From Rick Santorum, telling a campaign crowd that a vote for Mitt Romney is no better than a vote for Barack Obama:
If you’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate of the future.
Did Santorum really mean this? Or did he mean that voters will perceive Romney as an Obama-lite? Given the context, I suspect the former, but it doesn’t really matter. What matters, yet again, is that Santorum is taking a beating from conservatives over this remark. The same people who mostly gave Eric Fehrnstrom a pass for the original Etch A Sketch comment are now going after Santorum for taking advantage of it. The clear message is: we’re now in general election mode. No serious criticism of Romney from the right is allowed. It’s over.
See also the sort-of-endorsement of Romney from conservative icon Jim DeMint and the tepid-but-real endorsement from Jeb Bush. The establishment is speaking. It’s over.
Which is great! Unlike all those mythical campaign reporters who are supposedly so riveted by this year’s Republican spectacle that they want it to go on forever — who are these people, anyway? — I’ve had way more than enough. It’s over, and I’m glad it’s over. Maybe we can actually talk about something other than candidate gaffes and other assorted campaign atrocities for a few months. Please?
