The once and future non-Romney

In my new year’s predictions for 2012 I anticipated that we would be recycling non-Romneys in this year’s primary and caucus contests for the GOP presidential nomination. The prediction has proved accurate, except in one small detail. I thought the recycled non-Romney of 2012 would be Rick Perry. Wrong, moose breath!

But I had the right idea. Newt having risen and fallen again in a manner that reminded us of his weaknesses, Rick Santorum now rises again as the non-Romney of the hour. He seems to me the logical conservative alternative to Romney in the field if there is to be one. The Wall Street Journal provides a fair journalistic account of last night’s caucus results in “Santorum delivers a GOP stunner.”

I think John Fund does a good job of deliberating over last night’s results in “Mitt Romney has reason to be concerned.” In his quick take on last night’s results, Bill Kristol fastens on one of Romney’s weaker moments in the Jacksonville debate that I highlighted in “The moon is a harsh mistress.”

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