THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- The Republican Party of Florida is pushing back on reports that Mitt Romney’s campaign stacked the audience at the CNN debate Thursday in Jacksonville with its supporters -- a charge the party blames on aides to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“I’m sorry if the Newt campaign feels like they didn’t have their best night, but I can’t allow the RPOF to be the scapegoat for that,” spokesman Brian Hughes told NBC News by telephone Friday night. 

"We worked very hard,” Hughes added.  “The irony is there were some grumblings by Romney’s people in the hours before the debate that we had stacked it for Newt.”

(The state party, not the Romney campaign, was responsible for seating about three-quarters of the 1,200-seat venue.)

The pushback from the state party follows a story in the Huffington Post that quotes a Gingrich aide saying Romney’s campaign “definitely packed the room” in Jacksonville. 

The aide, Kevin Kellems, was apparently making a reference to applause Romney enjoyed during several sharp exchanges with Gingrich.  It marked a reversal of sorts for the former speaker, who won the support of crowds during two debates in South Carolina last week.

Romney campaign officials dismissed allegations that they packed the debate hall Thursday. One senior spokesman said he had invited only his parents.

First Thoughts: Romney owned Gingrich, but problems linger

Speaking in Orlando on Friday night, Romney compared the Gingrich campaign to Goldilocks complaining about her bowls of porridge being too hot or too cold.

"I'm looking forward to debating Barack Obama. I'm not going to worry about the crowd," Romney said.

Hughes tells NBC News that the state party worked to ensure that 900 seats went to unaffiliated Republican voters and remained off limits to volunteers and others connected to campaigns. There were 4,000 total requests for seats via the party’s website and county Republican offices.

Romney stresses support for immigration before Latino crowd

Hughes says that voters found to be affiliated with candidates were told to seek seats from the campaigns, each of which had an equally distributed number.

“Any time that we saw a name that we recognized, or had a suspicion, we contacted those people, and said, 'listen, you’re affiliated with X campaign,'" Hughes says.

The Florida Republican Party is not endorsing a candidate for president until the national party has a nominee.

NBC’s Garrett Haake contributed to this report.

Voters head to polls in Florida Tuesday and President Obama holds an online Town Hall with Google.

MIAMI -- At his first public appearance since aggressively defending himself as "pro-immigration" at last night's final Florida debate, Mitt Romney took to the podium again today to argue that he and the Republican party are firmly in favor of legal immigration.

"First of all, with regards to immigration. I like immigration. I like legal immigration. I think its important for America to recognize that immigration is an extraordinary source of vitality of our nation. That bringing people of different cultures here creates opportunity and growth for the entire economy," Romney said. "We are not anti-immigrant. We are not anti-immigration. We are the pro-immigration, pro-legality, pro-citizenship party."

Romney's speech today, at which he was introduce by in Spanish by his youngest son, touched on a wide variety of other issues important to the Hispanic community, including economic growth in Latin America, US Policy toward Cuba and whether or not Puerto Rico should become the 51st state.

"What's happening in Latin America, whether its Mexico or the Carribbean, through Central America, through South America is such extraordinary growth economically, not to mention demographically, that there is a huge economic, political and military opportunity and series of challenges and obligations here in this hemisphere," Romney said, promising to maintain closer ties to the region, often largely ignored in U.S. foreign policy.

Romney also continued his appeal to South Florida's Cuban-American community, saying that a Romney administration would support Cubans seeking freedom upon the death of Fidel Castro -- a remark which earned him a standing ovation.

"There is a time coming soon, where Cuba will be free. That's going to happen. We're going to have to get organized for it. We're going to have to recognize that people there want freedom, as people do all over the world, and America can't sit back," Romney said. "I will not only say something when Fidel Castro finally leaves this earth, I will do something. I will be behind the voices of freedom here an the voices of freedom there. We will help Cuba become free."

