Santorum not Endorsing; Newt insists Primary not over

These two developments seem to compliment one another quite nicely. First, Rick Santorum said on a conference call that he is not endorsing any candidate at this point.

Via KGO:

Rick Santorum said Monday night there is “no question Barack Obama has to be defeated,” but did not say he would back presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, instead revealing he had only spoken to Newt Gingrich, not Romney yet.

“As far as going with a particular presidential candidate right now -- I mean -- had a chance to talk to Newt, I haven’t had a chance yet to talk to Gov. Romney,” Santorum said on a conference call. “But we’ll be talking to both of them and we are going to go out and deal with who we believe is in the best interest of our country and winning this election and make sure that we have a conservative platform, conservative message and they follow through with that conservative message after the election.”

This is a not-so-subtle jab at the man about to become the party’s standard bearer. Santorum consistently would say on the campaign trail that in 2008, Romney convinced him of his conservative bona fides before he backed him and then Romney quickly changed his tune.

Although Santorum is expected to eventually back Romney -- both longtime adviser John Brabender and top donor Foster Friess told ABC News last week they expect him to endorse Romney -- he was specific Monday night that he was not endorsing anyone in the presidential race.

“I haven’t supported any candidate at this point,” Santorum said, when asked who his supporters should vote for in the Pennsylvania primary on April 24.

Another interesting aspect to this is that Santorum is saying he will not release his delegates. If he released them to Romney, it would all but be the final nail in the coffin for Gingrich's chances.

Santorum also made it clear he won’t be releasing his delegates to whomever he backs, saying he wants to “make sure” the delegates “go to the convention and have a say,” to influence the platform of the party and have an “impact on the convention process” making sure both the platform and convention “reflects the things our campaign stands for.”

Although he did not give any clues on his new venture, Santorum did say there will be a “place for people to organize and rally,” and he is working on the project and will share more information in one to two weeks. He stressed he will be active not only in the presidential, but down ballot races as well.

Contrast that news with Newt's comments in Richardson, TX. Note that Newt is still using the tortoise metaphor.

Via CBSDFW:




This short clip is from early March:



Newt obviously sees himself as the tortoise. He also understands the underdog story of George Washington better than most.



h/t Free Republic