Does Uncle Sam Return to Reason?

Rick Santorum, the last remaining rival* to the ex-governor of Massachusetts (United States) for securing the [Republican] presidential candidacy in the richest country on the planet, abandoned his campaign this week. He announced that he would support the successful Mitt Romney in next November’s elections against President Barack Obama, who is trying to get re-elected in the middle of a long economic crisis that he has been unable to overcome, a crisis that seems invulnerable to all the measures of his administration.

Romney was not only an excellent governor. He is also a successful businessman and a multimillionaire recognized for his effectiveness in the art of accumulating money cleanly. His adversaries accuse him of two things: of being Mormon, which is frowned on by the Christian culture in the U.S. because that church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not considered Christian, and, furthermore, of not being conservative enough for the country’s most passionate evangelical groups.

Although Mr. Romney is faithful to the basic ideas of small government, scarce or nonexistent state intervention in the economy and respect for individual values, he is, in the conservative sphere, considered more a man of the center-right than of the strict right.

This, in a world that has abandoned bipolar sectarianism and considers socialism and communism to be museum pieces, should be considered an advantage. Nevertheless, in the United States, there is still a relevant force that has very energetic positions against abortion, marriage between homosexuals, government control of medical services, etc. Outside of this, the coalition called the tea party, which supported Santorum, a fervent Catholic who made Romney’s triumph enormously difficult, asked Santorum just a few days ago at the Southern Baptist Convention to pull out of the race so that Romney (who had a majority [of the delegates]) could achieve the core support required to take Obama out of power.

It is still too early to predict who will win. But the Democrats’ fantasy, where the Republican convention would be chaos, has crumbled like a sand castle.

The highly controversial law that socialized medicine has been a failure, and the Republican majority in Congress has made the most of this. The failures in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Syria have greatly damaged Obama and his secretary of state, Mrs. Clinton.

And [this applies to] something as small as the case of Honduras, where, at the beginning of the crisis, President Obama made an incredible mistake and appeared to be supporting the interests of Hugo Chávez. To this, it must be added that he announced, but was unable to achieve, immigration reform. Numerous experts believe that President Obama will not be able to get re-elected. If reason prevails, there will be positive changes in the United States. And their effects, inevitably, will arrive on our shores. So be it.

*Editor’s note: Two Republicans are currently fielding active campaigns against Mitt Romney: Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich.