(Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
It's only a matter of time before Mitt Romney whips out his Etch-A-Sketch and tries to shed the baggage of the Republican primary, but at least for now he says there's
no daylight between what Rick Santorum cares about and what Mitt Romney cares about.
“I think Sen. Santorum throughout the campaign has been speaking about issues that we care about very deeply,” Romney said. “So we’re on the same page on those issues, and I think you’ll see us all come together in a very powerful way, but the time for that will happen down the road as we spend more time together, hit the trail together.”
Yet even as Romney himself makes it clear that he's "on the same page" with Rick Santorum, the Associated Press
writes:
Santorum's presence in the race pushed to the fore polarizing social issues, such as abortion, access to birth control and gays in the military, that many in the party preferred not to delve into as the GOP prepared to court independent voters in the general election campaign against President Barack Obama. Although he accused the media of unfairly focusing on that part of his broader campaign, Santorum was unapologetic about taking on such issues.
It's true that Rick Santorum championed those issues—but it's silly to suggest that it was his presence alone in the race that brought them to the fore. Mitt Romney was already on Rick Santorum's side on social issues when the campaign began: Remember, Santorum endorsed him in 2008.
It's true that Romney had flip-flopped on many of them after his 2002 gubernatorial victory, and the reason he flip-flopped is that you cannot be a serious Republican candidate without aligning yourself with the social right. Since Roe v. Wade, there hasn't been a single pro-choice Republican nominee, although several of them flip-flopped from earlier positions. None of those nominees flip-flopped back to their earlier position, and neither will Mitt Romney. Sure, he'll hope that pro-choice swing voters think the "real" Mitt is the one who was pro-choice in Massachusetts, but he'll never actually be pro-choice again.
Throughout the course of the campaign, Romney never once attacked Santorum for being too conservative. In fact, he attacked Santorum for having supported Planned Parenthood. In that case, it was Romney bringing a social issue to the fore—not because Santorum is in the race, but because that's what Republicans want and because that's what Mitt Romney has decided to deliver.