Former Sen. Rick Santorum has drawn at least one conclusion about the Republican presidential primary field: Anybody but John McCain.

The Pennsylvania Republican, who signed a contract Thursday as a Fox News contributor, said he has spoken with every GOP candidate – except the senator from Arizona – but it’s still too early for him to endorse.

“The only one I wouldn’t support is McCain,” Santorum said during an interview in his office at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, where he is a senior fellow.

“I don’t agree with him on hardly any issues,’’ Santorum said. “I don’t think he has the temperament and leadership ability to move the country in the right direction.” ~The Politico

While this will no doubt undermine McCain’s appeal to the large (and, I’m sure, influential!) Venezuelan exile community, you would almost have to think that McCain has recruited Santorum to make a public statement in which he absolutely refuses to endorse him.  As the man who suffered what I believe was the largest margin of defeat of any incumbent Pennsylvania U.S. Senator ever (an 18 point margin) and someone whose “gathering storm” speech draws either groans or laughs from most people in this country, Santorum is not exactly the person whose endorsement a campaign manager bends over backwards to acquire.  Indeed, his endorsement might well be the beginning of the end for a struggling campaign.  The headlines would prove awkward at best: “Repudiated politician fears the rise of Venezuelan empire, supports McCain” ; “McCain, si! Chavez, no!” ; “One good warmonger deserves another,” and so on. 

Santorum’s repudiation, on the other hand, is something that McCain can hold up as proof of his electability.  It does hurt McCain’s vain attempt to win over Christian conservatives, many of whom still admire Santorum for his stands on social issues in spite of his wacky foreign policy views.  (It is worth noting that Santorum refuses to rule out Giuliani, who makes no pretense to being pro-life and whose temperament is, if anything, worse than McCain’s famous temper.)  There is always the danger that McCain can now be cast by his enemies as being “weak on Bolivia,” but I think that’s a risk he’ll be willing to take. 

On a separate note, it is interesting that Santorum doesn’t want to go into lobbying now that he is out of government.  Why?  One reason is that it isn’t his kind of thing, but there’s another:

Besides, he added, “I want to keep my political options open.”

That’s a good idea, Rick.  You don’t want to prematurely rule out all those opportunities for a political comeback that are just piling up for you.