Romney also touched on the controversial question of whether or not Puerto Rico should become the 51st state. Two days ago at a Univision forum, Romney said he "would not argue one side or the other" of the issue, and that his choice "is to let [the people of Puerto Rico] make their own choice."

Today, he said he would support a Puerto Rican effort at earning statehood, if the people of Puerto Rico supported such a move in a referendum, scheduled for November.

""I'm looking forward to the time when the people of Puerto Rico make their decision about becoming a state," Romney said."I expect the people of Puerto Rico will decide like [Governor Luis Fortuno] feels, to become a state, and I can tell you that I will work with him that if that vote comes out in favor of statehood we will go through the process in Washington to provide statehood to Puerto Rico. "

ANN ARBOR, MI -- The White House insists that the three-day, five-state tour upon which President Obama embarked on Wednesday was intended to sell his State of the Union message, and wasn't directed toward campaign purposes.

But a speech by Obama at the University of Michigan on Friday seemed to undercut that claim, with its rally-like atmosphere and warm welcome for the president.

Prefaced by the University of Michigan pep band, surrounded by bunting and in front of an enthusiastic college crowd of about 4000, the President focused on his plan to expand college affordability.

He characterized most of the education initiatives he spoke about today as needing legislative approval, helping him to further the narrative of a "do-nothing-Congress."

“Now Congress has to do more. Congress needs to do more. They need to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling this July. That's what’s scheduled to happen if Congress doesn't act. That would not be good for you,” the President said to a laughing audience.

Along with keeping student loan interest rates low, the White House is looking to make a higher education tax credit permanent, develop a “Race to the Top” program to create incentives for colleges and universities to make tuition affordable, expand the Perkins loan program and tie the level of federal aid received by higher learning institutions to the affordability and value of that school’s learning experience.

“We are putting colleges on notice…you can't assume that you’ll just jack up tuition every single year.  If you can’t stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down,” warned Obama.

The President’s words were met with cheers and chants of “four more years” the occasional burst of “we love you.” Ann Arbor is reliably Democratic turf, and especially hospitable to Obama. Washtenaw County was one of the few counties in Michigan in the 2008 Democratic primary to vote for "uncommitted" -- a de-facto vote for Obama, who wasn't on the ballot due to broken primary rules -- over Hillary Clinton.

Students in attendance braved a pre-dawn wintry mix and hours of security lines to catch a glimpse of the president, including one particular student, Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson, who was singled out for praise by Obama.

"Denard Robinson is in the house. I hear you're coming back, man. That is a good deal for Michigan," he said to audience cheers for the Heisman hopeful.

To one audience member who shouted "Denard Robinson in 2012!" Obama replied: "They're trying to draft you for president. He's got to graduate before he runs for President. There's an age limit."

Vice President Biden on Friday predicted re-election for himself and President Obama, along with a regained majority for Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The vice president, addressing House Democratic lawmakers at their retreat in Maryland, said he saw victories for Democrats this fall after a campaign based on drawing stark contrasts with Republicans.

"I really do think that we're going to win back the House," Biden said. "I think we will win based purely on the merits of our position."

Biden also predicted victory for Obama this fall, too, telling lawmakers over their applause that he envisions this year's battle with Republicans concluding with him and the president, standing on the steps of the Capitol next year, being sworn into office for a second term.

Democrats lost the majority they had first won in 2006 during a wave election for Republicans in 2010. They need to pick up a net total of 25 seats in November in order to take back the House, a task which is complicated by Census-related redistricting in states across the country.

Biden said he saw no need to mischaracterize Republicans' positions when, Biden said, the GOP has been honest about its intentions.

"This is the first election where the opposition isn't trying to hide the ball," he said, later adding: "These guys are helping us by saying what they believe."

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday suggested that Democrats enjoy a slight advantage in national public opinion versus Republicans. Forty-seven percent of registered voters said they prefer a Democratic-held Congress as the outcome of the 2012 elections, while 41 percent wish to see a Congress controlled by Republicans.

