Romney Finally Starting to Rack Up the Endorsements

They took their time, but high-profile Republicans are starting to fall in line behind Mitt Romney. Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, yesterday gave Romney his support, saying he fears "disaster" if the race leads to a floor fight at the Republican National Convention. Wisconsin's Rep. Paul Ryan—whose budget plan passed the House yesterday—called Rick Santorum's campaign to alert him to a pending endorsement of Romney, just a few days before his state's primary, Politico reports; Ryan made the endorsement official today on Fox & Friends, noting that "the more we drag it out, the harder it is to win in November."

Romney visited Houston yesterday to pick up the endorsement of George HW Bush. There's "time when to hold 'em, and time when to fold 'em," Bush said, quoting Kenny Rogers. "I think it's time for people to all get behind this good man." But the hat-trick of endorsements may not hasten the end of the race, according to CNN political analyst Gloria Borger. In the GOP, "the power now is with the grassroots," she says. Establishment "power brokers have been completely discredited because of the amount of deficit spending, for example, that occurs in Washington." (More George HW Bush stories.)