At a pivotal point in last year's presidential primary season, Republicans Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum almost formed a unity ticket, a dramatic move that could have upended the Romney campaign and changed the course of history.

So what stopped it? You guessed it:

The negotiations collapsed in acrimony because Gingrich and Santorum could not agree on who would get to be president...

I don't doubt that there are principled people in politics who genuinely believe in the policies they promote, and who enter the profession convinced that they are the candidate who can best make a positive impact on the lives of their constituents. But whatever their intentions, only a narcissist (or, I suppose, an idiot) could convince oneself of such things. I don't mean this in a judgmental way, but profound narcissism is prerequisite for the profession.