The moment in question comes at the tail end of Rush Limbaugh's Tuesday program as he shares some parting thoughts before election night. Listen as Rush takes a shot at Gingrich over global warming just before walking right up to the endorsement line on Santorum's behalf. Did he cross that threshold? You decide (via The Blaze):
"Nobody is innocent. Everybody is guilty of some transgression somewhere against conservatism, except...Santorum. See you tomorrow."
As for Santorum's blemish-free political record, RedState's Erick Erickson would beg to differ, as would Santorum endorser Michelle Malkin:
He lost his Senate re-election bid in 2006, an abysmal year for conservatives. He was a go-along, get-along Big Government Republican in the Bush era. He supported No Child Left Behind, the prescription drug benefit entitlement, steel tariffs, and earmarks and outraged us movement conservatives by endorsing RINO Arlen Specter over stalwart conservative Pat Toomey.
Within the context of the overall race, I took Rush's point to be that Rick Santorum's ideological heresies pale in comparison to Romney and Gingrich's. So here's my question: If he believes the former Senator's conservative credentials are clearly superior to his rivals', why did El Rushbo hold off until (literally) the very last second to unambiguously state that opinion? By the time he uttered those words at 2:59pm ET yesterday, the vast majority of votes in Florida had already been cast, so the pronouncement was unlikely to (and didn't) make much of an impact. Could Rush be setting the table for a longer-haul fight, wherein Santorum supplants Newt as the leading Not Romney? Newt certainly hasn't gotten that memo. I know the powerful radio host has said he's intentionally staying neutral to help him remain objective on the air, but he also said he planned to vote in the Florida primary. In light of his comment at the end of Tuesday's broadcast, is there any doubt that he voted for Santorum, or am I totally overblowing the comment? If I were on Team Santorum, I'd be turning that soundbyte into radio and television ads today. Tick tock.