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Sent to principles office

A-OK: Mitt Romney tries to regain his front-runner footing in Phoenix yesterday as he highlights Rick Santorum’s flip-flop record. (
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WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney, hoping to harness Tea Party-fueled resentment of DC and regain the initiative in Michigan, pounded Rick Santorum yesterday for a series of cumbersome defenses that Santorum gave of his Senate voting record during Wednesday night’s debate.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a politician explain in so many ways why it was he voted against his principles,” Romney said at a builders conference in Arizona, which, like Michigan, holds its primary Tuesday.

Romney and his team were practically high-fiving over one of Santorum’s remarks in Wednesday’s debate — that Santorum had voted for a bill that he said went against his principles because sometimes you “take one for the team.”

“I wonder which team he was taking it for. My team is the American people, not the insiders in Washington, and I’ll fight for the people of America, not special interests,” Romney said.

Romney stayed on the attack throughout the day, hoping to avoid what would be a humiliating loss in Michigan, the state where he grew up and his dad served as governor.

The Romney camp and a pro-Romney super PAC are blitzing Santorum on the airwaves, though Romney isn’t on the air in Arizona, where polls have him comfortably ahead.

“He’s putting all his money into Michigan,” said Bill Ballenger, of Inside Michigan Politics.

Santorum’s camp hit back with a new TV ad that relies strictly on Romney’s own words to try to hurt him.

“Since Mitt Romney refuses to talk about his own liberal record, we figured we’d show people what Mitt Romney says about Mitt Romney,” said Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley.

Romney edged ahead of President Obama 50-46 percent in a head-to-head Gallup poll among national voters. The same poll showed Obama besting Santorum, 49-48 percent.

Obama also took to the campaign trail yesterday with a trip to Florida, where he raised money and promoted his energy agenda in the face of skyrocketing gasoline prices.

Obama took a swing at the Republicans, including Newt Gingrich, who pledges to lower gas prices to $2.50 a gallon if elected.

“It’s a bumper sticker; it’s not a strategy to solve our energy challenge,” Obama told students at the University of Miami.

geoff.earle@nypost.com