But congressional popularity as a whole remains extraordinarily low, and cuts both ways; a majority of registered voters, 56 percent, said they would vote to defeat and replace every single member of Congress, including their own, if they had the option.

As for the presidential race, Biden made some mild criticism of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, the two leading candidates for the GOP nomination.

Biden said he saw them as earnest in their views, if misguided. Biden referenced Romney's op-ed in favor of a bankruptcy process for Genral Motors at the height of the automaker's woes, and Gingrich's support for work-study programs for children, and the ex-speaker's criticism of Obama as a "food stamp president."

"I think it's not just political theater," Biden said of the Republicans' views, "I think they believe it, they're committed to it."

Obama is slated to address the Democratic retreat this afternoon.

Romney had a strong night … Santorum may have won the debate … But that only helps Romney … All three Republicans are a net-negative in NBC/WSJ poll. … Romney’s image has been hurt by the primary … But the tide has turned in Florida, and Romney’s the front runner again there … Revenge of the establishment on Gingrich … Romney, Gingrich and  friends spending $22 million in Fla. … And welcome Caleb Fenne Murray!!!

*** Romney owned Gingrich…: If Mitt Romney wins the nomination, we'll look back and say the first hour of last night’s debate and say that was when he finally put it away. Romney dominated Newt Gingrich -- from the opening barbs over immigration to his effective response to Gingrich on Freddie/Fannie money (“Mr. Speaker have you checked your own investments?”) to squashing Gingrich’s attempt to co-opt the audience once again (“Wouldn’t it be nice if people wouldn’t make accusations somewhere else that they aren’t willing to make here?”). Romney was aggressive without being petulant. He finally looked comfortable sparring. He looked for the first time like he deserved the moniker “front runner” on stage. And it certainly helped that he had a new debate coach. Romney just wasn’t the same guy.

*** …But Santorum at least rented Romney: That said, the winner of the CONSERVATIVE debate was Rick Santorum. He ended up forcing Romney to defend health care in the same language President Obama uses. It’s amazing that with all the candidates chasing Romney, none has been able go box in Romney on health care and the mandate the way Santorum did last night. Romney still has trouble, and will likely continue to have trouble, explaining his logic on why government intervention on health care is OK at the state level but not the federal. Romney still didn’t fix his conservative problem; he has simply made the others look like worse alternatives. Santorum was also strong in his closing case to distinguish himself from the two front runners and scored points when he chided Gingrich and Romney for their attacks on each other -- for Gingrich’s work as a consultant and Romney’s private-sector work. Santorum defended both and went for the high ground: "Leave that alone and focus on the issues," he said. (Of course, part of why Santorum defended “consulting” is because he was one, too.) Santorum’s hoping for that classic rule of politics: A attacks B and C benefits. Of course, Romney camp is thrilled either way -- the better Santorum does, the better for Romney, because Santorum takes votes away from Gingrich. And, by the way, for the first time in a long time at a debate, Ron Paul seemed to be having fun. His politicians to the moon line got big laughs. Hey, “60 Minutes,” shouldn’t Paul be the frontrunner to replace Andy Rooney?

*** It wasn’t all good for Romney: He made at least three unforced errors – (1) He opened himself up on his “blind trust” Fannie and Freddie answer. He effectively responded to Gingrich noting Gingrich’s investment in Fannie and Freddie Mac, but he flubbed the details of his own Frannie/Freddie investment. He said it was in a “blind trust.” But it wasn’t, as the Boston Globe reported; (2) He didn’t know his campaign has a radio ad running statewide hitting Gingrich on his “language of the ghetto” comment – even though Romney signs off and approves the ad at the end in Spanish; and (3) He had this awkward spin on why he voted for Paul Tsongas: "I've never voted for a Democrat when there was a Republican on the ballot."   What might the late senator say – maybe: "Don't be a panderrr bear.” By the way, wasn’t President Bush on the primary ballot that day in Massachusetts too?

