April 11, 2012

Mitt, Rick, & Newt

Rick Santorum called it a day yesterday afternoon.

In one of those weird campaign events, Santorum’s folks tried to keep what the event was to be under wraps until about 2 pm Eastern.

But, the staff got buffaloed into giving up the fact that Santorum would be “suspending” his campaign so, by the time the event started at about 2:20, every person on the planet with a Twitter account was writing about it.

Santorum’s withdrawal from the campaign was a paradox: He had done too well to stay in any longer.

Rick Santorum called it a day yesterday afternoon.

In one of those weird campaign events, Santorum’s folks tried to keep what the event was to be under wraps until about 2 pm Eastern.

But, the staff got buffaloed into giving up the fact that Santorum would be “suspending” his campaign so, by the time the event started at about 2:20, every person on the planet with a Twitter account was writing about it.

Santorum’s withdrawal from the campaign was a paradox: He had done too well to stay in any longer.

The Pennsylvania primary will be held on April 24. If Santorum were to win (not a foregone conclusion) he would have been locked into the race through May and probably through June.

This is April 10. Santorum is pretty much out of money. The notion of pretending to compete against Mitt Romney for the next 10 weeks was too much to contemplate.

If Santorum were to lose in Pennsylvania (also not a foregone conclusion) then his political career would end with a dull thud.

Santorum had no good way to move on, so he got out.

Much has been made about the fact that Santorum didn’t mention Romney in his exit speech, but there is not a great deal of love between the two, so we should give Santorum a pass.

It is possible that no serious candidate for President ever did more with less – less personality, less money, a more narrow message – than Santorum.

So, he gets points for that.

I suspect that, by 2:27 yesterday afternoon, there were Santorum staffers talking with Romney staffers about what role Santorum could/would play in the campaign moving forward; what financial help Romney would be willing to provide Santorum; and so on.

I do not think Santorum is on the Romney’s draft board as a potential VP candidate, but I am often wrong about these things.

Now, to Newt.

On Sunday, Newt was conciliatory toward the concept of a likely Romney candidacy. He was charming about it. He was smart about it. He was accepting of it.

On Tuesday, after Santorum’s presser, Newt recoiled into the strange and frightening World of Newt and proclaimed himself the last standing conservative alternative to Romney.

Newt, by his own accounting, is $4.5 million – MILLION – in debt. In his version of reality, Santorum’s supporters will immediately pivot to Gingrich, hoisting him on their collective shoulders to proclaim him their conservative savior.

They will not.

If voters loved Newt that much they would have been voting for Newt that often.

They did not.

Everyone on this continent, with the possible exception of Newt, noted that he did not win in DC, Maryland, or Wisconsin last week.

He came in FOURTH in DC, Maryland, and Wisconsin behind Ron Paul.

Most normally wired human beings would find that result, at a minimum, embarrassing; and, at a maximum, cause to run into the sea and attempt swim to Portugal.

Not Newt.

Newt, having watched Santorum’s presser, had Sugarplum Fairies dancing in his head telling him that he, Newt, is the fairest in the land.

He is not.

Not in this land, nor in any other land on any planet in any galaxy in the known universe.

In typical fashion, just when you thought Newt might have redeemed himself, he does something that proves your original opinion of him was correct.

SIDEBAR

I know that I mixed a Tchaikovsky reference with a Brothers Grimm reference, but I liked it, so there you are.

END SIDEBAR

So, Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee.

Here’s where I think the campaign between Romney and Obama will be decided: Who has the ability to guide the nation through the next coming worldwide economic downturn.

If Americans think that class warfare is the right approach, then Barack Obama will be re-elected.

If, on the other hand, Americans believe that expanding opportunities to succeed is the best way forward, then Mitt Romney will be sworn in on January 20, 2013.

In mid-April, it’s too close to call.

On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the NY Times coverage of the Santorum suspension; a very excellent Mullfoto from New York City over the weekend, and a Catchy Caption of the Day.

Copyright ©2012 Barrington Worldwide, LLC | Mullings.com

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.