‘Top Line’: What Romney is thinking

If we could peer into Mitt Romney's brain, what would we see? What is he thinking? And what would he be saying if he could be totally honest?

That's what ABC News Political Director Amy Walter and Yahoo News Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian chewed over Wednesday on Top Line. Amy says the first thing Romney must be thinking is, "Santorum? Seriously?!"

Rick Santorum lost his last Senate race by a huge margin and Romney is clobbering him on fundraising by even bigger margins now. Yet, according to recent polls, Santorum is now leading or at least tied with Romney. How did this happen, Romney must be wondering? And what can be done to stop it? As Santorum connects with Republican base voters on many key values where Romney is struggling, the Romney campaign faces a huge challenge.

Another thought surely swirling in Mitt Romney's head this week has to be, "I'll just let the tea party pick my VP." David believes Mitt Romney is thinking that he has to figure out a way to convince the conservative base to get fired up for the general election and that he won't disappoint them if he makes it to the Oval Office. Perhaps the Number Two slot on the ticket is an enticement.

And finally — the one thing you just have to assume Mitt Romney is thinking when he sees the "Dogs Against Romney" signs outside the Westminster Dog Show this week, or any time he picks up a Gail Collins column in the New York Times — is "why didn't we just get a cat?"

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