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Why not Santorum?



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So far Rick Santorum has been little more than a source of amusement in the GOP nomination race. But is he really any worse or any more ridiculous than the other anti-Romney candidates were?

Just consider for a moment just how low the bar is set. We have discovered that neither adultery (Gingrich and allegedly Cain) nor serial sexual harassment (again, allegedly Cain) is a disqualification by itself, it takes both to force a candidate out of the race. This is an electorate that cheers when a candidate boasts of the number of people he has executed. Santorum has said plenty of really stupid stuff but I haven't heard any Republican repudiating any of it.

Santorum is a hate-monger. But Gingrich and Paul have both pandered to the same prejudices. Mitt Romney spends so much time pandering that if he ever visits China the authorities will throw him in a cage and feed him bamboo shoots.

None of the commentators I have read think that Santorum is likely to beat Obama. But at this point Romney does not look a lot better. Republicans don't seem to think any better of him than Democrats.

Santorum would deliver social conservatives to the polls in November. He would not be a catastrophic nominee as Paul or Gingrich would be. That might be enough for the GOP to pick him. If the establishment can't get their candidate of choice, Santorum is the least worst alternative. This may be the reason that George Will has been talking him up.


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