Politico headlines it, "Rick Santorum roars back," and Bill Kristol is characteristically agog with vast strategic visions for neocon Rick and the latter's adviser John Brabender tells "NBC’s John Harwood that Missouri proved Romney can be beaten in a one-on-one fight" and the Washington Post declares that "Santorum proved three things:"
1) That Romney can lose
2) That he can beat Romney head-to-head under the right set of circumstances
3) That this race isn’t yet over
Horse manure. Rick Santorum merely failed to heed Gene Wilder's advice to Cleavon Little: "No, don't do that, don't do that, if you shoot him, you'll just make him mad."
Or think of Mitt Romney as the FBI's organized crime unit, or as some defense agency with a fleet of drone predators. Both detect emerging threats and rising stars -- second-tier hooligans out to make a name for themselves, to become a "Somebody"; they see their bad selves as tomorrow's newest and hippest crime boss, or as Osama's replacement; they commit the fatal error of making a splash, of being noticed. Radar sceeens light up with that singular blip and Agent Mongo moves in. Kaboom. The carpet bombing commences. Another decapitation.
Or, if you prefer, think of Romney himself as the crime boss. Because last night he spoke the scariest, Corleonelike words in the English language; he congratulated the religious right's caporegime, and "wish[ed] him the very best."