Once Michigan's hard-fought primary was over and the numbers were in, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney gave their usual campaign speeches to supporters, who clapped and cheered as if they'd never heard the stuff before. Each candidate, though, did manage to say something interesting.
For Santorum, who came close to beating Romney, it was this: "A month ago, they didn't know who we are, but they do now!"
Well, that was the problem, wasn't it? For a while, Rick Santorum held a commanding lead in the polls in Michigan. He blew it when voters found out who he was.
They found out that he thinks Satan is at war with America. They found out that he has a philosophical problem with birth control. They found out that he thinks President Obama is a "snob" for wanting all kids to go to college. They found out that when he listens to a 1960 speech in which John F. Kennedy extolled the value of separating church and state, he wants to throw up.
Santorum tried to backpedal on that last one, but it was too late. His lead had evaporated.
Romney stumbled on the stump, too — bragging at one point that his wife drives "a couple of Cadillacs" — but Tuesday night, after winning both Michigan and Arizona, he was able to say: "We didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough."
That's right. Romney won by enough to avoid a humiliating loss in his home state. He won by enough to still be considered the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. He won by enough to silence, for now, hand-wringers who want a flashy new candidate to pop up and rescue the GOP in November.
But the race is far from settled. Next week, 10 more states will hold primaries and caucuses. We'll certainly hear from the other GOP candidates. Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker from Georgia, might do well in Southern states. Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, could do well out West.
On to Super Tuesday.
REPRINTED FROM THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA DAILY NEWS
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