*** NBC/WSJ poll… All three Republicans negative: The most important item in the NBC/WSJ poll was that all three Republican candidates are a net-negative when it comes to favorability. Romney was exposed in two ways in the poll – (1) he has a conservative problem staring him right in the face. That hasn’t changed. Any time base conservatives -- very conservative voters, Tea Partiers, Southerners, feels there’s a viable alternative to Romney, they rally around that person; we’ve seen this phenomenon for months. And (2) The primary has done damage to Romney. He cannot afford a long primary. If this thing goes to June, that would be very problematic. He’s already in a bad position. George W. Bush, John McCain, and Bob Dole were all in primary fights and ALL were a net-POSITIVE at this time in the election cycle. In the past 20 years in the poll, no one who went on to be the major party nominee of either party with a net-negative at this point – except John Kerry, and we all know how that turned out. Clearly, Romney is looking like he’s getting his momentum back, but he has fundamental problems for the general. The primary has done him no good. (Here’s our story on the poll, how the candidate match up with Obama, and the GOP brand problem.)

*** The tide turned in Florida: Speaking of that Romney momentum. A new Quinnipiac poll is out in Florida showing what seemed to be happening yesterday – that Romney’s retaken a sizable lead. He’s up 38%-29% over Gingrich. And the candidates’ rhetoric was evidence of the change yesterday. Gingrich leveled some of his harshest attacks on Romney on the trail yesterday, but Romney kept his focus on President Obama. Watch Gingrich carefully today, he could just unload. How he handles himself today is going to tell us a lot. By the way, Gingrich being unwilling to defend his Swiss Bank comments in the debate was a bad moment. Flashbacks to Tim Pawlenty’s missed opportunity on Romney.

*** Revenge of the Establishment: If Romney’s the nominee, we may look back this week as the week the establishment rescued him. Take a look at the cavalry that’s come to Romney’s rescue in Florida. John McCain is doing solo-town halls. Jason Chaffetz is following Gingrich around the state and picking fights with his staff. Bob Dole is writing letters attacking Gingrich. Marco Rubio, who is supposedly neutral, is playing referee in the state and constantly calling fouls on Newt… Bottom line: as many predicted post-South Carolina, if Newt actually looked like he was one primary win away from delivering a near-knockout blow to Romney, a significant group of folks would begin rallying to his defense. Or in this case, simply rallying to stop Gingrich.

*** Romney, Gingrich (and friends) spending the $22 million in Florida: The latest ad spending totals show Romney, Gingrich and Super PACs supporting them spending almost $22 million in Florida. Romney and Restore Our Future have outspent Gingrich and Winning Our Future about 4-to-1. The Super PACs, by themselves, have spent so far a combined $12 million, according to Republican ad tracker Smart Media Group Delta. The pro-Gingrich one, Winning Our Future, promises to spend another $2 million before Tuesday (to get up to that $6 million promised, but they haven’t booked buys YET). NBC’s Michael Isikoff takes a deep look at Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate and principal funder of Winning Our Future. Here are the numbers:

- Pro-Romney: $15.7 million (Restore Our Future $8.8m; Romney: $6.9m)
- Pro-Gingrich: $3.9 million (Winning Our Future: $2.8m; Gingrich: $1.1m)

*** Welcome Caleb Fenne Murray! Caleb Fenne Murray, with a head of dark hair and hazel eyes, came into the world at 12:40 pm ET yesterday, weighing in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. Caleb’s middle name -- Fenne (pronounced like Penny and derivative of Fennigan) -- is in honor of Sasha's late maternal grandfather. A long-time journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fenne's love of journalism and politics inspired his daughter and grandchildren to always pursue the story and never be afraid to ask questions. Congratulations Mark and Sasha!!!

*** On the trail: All candidates (with the exception of Paul) blitz the Sunshine State. Santorum visits Miami … Romney rallies in Titusville, Orlando and Miami … Gingrich stumps in Miami and Delray Beach … Meanwhile, Paul is en route to Maine, campaigning in Bangor, Waterville and Lewiston, ahead of its caucus.

