Romney speaks at the NRA convention, plus more to watch for this weekend in politics

Phil Pruitt

Mitt Romney gets a chance to lock and load Friday and show conservatives that he really is conservative when he speaks at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in St. Louis.

Romney's speech at the NRA's "Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum" will have to go far enough for the Republican base without scaring off the independent voters he needs in the general election against President Barack Obama. It also will be interesting to see if Romney addresses Florida's "stand your ground" law, which is central to the Trayvon Martin shooting. The NRA backed the law.

Newt Gingrich also is speaking at the annual meeting, and, despite suspending his campaign, so is Rick Santorum. Gingrich also has a campaign stop Saturday at the ProsperiTea Rally in Greensboro, N.C.

Obama leaves Friday for Cartagena, Colombia, to attend the Sixth Summit of the Americas, which is Saturday and Sunday. He'll stop at the Port of Tampa on the way to highlight the benefits of trade with Latin America.

There also is certain to be some talk over the weekend about the Ann Romney-Hilary Rosen confrontation, although it might have burned itself out in a 24-hour news cycle that seemed fueled by steroids.

And then there is this: It seems worth noting that the NRA convention, which begins Friday with political speeches, wraps up Sunday with an appearance by World Champion Elk Caller and two-time Eastern United States Elk Calling Champion Chad Schearer.

Sources: Yahoo! News reporters Rachel Rose Hartman and Dylan Stableford, Associated Press.

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