The “undercard debate” has thus far been seen as the place where the various has-beens and also-rans have been jockeying for the Vice Presidential spot on the ticket of the eventual nominee because they cannot let go of their ambition. With Trump pulling his little “town hall” stunt because he cannot handle Megyn Kelly, we have a new outlet for these desperate attention seekers. Reports have it that Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee will be attending this event. From the Washington Post:

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former senator of Pennsylvania Rick Santorum will attend a pro-veterans rally hosted by fellow GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday evening, an event the billionaire real estate mogul organized to counterprogram the seventh GOP debate hosted by Fox News.

Huckabee will attend the event after participating in Thursday night’s “undercard” debate, according to one of his campaign advisers. A Santorum adviser confirmed the former senator’s appearance.

It’s really hard to see this as anything but begging Trump to pick them as his Vice President. What’s even worse is that they are not skipping the undercard for this, they are doing both. They are trying to make sure they get their faces in front of as many people as possible, and it shows.

It’s like New York Magazine said last year: they’re auditioning for the same part. It’s bad enough that we have to listen to them on a debate stage when their previous Presidential campaigns showed exactly why they haven’t been able to make themselves legitimate contenders for the job (and this is saying nothing about Rick Santorum’s shellacking at the hands of Bob Casey in 2006). Now, they are so desperate to find their way into the White House that they are kissing up to Trump in hopes that they can at least get to the Naval Observatory.

Santorum and Huckabee are, as far as I can tell, good, Christian people in their private lives, but the lure of power and politics has distorted them so much that they are reduced to begging a narcissistic billionaire who doesn’t think he’s sinned and cannot name his favorite book of the Bible for a spot as Vice President. They might not be down on their knees, but this is the political campaign equivalent of it. It’s a disgrace to watch.

What’s especially important here on a personal level for me is that Trump’s choice of a good Vice President is about the only way I can conceive of truly committing to vote for him. Neither Santorum nor Huckabee’s resumes scream small government conservative. They have the social principles down, to be sure, but neither of them is known as someone who will commit to fighting to reduce the size of government, especially Huckabee. In that respect, I suppose they are not much different from Trump, except his commitment to pro-life principles is suspect at best.

To make a long story very short for Santorum and Huckabee: if you’re reduced to assuaging Trump’s ego in such a naked fashion to angle for the Vice Presidential nod, then perhaps it’s time to take a long look in the mirror and drop out of the race.