It’s not an official, single OpEd...rather a series of articles this week by various WSJ people that write for the opinion pages.
They also had a very loooooooong guest piece by James Tarantino on how the social issues COULD work for the GOP, or at the very least, not hurt them. It was based on Santorum’s rise and the felt need for the writer to weigh in on some people’s concerns about that.
But to your question, you couldn’t miss how they reached out to Santorum and people planning to vote for him.
Glaringly, instead of trying to help Mitt by dissing Santorum, their tactics were to treat Santorum with kid gloves.
I think they realize Mitt is in bad trouble and they have to be careful how to play this.
Therefore, saying all that to say, one could not help but conclude that the WSJ Romney E is wide open to a Santorum candidacy whether the top spot or the VP.
Very interesting.
... Rush and Levin, especially, helped Santorum's rise...Levin openly endorsing Santorum, Rush tacitly helping him while stopping short of endorsing.
All the media from all spectrums have generally treated Newt as if he had a catching disease and needs to be quarantined.
Glaringly, instead of trying to help Mitt by dissing Santorum, their tactics were to treat Santorum with kid gloves.
I think they realize Mitt is in bad trouble and they have to be careful how to play this.
Yes! Nobody from GOP-E came out at Santorum, the way they came out at Gingrich not just personally but also sought to destroy his small government / Reaganite / Tea Party credentials ("Reagan didn't really like him | he dissed Reagan 'in private' | he was a 'lobbyist' | he was 'ethically challenged' and 'fined' by Congress | his Congress 'colleagues' didn't like him | he was 'erratic' and not focused...)
Rush is now "carrying water" for Santorum, trying to "explain" and "translate" him positively in the way he was "carrying water" for Bush, McCain and Romney, but was regularly negatively "translating" Newt Gingrich, even after Newt explained to him and audience the problems he was seeing ("Ryan's Medicare plan," Boehner's budget fight and government shutdown and other strategy mistakes by GOP Congress) and where he wanted to take the party.
Others (like Levin) have either endorsed Santorum or have no problems with another big government guy, as long as he is social conservative.
See The GOP's Working Class Muddle (Santorum, Romney and class-warfare) - FR, 2012 February 02 / WSJ, by Kimberley A. Strassel, 2012 January 06
Nobody is even trying to link Romney and/or Santorum to Reagan or Tea Party movement. But that is OK with them, that absurdly vicious overkill attack was only aimed at Gingrich.
Newt is the only one in the race to represent small government / Tea Party, and they are afraid to death of him... Santorum, not really a problem to them, he is one of them, the insider playing outsider.
Romney vs Santorum is like Clinton vs Obama 4 years ago - Dems knew Clinton was one of them (it was her turn), but Obama was fine with them too - both were Alinsky disciples.
Santorum is not getting vetted, and whatever the flaws are, they are being smoothed or hidden by omission or commission behind the veneer of the "man from steel [union] town" ("place called Hope" anyone?) by elite in "conservative" media) for the exact same reason they all so furiously attacked Newt from the left (calling him anti-capitalist) for exposing Romney, actually accusing Newt of attacking "from the left" their chosen favorite son.
Santorum is their "strategic alternative" - Santorum/Romney is fine with them just as it would be Romney/Santorum (or other accepted "social conservative" to "balance" the ticket.
Gingrich is a "leper" to them all (including Rush, who Newt expected would be naturally receptive to his ideas, or at least not an enemy) because of Newt's small government mindset and Tea Party credentials.
If the Tea Party people don't get organized and vote now in support of Newt, they will not have a champion or representation in Washington, they'll be fractured and marginalized, from both the Right elite and the Left, time and again - they'll be just another small "group" / faction, like [now badly fractured] social conservatives, that the GOP-E will only cater to when they need votes.