Re “Santorum Quits Race, Clearing a Path for Romney” (front page, April 11): Whether it’s Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich or Rick Perry, whether it’s packaged as a return to “values,” a call for “fiscal discipline,” or a restoring of America’s “place in the world,” it’s the same product under a recognizable Republican brand: merchandise that promises tax cuts for everyone, especially the rich; deregulation for business, belt-tightening for everyone else; and war or the threat of war all over the world. In other words, the Republican nominee, whoever he is, advocates a return to the policies of 2001 to 2008 that got us into the mess, one from which President Obama has been extracting the nation. All of these Republicans present a distorted picture of the president and his record of achievement against impossible odds these last three years. Republicans say this is a watershed election. It is; it will test whether Americans are paying attention, whether they can see that Republicans are offering their same old product, whether the label on the outside is “Romney” or “Santorum” or “generic Republican.” JOHN E. COLBERT
Chicago, April 11, 2012 To the Editor: The Republican Party can breathe a sigh of relief over the long-awaited exit from the presidential race of mean-spirited, short-tempered, sanctimonious Rick Santorum. I did not want to believe that the electorate at large would crown someone like Mr. Santorum to be the leader of the free world, but he came too close to achieving that goal for my comfort, demonstrating significant appeal to a certain swath of America that wishes to take us back in time and in the wrong direction on many issues. Mitt Romney is by no means a giant of the political world or a savior for our country, but he might be a “good enough” leader and one who can defeat President Obama. That would bury at least for the moment the president’s misguided, unsustainable, expensive vision for the nation, in which government and what it can do for us is the focus of our lives as the national debt continues to explode. With a giant thorn removed from the side of Mr. Romney through Mr. Santorum’s exit, there is opportunity for the G.O.P. to unite behind the leading vote-getter, assuming that the party can survive frequent Democratic replays of some of the disparaging comments that Mr. Santorum has made about the man who will be the Republican nominee. OREN M. SPIEGLER
Upper St. Clair, Pa., April 11, 2012 To the Editor: It’s a good thing that Rick Santorum dropped out of the Republican presidential race. He had no chance of winning and was doing more harm than good. Now Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul need to follow. There’s a better chance of reviving the woolly mammoth than their campaigns. MARK R. GODBURN
North Canaan, Conn., April 11, 2012
