Rick Santorum Pulls Out. Opens Way For Mitt Romney To Lose In November

Dan Majestic writes from Washington: It finally happened: days after saying that he would stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination all the way up to the National Convention in August, Rick Santorum has announced that he is pulling out of the election campaign, opening the way for Mitt Romney to lose to President Barack Obama in November.

Mr Santorum chose to do what every American politician does when he concedes defeat: he got himself surrounded by his family in front of the cameras to say that he was suspending his candidacy – suspending, note, not quitting or ending – but stressing that he will continue to fight on to defeat Mr Obama. And yet, the former Pennsylvania Senator didn’t utter single word in support of his main opponent, Mr Romney, giving way to rumours that he might actually still be hoping that a miracle happens at the Convention and the floor would nominate him, Rick, as the true Republican presidential candidate.

To be perfectly honest, Mr Santorum’s views were way too radical even for hardline Republicans. Let’s face it, he believed in one God – and that’s close to blasphemy in America – and in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, was not really keen on gays and didn’t like the concept of abortion itself. And in modern America these sorts of attitudes are seen as eccentric at best and sick and twisted at worst.

In this respect Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, a Mormon and a multi-millionaire, looked much more respectable. Mr Romney made his money by asset stripping, which is seen as perfectly respectable these days, and believes according to his faith that god lives on a planet in the Kolob galaxy, having been born a humble human being on earth, and that Christ was just a guy, a brother to Satan in fact, who preached a good preach but no more. Hard to find anything at fault with a man like Romney, is there?

It remains to be seen what the other two Republican candidates, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, would do now, considering that Romney would obviously now be  a firm favourite to lose to Obama fair and square in the autumn. Although some people are saying that Newt might figure that now that Santorum is gone, he might get some of his supporters on his side and stay in the limelight for a bit longer. (Newt is in this for the publicity and the groupies.) Paul’s choice is a tougher one, as he’s never been a serious candidate anyway and now he would look really stupid if he stayed on the campaign trail. But on the other hand, what’s wrong with being stupid in America. Just look where it took George Bush.

Serious commentators, who have not been showing any interest in the Republican presidential campaign, are now saying that it would be much better if all that money that the two candidates, Obama and Romney, are planning to spend on their campaigns were used to feed all the hungry in Africa. Or to invent a weapon that could kill all the hungry in Africa and make life easier for everyone else.

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