It doesn't make any sense to let him lose, but I knew that this decision was going to hurt him.
I wonder if the White House will go to bat for him with the same vigor they did for Specter. I would hope so...they owe him that much, at least.
It is sad and what is worse is that Santorum knew this would cause a serious rift with his base, but he did it anyway. We warned him, begged him not to do it, but he did it anyway. It's very easy to pontificate about pragmatism, but when a politician does that which he knows and understands will cause a rift with those who've worked tirelessly for his election, then he has no valid reason to complain when we abandon him. He abandoned us first. That is all lost on the majority of posters to this thread.
You're right. He was under pressure. And he caved to the demands of the party rather than hold true to his stated convictions. Do you find that admirable? I don't.
They want reelected. When reelection is more important than the principles that they ran on, it's time to replace them. They're infected with Potomac Fever and the only cure is to get them out of DC.