I think this all will help Santorum in the long run, but we don’t need a clear winner for several months yet.
I have about the same chance as Senator Santorum. If Speaker Gingrich loses next Tuesday, we’re almost certainly stuck with Gov. Romney.
There won’t be a long run if Romney wins Florida. Santorum needed to drop out, but he’s in for himself.
Santorum is an unattractive candidate who has never been anything but part of the establishment; the only thing that helps him is that he has not been the target of Romney’s (and the GOP’s) smear machine because he simply wasn’t important enough.
He and Paul didn’t have to defend themselves from outrageous personal attacks and innuendo by Romney last night and could actually say a word or two about the issues. Nor did they have the moderator trying to stir up personal attacks. I thought last night’s event, with its “Fight Club” music and the constant attempt to turn it into a giant personal attacks, was disgraceful. BTW, Santorum has also sent out some nasty personal attacks on Gingrich; he’s running out of money and he hasn’t done as much here in FL as he did in SC, and of course he’s also just letting Romney do it for him and enjoying the results.