Today, two more Republicans, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, have made announcements. Are they each running for president? Nope. Have they established "But I'm Going To" exploratory committees yet? Again, no. Did they signal that they're entertaining thoughtfully the idea of exploring a presidential bid? Yes.

Rick and Ron are now officially dipping their toes into the proverbial GOP pool. Both of them have established "testing the waters" committees, referring to financial accounts that allows them to lay the groundwork, and rake in fundraising dollars, before they deciding to form an exploratory committee. While a Ron Paul aide has at least given 50/50 odds that the libertarian folk-hero will announce a bona-fide bid by May, there doesn't appear to be any timetable as of yet for Santorum.

As CBS News concedes "a candidate who is merely 'testing the waters' cannot publicize an intent to campaign for president, raise excess funds or talk about himself as a candidate." So, yes, Rick and Ron have almost began officially considering being labeled potential presidential candidates.

Still, perhaps anything's better than whatever Donald Trump is doing to the election cycle.

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Erik Hayden