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Polling shows Josh Mandel (R) closing in on Sen. Sherrod Brown (D)

TOP STORY: The Bully Pulpit

It was Mitt Romney’s turn in the spotlight.

The day after President Obama put to rest questions about his “evolution” on gay marriage, The Washington Post ran a lengthy article on Romney’s high-school years, including a report he bullied a student thought to be gay.

Romney went on Fox Radio to apologize — sort of — saying he “did some dumb things” in the past, but insisted that gay students were never a specific target. He’s previously admitted to being a prankster in high school, but bullying is a tougher image to fight.

High school is tough for everyone and having your teenage years become fodder in the national press is pretty brutal. But in this 24-hour information age, more and more of candidate’s private lives are becoming fair game.

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TOP STORY: An historic moment — and a political one.

President Obama on Wednesday endorsed gay marriage, becoming the first U.S. president to voice support for same sex-couples to legally marry.

And, yes, all the adjectives — historic, landmark, monumental, etc. — apply to his announcement, but it’s also an election year, and that means it’s all about the politics.

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TOP STORY:  Oops.

That could be the theme for the last few days: from Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) not campaigning hard enough in his primary to a Republican National Committee official’s comment on Mitt Romney’s immigration stance to the White House letting loose Vice President Biden, it’s been a week of oops.

And it’s only Tuesday.

First of all, there’s Lugar. The six-term senator will probably be defeated in Tuesday night’s primary (polls close at 7 p.m. EST).

Lugar made a last-ditch efforts for votes Tuesday, as the state has an open primary system, meaning anyone registered to vote can cast a ballot in the GOP race.

“I'm appealing to all the people of Indiana, and I emphasize all, to ask for a Republican ballot today and vote for me," he said on CNN.

Meanwhile a weak campaign and inexperienced staff is being blamed for his expected loss.

Lugar isn’t the only incumbent in trouble.

Rep. Charise Rangel (D-N.Y.) returned to the House Monday night after missing 12 weeks of votes due to a back injury.

And, on Tuesday, he became the target of the Campaign for Primary Accountability, the super-PAC that goes after incumbents (and has already taken out three this year).

Finally, the Republican National Committee meant to spend Tuesday touting its efforts with Hispanics. Instead it was walking back a comment from a staffer on Romney’s position on immigration.

"As a candidate, to my understanding, he's still deciding what his position on immigration is," said Bettina Inclan, the RNC's director of Hispanic outreach, to reporters.

The comment flooded Twitter and was mocked by Team Obama. The Team Romney response: point to its immigration policy page on its website.

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: On Wednesday, Romney will be campaigning in Colorado and Oklahoma. He’ll hold an event at K.P. Kauffman Company in Fort Lupton, Colo., and then heads to Oklahoma for an event with Gov. Mary Fallin at the state party headquarters.

Candidates for president, House and Senate have 200 days left to make their case.

An increasing number of Democrats are taking potshots at President Obama’s healthcare law.

A Washington watchdog called for an investigation Thursday of Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and his campaign committee for hiding a loan source of at least $300,000 for his 2007-2008 campaign.

Broun indicated to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that the $300,000 loan was a personal loan, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) stated. Broun later pointed to an unnamed bank that had loaned the money, after CREW found the representative would have made almost $29,000 in interest off of his campaign if it were a personal loan.

CREW filed a complaint with commission, calling for further inquiry and an audit of the representative's campaign committee.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is headed to Israel on Sunday for a four-day trip intended to “strengthen New Jersey’s economic and diplomatic relationships with foreign nations,” his office announced.

Christie’s visit, which will take place during Holy Week, is being billed as a trade mission focusing on economic growth, diplomacy and observance. Christie will travel with members of his family and a delegation from New Jersey’s Jewish and business communities.

Christie’s office said he will meet with diplomatic leaders and honor the region’s people, traditions and culture. Christie will also spend a few days in neighboring Jordan before returning to New Jersey.

It isn’t uncommon for governors to travel to Israel on trade missions, but the gesture is likely to feed speculation that Christie is laying the groundwork for higher office. High-profile visits to Israel have become a rite of passage for potential presidential candidates as they work to shore up their foreign-policy credentials and reassure conservatives that they support the strategic ally.

The nation’s leading anti-gay-marriage group has a surprising strategy for opposing same-sex marriage: pit African Americans and gays against each other.

A deeply religious Republican, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says Rick Santorum and Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins have it all wrong.