As Rivals Blast Romney, Santorum Offers Milder Criticism SOMERSWORTH, N.H. - Rick Santorum spent his final full day of campaigning in New Hampshire by soft-pedaling his criticism of Mitt Romney, who is ahead in the polls. While much of the Republican pack was blasting Mr. Romney as a heartless, leveraged buyout executive during his years at Bain Capital, Mr. Santorum declined to do so. Rather, Mr. Santorum repeated his milder criticism that Mr. Romney was not a true conservative. But Mr. Santorum did not mention his rival by name, giving rise to speculation that Mr. Santorum might be angling for the vice-presidential spot on a Romney ticket. At Mary Ann's Diner in Derry, N.H., Mr. Santorum was asked if he thought Mr. Romney was a conservative. I think he is on some issues, but we are looking for someone who can make a strong contrast, not someone who is maybe good on one or two issues. He said the party needed someone who could "energize the conservative base." Mr. Santorum appears to be running in the bottom half of the six-man field here, and his crowds are somewhat smaller than when he arrived in New Hampshire on Wednesday after losing in the Iowa caucuses to Mr. Romney by just eight votes. He spent much of the day lowering expectations for a strong finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. "I would be ecstatic with second place," he told reporters outside the diner. Oh my goodness. Look, Ron Paul has run here about 17 times. To do as well as him, I'm not sure that's possible, but if we do, it would be a huge win for us. He has not bought television time here because it was too late, but he has invested heavily in air time in South Carolina, where he appears to be a stronger contender. Over the weekend, Mr. Santorum had voiced concerns that Mr. Romney was a mere "manager" rather than an inspirational figure who would bring real change to the country. But by Monday, he had dialed it back, perhaps determining that there was little to be gained if he did more than try to cast him as a moderate, which is a long-running criticism of Mr. Romney. In Derry, when a reporter asked him whether he or Mr. Romney was more electable, Mr. Santorum said Mr. Romney had run three times and lost twice, adding, "He's run as a liberal, a moderate and a conservative." Later, at a town-hall-style meeting here in Somersworth, he went out of his way not to use Mr. Romney's name but said there was "someone in this race" who supported government-sponsored health care and someone who would be "an easy push-over for the next big liberal idea to get government control over your lives." He told a couple of hundred people crammed into an American Legion hall here that The Wall Street Journal had said that his economic plan was better than the one offered by the unnamed Mr. Romney, whom he alluded to by saying: "I'm trying to think of that guy's name, who's leading in the polls, that guy." He made another indirect reference to Mr. Romney when he told the crowd that he relied on what was in his heart and head to guide his campaign. He said he would not hire a pollster and in fact mocked the candidate who wanted to find "where the wind is blowing." By not criticizing Mr. Romney by name, Mr. Santorum denies Democrats a video to turn against Mr. Romney if he wins the nomination and picks Mr. Santorum as his running mate.