a full slate of delegates in many states, and he outright failed to get on the ballot in others. The notion that he is somehow going to get our delegates to vote for him is pie in the sky. In the states with unbound delegates, projections of what Sen. Santorum will likely get are already baked into the current tally. He also argues that if only Newt Gingrich would drop out and the race become a two-person contest, his chances will increase - but that just means there are more delegates on the table for us to take and get to 1,144 faster.

As for Gov. Romney's schedule, he campaigns in Missouri today:

11:50 AM CDT Mitt Romney Holds Grassroots Event on Jobs and the Economy (St. Louis, Missouri)
5:00 PM CDT Caucus with Mitt Romney (Liberty, Missouri)

And has the following interviews:

Taped Television Interview with KTVI (St. Louis, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KMOV (St. Louis, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KSDK (St. Louis, Missouri)
4:05 PM CDT Radio Interview with WLS (Chicago - Rep. Peter Roskam hosting)
4:35 PM CDT Television Interview with Wolf Blitzer
Taped Television Interview with WDAF (Kansas City, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KMBC (Kansas City, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KSHB (Kansas City, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KCTV (Kansas City, Missouri)

We also have a press conference announcing Pennsylvania endorsements at 2:00pm EDT in Harrisburg, PA (East Rotunda, State Capitol Building).

A week before the Illinois primary, Newt Gingrich and wife Callista are blitizing the northwest Chicago suburbs on Thursday and Friday.

Click below for schedule details....

GOP presidential votes today in of Alabama and Mississippi will:

*Make it hard for Newt Gingrich to explain it away if the Georgia native does poorly in these conservative southern states. Gingrich, lagging anyway, gets the biggest boost from a strong showing.

*Help Rick Santorum cast himself as the alternative to Mitt Romney if he does well.

*Hinder, but not substantially, Romney as he continues to be the frontrunner because he is winning what counts--delegates.

The Illinois primary is a week from today--March 20.

Hawaii and American Samoa Republicans caucus today--results in very late.