Gingrich-Santorum ‘unity ticket’ failed because both men wanted to be president

A joint plan from former Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to topple frontrunner Mitt Romney through a “unity ticket” failed because the pair couldn’t agree on who would get to be president.

This new report on the Republican dream team that never was comes from national correspondent Joshua Green at Bloomberg Businessweek. Green quotes Gingrich supporter Bob Walker, who says: “We were close. Everybody thought there was an opportunity.”

The master plan reportedly flopped right before the Michigan primary, at a time when Romney was struggling for the win and his hold on the lead looked iffy. Alas, Gingrich and Santorum couldn’t agree on their plan to consolidate conservative support and Romney went on to win Michigan and, eventually, the presidential nomination before being defeated by President Barack Obama.

Gingrich, the candidate seen as having less overall support, was the one to ultimately pull the plug, Santorum tells Green in an interview: “I was disappointed when Speaker Gingrich ultimately decided against this idea, because it could have changed the outcome of the primary. And more importantly, it could have changed the outcome of the general election.”

Maybe Gingrich and Santroum can sort out their differences in time for the 2016 presidential election. But, if they’re going to make a run for it, they’d better get it sorted early. It looks like Hillary Clinton could be a strong adversary.