Thanks for sharing your insomnia, Mike

I SEEM TO BE BUMPING into Ohio Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine's bonding with McRick Santorum no matter where I turn. Here's his pitch that appeared on USA Today's editorial page today, and you have to wonder...

"To be elected president, you have to do more than tear down your opponents. You have to give the American reason to vote for you - a reason to hope - a reason to believe that under your leadership, America will be better. Rick Santorum has done that. Sadly, Governor Romney has not. For some time now, it has been clear to me that Rick Santorum should be the Republican nominee for president. To be frank, I've had some sleepless nights. I could not, in good conscience, be on record endorsing Governor Romney when I knew in my heart that Rick Santorum was the better candidate."

You really ought to be getting more sleep, Mike. People are beginning to talk.

Mike DeWine: The line forms on the RIGHT

STOP THE PRESSES! Focus the TV cameras. Yep, that's Ohio Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine, a pol for all seasons, who endorsed Rick Santorum as they male-bonded in Columbus. DeWine, who had been a Romney man after being a Pawlenty man, decided it was time for a new winner's circle now that it's clear that the Tea Partiers have little use for McMitt. Besides, DeWine and Santorum have long shared their roles as custodians of The Faithful.

This will doubtless mean more for DeWine's ego than for Santorum's success or failure. Such out-of-the-blue (red?) but politically convenient conversions mean very little or anything on the morning-after. (Is DeWine aiming for a veep spot on the Santorum national ticket? Or maybe U.S. attorney general?)

You might ask Donald Trump about endorsements. 'Twas an odd moment when The Donald stood with McMitt before the cameras and tweaked Romney's candidacy with a magisterial endorsement. Today, Trump is puzzling over the numbers and muttering "I just don't understand it." (Not that he ever did.)

All of which is a reminder that DeWine had belabored his campaign promise to end Obamacare on the first morning he entered the AG office. That was in 2010, a nightmarish year for Democrats all-around when DeWine fluked out a win over one of the most competent fellows to rise in Ohio, Richard Cordray. If that sounds like an exaggeration, recall that the same Mike DeWine was, as an incumbent Republican senator, thrashed in a landslide by current Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2006.

Need more? Is it nothing more than a coincidence that DeWine's about-face occurred just before Santorum's appearance at the Summit County Republican Lincoln Day dinner Saturday night? DeWine will be on the dais with him and Mike's buddy, Alex Arshinkoff, who used to do errands for him in Northern Ohio. The icing on the after-dinner sweets will be doubly sugary.

If the sky is clear, you might even see a halo over the city.