Former rivals Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney have put aside their differences, as Santorum tonight officially endorsed Romney in an email to his supporters.

Santorum had been waiting on a meeting with Romney before he was willing to give his endorsement. It sounds like the one hour they spent together in Pittsburgh was enough to convince him, as he explained in the email.

The family and its foundational role in America's economic success, a central point of our campaign, was discussed at length. I was impressed with the Governor's deep understanding of this connection and his commitment to economic policies that preserve and strengthen families. He clearly understands that having pro-family initiatives are not only the morally and economically right thing to do, but that the family is the basic building block of our society and must be preserved.

Ah, yes, the decline of the American family. I keep forgetting that's the real problem with this country. So glad Santorum has decided to weigh in again.

Apparently they also discussed the economy, which is kind of integral to this presidential election.

At this point, Santorum's endorsement was inevitable, but it still feels good to get it out of the way. And now we can all go back to only using "santorum" in its intended context.

[Image via AP]