Daily Santorum: 5/16/11

Huck is out. As I wrote from South Carolina, he was the biggest threat to Our Rick Santorum down there, but Rick is far from the only winner in Mike Huckabee's decision to get out of the race. (Huck shown above rockin' the bass; even though he's no Mike Gordon, he's pretty good.)

WaPo's Chris Cillizza writes that Michele Bachmann (particularly in Iowa) and Jon Huntsman (particularly in South Carolina) are the biggest beneficiaries in a post that doesn't even mention Rick. NYT's Nate Silver says Santorum will get a bump -- but not as much as Herman Cain, Bachmann, Sarah Palin (if she runs) or Newt Gingrich.

Now comes the competition for the coveted Huck endorsement, and every candidate bent over backwards to congratulate him after the announcement. Here's Santorum's statement:

I have long admired Governor Huckabee and his commitment to talking about the critical issues facing America.  Those of us who believe in the virtues and values of life and family can never have enough allies, and I am grateful to Governor Huckabee for helping to keep those issues front and center.  As some in our party seek to form a 'truce' on social issues, I look forward to a dialogue with Governor Huckabee and his supporters to talk of our shared commitment to fight for traditional values and the rights granted to us by our forefathers. Finally, I was particularly moved by his honesty in revealing the reason for his decision.  He above all prayerfully sought God's will for his life.

Another interesting tidbit from the weekend was Gingrich's walk-back on the Paul Ryan budget. After previously voicing support, Gingrich said on Meet the Press:

“I think that is too big a jump,” Gingrich said of the Ryan plan. “I think what you want to have is a system where people voluntarily migrate to better outcomes, better solutions, better options.”

“I’m against Obamacare, which is imposing radical change, and I would be against a conservative imposing radical change,” he continued.

Santorum, you will recall, has been consistently in favor of the Ryan budget which turns Medicare into a voucher-like system, and supported it again in an interview with an Inky columnist published Sunday.

The Schedule: Nothing on tap yet for this week.