STAFF EDIT: Santorum out

Rick Santorum announced Tuesday that he was ending his race for the presidency, which came in the wake of daughter Bella Santorum’s weekend-long hospital stay. Bella Santorum was released from a Virginia hospital Monday after being treated for pneumonia.

But Santorum, speaking in his home state of Pennsylvania, did not say whether Bella’s hospitalization was a factor in his dropping out of the race. He did mention that his daughter was back home and seemed to be doing better.

Santorum also said his decision to end his presidential bid was made sometime over the weekend. Though the general consensus is that Santorum’s campaign lasted much longer than anyone had expected, his announcement Tuesday morning still came as a slight shock. The timing was quite unusual.

Looking back, Santorum’s campaign had been off to a shaky start. But he was making progress in recent months, showing particular strength in the South and Midwest where his conservative populism had caught on. Bella’s illness had certainly started to set him back some, though.

With Santorum out, the Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney can now pull full steam ahead. Earlier in the campaign, Romney had launched a number of negative ads attacking Santorum. Those funds and attention can now be diverted elsewhere.

Listening to Santorum’s speech, it is particularly interesting that he made no mention of Romney. Santorum did call Romney in the morning to inform him of his plans to suspend his campaign.

Santorum also told Romney he would continue to fight for a Republican candidate, although he did not have plans to endorse him immediately. Perhaps this speaks to the real differences between the two. Santorum’s staunch conservatism may be preventing him from immediately doing so.

Had Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign, the reaction may have been different. Many feel that Gingrich’s withdrawal is well overdue.