I think it's fair to say that this is a a major loss for him, and a giant blow to his pride.
My hunch about the 1998 endorsement is that they knew he was going to win, and he was running as a fiscal conservative tough on crime. Now they know he's the man of hollow promises; better late than never.
D
Not only is it a giant blow to his pride, but he's a micromanager who will FLIP when this gets out. He'll try to go more to the right on crime, and he's already having problems with this.
Dump Davis!