Countdown to Florida primary: 5 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 9 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 40 days
Countdown to Election Day: 285 days

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The Miami Herald: Thursday night’s debate was supposed to be the debate that would prove critical in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Yet, there was no clear winner or loser. Polls show the race is exceedingly close, but Romney might be surging amid a statewide ad blitz. Yet the debate lived up to its nickname: The River City Rumble. Ron Paul and Rick Santorum played the roles of foils, chiding the frontrunners for bickering and, at times, not answering questions. This was also the debate where Florida took center stage. The problems in the nation’s largest swing state are the problems of the nation writ large: Unemployment, home foreclosures, immigration. Cuba, Israel policy and space travel got some airtime, too.

GINGRICH: The Washington Post: Cheers filled the air as Newt Gingrich’s campaign bus eased out of the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express. He had just made an astonishing vow: By the end of his second term as president, the U.S. flag would once again be planted on the moon. America, he said, would have a permanent lunar base. Gingrich’s speech Wednesday created big headlines Thursday on the Space Coast. People here have been eager to hear some launchin’ words. The question is whether this is science fiction.

“The fact that he originally chose not to go after Romney on the Swiss bank accounts issue was a moment of weakness for Gingrich,” CBN’s Brody writes. “You can’t rail on Romney on the trail and then come up lame on the debate stage. Furthermore, he made Romney look even better because it gave Romney a chance to essentially say, “Man up” and don’t run and hide.”

Newt Gingrich’s former Republican colleagues in the House are more than a little nervous about the prospects of sharing a ticket with him in November. They think he’d run weakly in the suburbs. And among women. And independents. And especially in the Northeast. To some of them, he’s a disaster in the making, a potentially combustible nominee who could, in a worst case scenario, cost the GOP its newly minted majority. The concern is serious enough, one freshman Republican told POLITICO, that on the bus ride back from the House GOP retreat in Baltimore last week, Gingrich’s electability was the prime subject of discussion among nearly a dozen members — many of them first-termers.

NPR headline on Gingrich’s debate: “Live By Debate, Die By Debate.”

Duke Cunningham likes Gingrich. Cunningham, a former member, who pleaded guilty to “conspiracy and tax evasion” in 2005 “in one of the biggest federal bribery scandals in recent memory," the Voice of San Diego writes, “Cunningham tells Gingrich in an electronic message he says he sent to the candidate last month that his fellow prisoners, and their families, support Gingrich."

ROMNEY: "Mitt Romney, forced to prove his resilience after a stinging loss in South Carolina, is showing why the so-called Republican establishment thinks he has the best discipline, organization and campaign smarts to challenge President Barack Obama this fall," AP writes. "The former Massachusetts governor turned in his best debate performance yet Thursday night, putting chief rival Newt Gingrich on the defensive from the opening minutes in Jacksonville, Fla., and never letting up for two hours. It was a striking change after two South Carolina debates in which Gingrich revived his own campaign with fiery populist and media-bashing zingers that made Romney appear pallid in comparison."

The Boston Globe: Though Mitt Romney made his reputation as a private equity investor, his tax returns show the presidential candidate has a large portion of his wealth in an even more aggressive corner of the investment world: hedge funds.  

As others noted, NPR writes: “One reason [for Romney’s improved performance] is that Mitt Romney looked at the debacle of those South Carolina debates and made a crucial adjustment. He brought on a new debate coach. And not just any debate coach, but Brett O'Donnell, who in recent years raised Jerry Falwell's Liberty University to the top ranks of college debate. Not just the top ranks among religious schools, but the top ranks, period. More recently, O'Donnell had advised Michele Bachmann. Say what you will of that candidacy, what life it had emanated largely from her early debate performances in the summer of 2011.”

A Detroit Free Press/WXYZ TV poll shows Romney up 5 in Michigan. The results: Romney 31, Gingrich 26, Paul 14, Santorum 10, Undecided/refused 19.

