Rick Santorum's endorsement regret: Why he backed Romney in '08

Rick Santorum may be emerging as one of Mitt Romney's toughest rivals in Iowa, but back in 2008, he was something else: a supporter.

The former Pennsylvania Senator has been getting flak lately for his 2008 endorsement of Mr. Romney.

"Governor Romney is the candidate who will stand up for the conservative principles that we hold dear," he said in a press release when he announced his endorsement four years ago. And he told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham that conservatives are "about traditional values and a traditional way of American life" and that Mitt Romney "understands that, it's not just in his head anymore, it's in his heart."

These are statements that are coming back to haunt Mr. Santorum now, as he tries to convince Republican voters that Romney isn't a true conservative – and that he, himself, is the only candidate who supports the social issues they care about.

When asked to explain the endorsement, the best response Santorum can offer is: It was politics. Essentially, his argument goes, he wanted anyone but John McCain to get the nomination. (The idea is, of course, analogous to many conservatives' attitude toward Romney today.) He didn't think Mike Huckabee could win it, and the only other alternative was Romney.

"I made, I hate to say it, a calculated political decision that Romney was the stronger horse and had a better chance to win Super Tuesday with the resources he had," Santorum said on Meet the Press Sunday. "I would have loved to have Mike Huckabee out there, but I made the political judgment, right or wrong, that [Romney] had the best chance to stop John McCain."

Santorum also noted that he wasn't exactly an early supporter – and that his endorsement didn't do much for his candidate.

“I endorsed him actually seven days before he dropped out of the race," he said.

Santorum's endorsement of Romney may seem like an odd choice now, given the positions that Santorum says he holds most important. (By 2008, Romney had already signed the Massachusetts health-care bill into law, had supported the court when it legalized gay marriage, and had in the past supported abortion rights.)

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