Trying to hold off an insurgent conservative candidate at a time when the party’s base is most energized is causing Crist all kinds of problems politically. Lately it seems like nothing can go his way.

In a message callers hear when they get put on hold after calling Gov. Charlie Crist, Crist transposes a couple of numbers and turns the phone number for Florida KidCare into the number you’d call for “hot, horny girls.”

Full introduction message from the sex line below:

“Hey there, sexy guy. Welcome to an exciting new way to go live, one on one, with hot, horny girls waiting right now to talk to you.”

Officials at the Minnesota mega-mall this week told reporters planning to cover the Minneapolis-area stop on Palin’s Going Rogue book tour they must address the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate who resigned as governor last summer by her old title – a common honor, actually, which normally is accorded to former governors.

But the mall also was banning foreign reporters, permitting “only English speaking press.” That’s not a common requirement.

Mall officials, calling the proposed guidelines a mistake, apologized to Palin today for “an internal miscommunication” that was “inadvertently distributed.”

In other words, it got out.

The request for English-only reads as an insult to Minnesota’s growing Latino population, especially since Sarah Palin’s answer to Katie Couric in support of the bank bailouts last year reads more like jibberish than English.

COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? … Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

But the one-term governor declared that she would resign her office effective July 26 and handing over the reigns of the state government to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell.

Palin delivered an incoherent and rambling speech describing her reasons for abandoning her post as chief executive for the state of Alaska. This press conference will be mocked across the country but not amount of snark will do service to the actual speech itself. (She’s quitting to prove she’s not a quitter?)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sanford led his staff to believe he was hiking along the Appalachian Trail but, in fact, was in Buenos Aires and was tracked down by a reporter from The State at an airport in Atlanta disembarking a flight from Argentina.

The State obtained several e-mails between Sanford and his Argentine lover.

Senator John Ensign admitted to an extra-marital affair last week. Some media described him as a “Republican presidential contender” but that was the first anybody heard of it. However, Sanford was a contender for the nomination in 2012 but this affair effectively derails that future. Besides with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as potential candidates, is there really room for three Republican philanderers?

These latest developments bode well for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Vice Presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, barring any future meltdown of their own. And let’s be honest: we’re talking about Romney and Palin here. The opportunities for such are enormous.

Watch the video here. дивани

At a press conference Monday, Sanford discussed “a number of wasteful and inefficient proposals contained in the state budget.”

The governor particularly pointed out the proposed “Capitol Police Force,” which would move the 67 officers assigned to protect the Statehouse from the governor’s control to the legislature.

But under Sanford’s oversight, the Bureau of Protective Services assigned one in every five of those officers to administrative positions in Blythewood — something the governor said he was unaware of when asked at the press conference.

“Shouldn’t the Governor know about his own Cabinet agencies,” the reporter asked?

“If your numbers are accurate, then [the administrative assignments] are a little excessive,” Sanford replied after a long pause.

STEELE: Yeah, but let me ask you. Ok, Jay, I’m there with you. But remember, it was the base that rejected Mitt because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life. It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism. It was the base that rejected Mitch, Mitt, because they thought he was back and forth and waffling on those very economic issues you’re talking about. So, I mean, I hear what you’re saying, but before we even got to a primary vote, the base had made very clear they had issues with Mitt because if they didn’t, he would have defeated John McCain in those primaries in which he lost.

Romney spokesman Eric Ferhnstrom said the comments “miss[ed] the target” and cited primary votes cast for the former governor and that Romney won the CPAC straw poll the last three years running.

A new poll shows that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s popularity among Alaskans has plummeted in a year’s time. According to the poll conducted by Hays Research, about 54% of Alaskans have a “very positive” or “somewhat positive” view of the Republican governor.

Meanwhile, about 41.6% say they have a “somewhat negative” or “very negative” view of the former vice presidential nominee, according to the poll.

Compare that with numbers from May 2008 from the same group, when about 86% of those polled said they had a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” opinion of Palin. About 9% said they had either a “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” view of the governor.

It appears Romney plans to get a head start on the campaign by setting up his primary residence in the Granite State.

The Hotline reports that Mitt Romney (R) is making his primary residence at the family home in New Hampshire, the site of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

“Establishing residency in NH could raise expectations for Romney’s performance in the state’s 2012 primary, but the state is also flush with important contests in the upcoming 2010 midterm elections, where Romney could lend a hand.”

Just out of curiosity: does this mean that the former Massachusetts governor will be referred to as “Mitt Romney (R-New Hampshire)”?

KCCI confirmed Tuesday that some Iowa Republicans have received automated phone calls from Sarah Pac, governor Palin’s political action committee.

The calls asked Iowans several questions including whether they have a favorable opinion of Palin.

Some Iowans received the calls over the weekend as did some voters in New Hampshire.