SANTORUM:  "Rick Santorum’s sporadic Florida campaign has cancelled his scheduled appearance in Jupiter on Friday. Santorum was going to hold a Tea Party rally in Abacoa. Santorum will instead spend Friday morning being interviewed by three Florida radio stations, including NewsRadio 610 in Miami at 7:50 a.m.," The Palm Beach Post reports. "Santorum is then leaving the state for a Friday night fundraiser in Pennsylvania. He will also prepare his tax returns before heading back for one final day of campaigning in Florida."

The Wall Street Journal on Foster Friess, the financial backer of Super PAC Red, White, and Blue Fund: “Mr. Friess, 71 years old, said he plans to fund television advertisements for Mr. Santorum in other states in February and March. That could help keep Mr. Santorum competitive against his better-funded rivals and is one reason the fight for the Republican nomination will likely run at least through Super Tuesday on March 6.”

The Detroit Free Press: President Barack Obama heads to an event in Ann Arbor today holding a clear lead in the state over the two Republicans with the best chance to block his re-election in November. Two months ago, Obama trailed Michigan-born former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll, 46%-41%. Now, the Democratic president leads Romney in the state, 48%-40% in a poll of 600 voters taken Saturday through Wednesday.

President Barack Obama's goal of approving enough renewable-energy projects on federal lands to power 3 million homes may be the easy part — getting them built could be another story. In his speech at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora on Thursday, Obama repeated the goal he set in his State of the Union address — 10 gigawatts of renewable-energy generation on public land. Yet even as the Obama administration is approving projects, the federal financing programs that are key to their construction are fading, The Denver Post reports.

FLORIDA: Per Political Wire: A new Suffolk University poll in Florida finds Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) leads all four potential Republican challengers in Florida's closely watched U.S. Senate race. Rep. Connie Mack polled closest, trailing by 10 points in a head-to-head matchup with Nelson, 42% to 32%, with a considerable undecided of 25 percent.

By NBC's Michael Isikoff

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul bankrolling Newt Gingrich’s super PAC isn’t trying to “buy” a presidency, his top political consultant tells NBC News.  He’s just following in the footsteps of another powerful business tycoon, Joseph Kennedy, father of President John F. Kennedy. 

“I don’t think it’s buying a presidency any more than it was when Joe Kennedy helped his son,” Sig Rogich, a veteran Republican operative who serves as Adelson’s government affairs consultant, said in an interview about the massive donations that the casino mogul has made to Gingrich’s super PAC.

Adelson, 78, who has a personal fortune estimated at $21 billion, “plays to win” and “puts his money where his mouth is,” Rogich added. 

In the last three weeks, Adelson and his Israeli-born wife Miriam have pumped $10 million into the Winning Our Future Super PAC. Those donations provided a critical cash infusion that helped revive Gingrich’s candidacy, bankrolling attack ads against Mitt Romney in South Carolina and now Florida.  They’ve also made the Adelsons the largest known donors so far in a presidential race awash with money under new rules allowing unlimited donations to so-called super PACs. 

But the contributions have also raised new questions about Adelson’s outside role in influencing the campaign.  Those questions could intensify as a result of potentially provocative comments he has made about Israel uncovered by NBC News. 

Scott Audette / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich makes a point during the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Florida January 26, 2012.

Adelson owns a newspaper in Israel, 'Israel HaYom,' that backs conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and adamantly opposes any peace settlement with the Palestinians.

But while Adelson and Gingrich have bonded on the issue of a hawkish Mideast policy, especially over the threat of a nuclear Iran, some of the casino mogul’s comments could prove embarrassing.

