Ohio AG Mike DeWine has shifted his support from Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum, reading the tea leaves, which suggest that momentum in the state is moving toward Santorum. “To be elected president, you have to do more than tear down your opponents,” DeWine explained. “You have to give the American people a reason to vote for you, a reason to hope, a reason to believe that under your leadership, America will be better. Rick Santorum has done that. Sadly, Governor Romney has not.”
If anybody believes this rationale, there’s a bridge for sale in Brooklyn. The real reason DeWine moved from the Romney camp to the Santorum camp is because he aspires to higher office in Ohio, and doesn’t want to be attacked from the right inside the state for backing white collar Romney. Chalk this one up to the Tea Party, which has intimidated politicians into moving right by failing to get on the Romney bandwagon.
Will it help Santorum?
A bit, perhaps, but it won’t be decisive. Nikki Haley’s endorsement obviously didn’t help Romney in South Carolina, and Bobby Jindal’s endorsement of Rick Perry obviously didn’t help Perry at any point. Endorsements aren’t all that important. All they do is add to the perception that somebody is gaining or losing steam. Romney just lost some steam, and Santorum just gained some.
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