Quickly:
Rick Santorum's newly discovered "electability" has us grinning ear-to-ear for the effect it's having on Mittens' chances. We know he's actually unelectable, but is the right about to have this "learned into them" too? Are we being set up for the Big Pivot To The Center that we know must be coming for Mitt sooner or later?
As I see it, all it would take is a "fresh look" at, and a media-backed pushback against, Rick's unpopular-with-the-mainstream Radical Christianist views and platform for Mitt to initiate the Big Pivot, even before the Republican primaries are locked up. Santorum is Mitt's last hurdle, there's no cannon-fodder left... I can't see another Non-Romney candidate who's ready for yet another round of the fifteen-days-of-fame-then-flame phenomenon (even knowing I've been fooled about how many times the phenomenon could possibly reoccur.)
If Wingnut Media starts to portray Santorum as a crazy radical, Mitt gets to A) differentiate himself as the "not crazy" candidate, and B) do so in a way that naturally leads to the Big Pivot, by heading away from the crazy and towards the mainstream.
It doesn't really matter to Republicans if he has to flip and flop a few more times... Discarding his "crazy" baggage will be seen as "a feature, not a bug" thanks to help from Wingnut Media.
It's happening now, folks... Be prepared for it.
8:50 AM PT: Insta-update: Another piece of evidence for the Big Pivot:
See the brand new dkos headliner, "Mitt Romney warns cutting federal spending will 'slow down the economy'"