In a talk to an Israeli group in July, 2010, Adelson said he wished he had served in the Israeli Army rather than the U.S. military—and that he hoped his young son would come back to Israel and “be a sniper for the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. (YouTube video of speech)

“I am not Israeli. The uniform that I wore in the military, unfortunately, was not an Israeli uniform.  It was an American uniform, although my wife was in the IDF and one of my daughters was in the IDF ... our two little boys, one of whom will be bar mitzvahed tomorrow, hopefully he’ll come back-- his hobby is shooting -- and he’ll come back and be a sniper for the IDF,” Adelson said at the event.

“All we care about is being good Zionists, being good citizens of Israel, because even though I am not Israeli born, Israel is in my heart,” he said toward the end of his talk.  

Asked about those comments, Rogich said: “No one could possibly ever think that he is anything but a loyal American.  He’s shown that time and time again.”

Rogich cited major donations that Adelson has made to medical research and other philanthropic causes that were far bigger than his political contributions, he said.

As for Israel, Rogich said: “I think that the fact that he is a Zionist and believes deeply in the preservation of Israel is so commendable.”

Newt Gingrich, who stirred controversy recently by calling the Palestinians "an invented people," appears on the cover of Sheldon Adelson's newspaper, Israel HaYom, blasting the Obama administration for its policies on Iran. "The Obama administration is denying reality," reads the headline in Hebrew. "The refusal to confront evil could cause a second Holocaust."

Gingrich, who stirred controversy recently by calling the Palestinians “an invented people,” appeared on the cover of Adelson’s Israeli newspaper blasting the Obama administration for its policies on Iran.

“The Obama administration is denying reality,” reads the headline in Hebrew. “The refusal to confront evil could cause a second Holocaust.”

When Gingrich was questioned about the money from Adelson this week, he immediately cited the casino mogul’s backing of Israel as a major reason he had received his support.

“Sheldon Adelson is very deeply concerned about the survival of Israel and believes that the Iranians represent a mortal threat to Israel and the United States,” Gingrich said in an interview while on the campaign trail in Florida.  “And he is deeply motivated by the question of having a commander-in-chief strong enough and willing to make sure the Iranians do not get nuclear weapons.”

Asked if he had promised the casino mogul anything in exchange for the money to the super PAC, Gingrich replied: “I promised him that I would seek to defend the United States and the United States allies.”

Adelson’s interests extend beyond Israel.  His personal fortune comes from a casino empire that stretches from the Vegas strip to the gambling havens of Singapore and Macau.  But his business interests have also provoked legal troubles.  

Adelson’s company, the Las Vegas Sands,  disclosed last year that it was being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations by a former top company executive that Adelson directed him to put a local government official on its payroll in Macau — a potential violation of a U.S. anti-bribery law.  The firm has denied the allegations, saying they come from a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled former employee.

Adelson also earned a reputation in Las Vegas as a fierce foe of labor unions after he bought the legendary Sands Hotel, home base of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, and then blew it up in 1996.

About 1,500 casino workers lost their jobs.  Adelson built a spectacular new hotel in its place, the Venetian, but locked out the state’s powerful Culinary Workers Union, which resulted in street protests and lawsuits.

Union official D. Taylor (sic) said that Adelson’s security officials at the Las Vegas Sands Hotel tried to have the protestors outside his hotel arrested, but Las Vegas police refused.

“He claimed that he owned the sidewalks,” Taylor said.  Georgia Democratic “congressman John Lewis led us on the sidewalks to say that nobody’s going to own the people on the sidewalks,” he added. “Sheldon then appealed the decision of the police not to arrest us all the way to the Supreme Court.”

Taylor said Adelson lost that battle — the courts upheld a finding of anti-labor practices against his company — but now the casino mogul thinks he can purchase a presidency.

“I think it’s very scary that any one candidate would be so beholden to one persona, a billionaire, who obviously has a very specific agenda that he wants to achieve,” said Taylor.

But Rogich, Adelson’s consultant, said that agenda consists of nothing more than trying to elect a good friend who he believes “would be a great president.”

“And that’s what this process is all about — that’s why we call it America,” he said. “You have the right to spend your money how you’d like to spend it.”