“I thought we were going to see John McCain all over again,” said Brad Thor, a bestselling novelist and popular figure on the right who supported Santorum. “But you know what? That fire I’ve felt for previous candidates, I’m starting to feel it. And that surprise presser at Solyndra was like pouring accelerant on the fire.”…

“My God, this is right out of Breitbart’s playbook. I love it!” he said. “I swear to God, if he roller skates into the DNC convention, or hijacks an Obama press conference — if he does either one of those I’m going to give my kid’s college money to his Super PAC.”…

Romney aides, too, privately contrast their no-holds-barred approach to McCain apologizing for his party’s rowdy base in 2008. And for now — while swing voters go on vacation, and activists stay tuned in — the campaign is welcoming the comparison to a confrontational icon of the conservative movement.

Told that conservatives were comparing Romney’s tactics to Breitbart’s, one aide responded: “Oh great, that’s what we were going for.”