Wait, was that a Santorum Endorsement?

Rick Santorum has endorsed Mitt Romney...at least I think that is what it should be called.

(I debated even mentioning it because his endorsement was pathetic).

Image from Reuters

It was reported today that shortly before midnight, Rick Santorum sent an email to his supporters expressing his endorsement for his one-time rival, Mitt Romney.

He said that he had waited to endorse Romney because he wanted to first sit down and meet face-to-face.  He wrote, "I felt that it was completely impossible for me to even consider an endorsement until after a meeting to discuss issues critical to those of us who often feel our voices are not heard by the establishment: social conservatives, tea party supporters, lower and middle income working families."

Wow.  "Completely impossible?"

Finally by paragraph 13 of his email, he wrote that after meeting with Romney, "We both agree that President Obama must be defeated.  The task will not be easy.  It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious.  Governor Romney will be that nominee and he has my endorsement and support to win the most critical election of our lifetime."

Um...Nice job Rick.

***

As I have always said, politics is much more of an art than a science.  Rick Santorum's uninspiring and forgettable endorsement proves that he doesn't get it.

He is no longer on the stage yet, he still wants it to be about him.

Santorum has somehow forgotten that he was never the first choice leader for the conservative cause.  During the primaries, Rick Santorum was the last "pair of shoes" that the "Anyone-but-Mitt" Republicans tried on.  He was not the first (Michelle Bachman), he was not the second (Herman Cain), he was not the third (Rick Perry) and he was not the fourth (Newt Gingrich).

Truth is, Rick Santorum was the last attempt for ultra conservatives to find an alternative to the "Mormon Governor from Massachusetts" and although Rick Santorum may have been the last, he certainly didn't prove to be "last-the-best-of-all-the-game."

Although his run was solid, it was still not enough.  He was not enough---Republicans still chose his rival.

***

There are two key principles that every candidate must master in the "art" of politics:

1) It can't be personal...it's politics.
2) If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen...(and then once you have left, suck it up and praise and encourage the cook left standing in the heat.  Because in politics, everything can change in a day and you never know when you'll be back in the kitchen desperate for the support of those on the outside).

That is the art of politics.

But his pathetic endorsement for Mitt Romney simply proves that Rick Santorum doesn't get it.  His weak endorsement is simply, too little, too late.  Conservatives are already rallying behind Mitt and he didn't need Santorum to get it.

So, unfortunately, Rick Santorum is close to becoming like his endorsement....forgettable and of little influence.

Conservatives got it right when they chose Mitt.

Go Mitt.