I will have no problem voting for him if he is the GOP candidate.
But, something is bothering me about the timing of the sudden announcement from the HHS secretary re: the mandate for religious institutions to cover contraception, etc.
Every pundit seems to agree that it was a stupid fight for Obama to pick at this time.
The consensus is that the Catholic vote went for Obama in 2008, and pissing them off now makes zero political sense.
But, this "surprise" mandate seems to coincide with the rise of Santorum.
I think that the Obama team wants Santorum as the GOP candidate. And I think that they used the HHS announcement as a way to help Rick's chances.
Or, maybe they just don't want Newt.
In which case helping out Santorum is an effective strategy.
Either way, I think the announcement by the HHS secretary was not at all about appeasing the liberal base.
It was about getting the opponent they prefer.
The HHS mandate was to force Newt and Rick to take a stand. Either they stand with their Church's view on birth control, which is not shared by most, or they don't, which makes them a hypocrite.
That leaves Romney, who DID THE SAME THING IN MASS! This was about forcing Romney to the front. It hasn't worked that way yet, but I suspect the next vote will be telling.