Willard wins by default

Rico says that November will bring the Republicans nothing but ignominious defeat at the hands of the Democrats. While it may be too early to sign the death certificate for the GOP, they're dropping like flies (see The New York Times website for details; they're limiting Rico's access, so you're on your own):

What Does Santorum's Future Hold?
Rick Santorum may have bought himself some good will with Republicans, but how can he cash in those chips?

Romney Turns Attention to Obama, Focusing on Women's Job Losses
Mitt Romney's turn toward the general election addressed one of his biggest vulnerabilities according to polls: a gender gap that shows women currently prefer President Obama by large margins.

Gingrich Says He's in Race to the End
Newt Gingrich is quick to end any speculation that he, like Rick Santorum, will suspend his campaign.

Still in it
Meanwhile, Ron Paul keeps campaigning...

Fortunately, Jeremy Roebuck and Amy Worden have an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Now it's Romney vs. Obama.
With that in mind and a bruising primary fight finally behind him, Mitt Romney bathed in the praise Tuesday night of a cheering crowd of Chester County Republicans; finally, their party's presidential nominee in all but name.
Hours earlier, Rick Santorum, the former Massachusetts governor's last significant GOP rival, suspended his campaign amid a family health crisis and a growing chorus of calls from party leaders for him to drop out of the race.
Santorum's decision, announced at an afternoon appearance in Gettysburg, cleared Romney's path to his party's nomination at its August convention in Tampa and set the stage for what is sure to be a rancorous general election showdown with President Obama.
"This has been quite a day for me," Romney told the gathered crowd at the Inn at Mendenhall in southern Chester County. "We'll have work to do ahead of us, but let's all enjoy tonight." His speech Tuesday night, in one of the suburban swing counties that were fiercely contested ground in 2008, also offered Republican faithful here a chance to partake in their candidate's victory lap.
"I knew this was coming at some point, but I didn't think it would come so soon," said Chester County GOP chair Val DiGiorgio, as he scrambled to accommodate an overflow crowd.
Santorum's exit came less than two weeks before his home state's April primary, a contest he had called a "must-win" for him.
With his wife, Karen, at his side, the former Pennsylvania senator announced his decision in the same room at the historic Gettysburg Hotel where, only three weeks earlier, he had pledged to soldier on after his defeat in the Illinois primary. Holding back tears, Santorum cited the hospitalization of his three-year-old daughter, Bella, and the uphill battle he faced at the polls, as factors in his decision. Bella, who suffers from a serious and rare genetic disorder, was in the hospital over the weekend with her parents at her side. Santorum said the good news was that she was able to come home Tuesday morning. "We made a decision over the weekend," he said, "that, while this presidential race for us is over, and we will suspend our campaign today, we are not done fighting."
Saying he had enabled "conservatives to have a voice" in the GOP nominating process, Santorum marveled at the unlikely nature of his campaign, in which he rose from a poorly financed candidate with little organizational support to become the strongest remaining challenger to Romney's well-funded run.
"Against all odds, we won eleven states, millions of voters, millions of votes," he said. "I realized if I felt and understood at a very deep level what you all were going through across America, that your voice could be heard and miracles could happen. And miracles did happen." He did not mention Romney, letting questions linger over whether he would endorse his onetime opponent, though he said the next goal was to defeat Obama.
Romney and his backers had poured millions into negative ads attacking Santorum in primary states like Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan, but had pulled back an attack ad in Pennsylvania only after learning Santorum's daughter had been hospitalized.
Striking a conciliatory tone, Romney's campaign released a statement acknowledging Santorum as "an able and worthy competitor."
But right away, attention shifted to November.
"It's no surprise that Mitt Romney finally was able to grind down his opponents under an avalanche of negative ads," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said. "But neither he nor his special-interest allies will be able to buy the presidency with their negative attack ads."
Obama's campaign has developed a big cash lead over Romney's, collecting more than $84 million by the end of February to the former governor's $7.2 million. And campaign advisers have long focused on Romney as their likeliest rival.
Both Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul pledged to stay in the Republican race Tuesday, but neither was considered much of a threat to Romney. Calling himself "the last conservative standing," Gingrich asked Santorum supporters to back him instead.
Even before Tuesday, Romney had been on a pace to claim the 1,444 delegates needed for the nomination. According to an Associated Press tally of the 32 states to have voted so far, his delegate count stands at 661, to Santorum's 285, with 136 for former House Speaker Gingrich and 51 for Texas Congressman Paul.
At his appearance in Mendenhall on Tuesday night, Romney paid his remaining GOP rivals no heed. Instead he ripped Obama's record on the economy, military spending, and health care. Mindful of his falling poll numbers with women, Romney told of recent discussions with struggling female business owners and attacked what he called a drift toward socialism under Obama. "The innovative spirit of the American people is still there," he said. "Yet these economic policies of this president are wearing it down. This administration has some explaining to do."
Throughout the primaries, conservative critics dogged Romney as too far to the middle (a "mushy moderate", Santorum called him) to rally his party's conservative base. His run still poses challenges for a GOP primed to attack Obama's federal health-care overhaul, a plan modeled in part on the one instituted under Romney's watch as Massachusetts governor.
Still, Santorum supporters across Pennsylvania said they want to oust Obama. "It will take a while for the enthusiasm to manifest itself in my spirit," said Colin Hanna, a former Chester County commissioner, conservative activist, and early Santorum backer. "But it will be there."
At Lancaster Bible College in Manheim, Pennsylvania, where Santorum appeared Tuesday night with evangelist leader James Dobson, several supporters lined up outside were surprised to learn their candidate had left the race. Asked if she could support Romney, Helen Sneder, 80, said simply: "I'll vote for him, if that's what's left to vote for."
But, in Gettysburg, Tim Bitler and Bryan Barth professed excitement that their party was finally coalescing. They had dashed over from their political science class at Gettysburg College on receiving a text from a friend that Santorum was speaking nearby. "It's pretty historic," Bitler explained. "As someone said, 'The GOP civil war ends at Gettysburg today.'"