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The Spectacle Blog
Quin Hillyer argues that Rick Santorum shouldn’t be thought of as a fringe player in the GOP presidential race.
Well, if Santorum hadn’t had his clock cleaned by Bob Casey, Jr. in 2006 then he most certainly wouldn’t be. But when you lose a Senate race by nearly 20 points it’s a long way back up. It’s an even longer way back up when you aspire to the top job in the land.
Don’t get me wrong. Santorum is a smart cookie. I even thought it would be a good idea for Rudy Giuliani to pick Santorum to be his running mate in an effort to win over social conservatives. For her part, Liz Mair (who has contributed articles to TAS in the past) called it a “monumentally stupid idea.”
The biggest problem Santorum has is not his intellect but his attitude. He comes across with a disposition that is sullen and abrasive. It isn’t to say that President Obama isn’t plenty disagreeable but Santorum turns unpleasantness into an art form as he did with Sarah Palin before CPAC last February. This isn’t to say unpleasantness cannot be an asset. Indeed, those qualities could be put to good use, say, as our Ambassador to the United Nations. But as President of the United States? Well, it’s up to voters in the Republican caucuses and primaries. But he doesn’t have my vote.
View all comments (11) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/06/07/thoughts-on-santorum
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wodiej| 6.7.11 @ 5:49AM
No executive experience. Never ran a business. Nothing to vote for. Next.
buckeyeman| 6.7.11 @ 7:15AM
I liked what I heard about Gary Johnson until I saw him on the debate. He was just loony. Santorum is conservative but I echo the feeling of him seeming "sullen and abrasive". Most of them need to fire their speech coaches. Pawlenty looked like he had borrowed Obamas teleprompter which had been reprogrammed to tell him which unnatural position he should put his hands in. 308 million people and this is all we can come up with?
Tyler | 6.7.11 @ 10:47AM
What was loony about Gary Johnson in the Fox News debate?
Sandy| 6.7.11 @ 7:47AM
Here we go again with the Santorum lost his 06 race gig. Yes he did, and the reasons for his losing should be examined, not just spouting he was a loser. He campaigned on the Iraq war surge, which we did pretty well with didn't we. He also campaigned on privatizing SS, which Bush was trying to do. Bad policies, I think not. It was also the year that the Democrats took over by shouting their anti-war slogans. The same thing happened to him over his SS position as Ryan is suffering from the Liberals now over his Medicare reform. At least give the guy credit for sticking with his principles, even when they weren't popular.
I favor Cain or Santorum, but Santorum's national security/foreign policy bona fides are superior. Cain/Santorum.
W| 6.7.11 @ 10:21AM
Casey's father, Bob Casey, former governor of Pa, was very popular in Pa. He was a social conservative, opposed abortion, and was barred from speaking at the Democratic convention. In Pa registered dems outnumber republicans by over one million.
Many voters thought Casey was like his father and voted for him. If the choice is between a social consevative dem and a social conservative republican, in Pa, the dem will win. In addition, Bush was highly unpopular in 2006 and the election was also a vote against Bush.
Santorum would be a good VP for Romney, He will attack Obama and will beat Biden in the debates.
somnolence| 6.7.11 @ 8:14AM
My only four choices are: (1)Palin (2) Bachmann (3)Cain (4) Santorum
kingsmill| 6.7.11 @ 8:32AM
On paper Santorum outshines the pack. He has problems coming across.
Tyler | 6.7.11 @ 10:48AM
Santorum is a lock to win the GOP nomination and here's why: he's white, male, Christian, and he never supported Cap and Trade or socialized medicine.
Seek| 6.7.11 @ 11:55AM
Rick Santorum can't even win the hearts and minds of Pennsylvanians. How do you expect him to win over all of America? As for his being Christian, that shouldn't be an issue. Religion and state should be kept separate for the benefit of both, as Madison explicitly argued.
Quartermaster| 6.7.11 @ 7:05PM
The moral system that informs a man's actions are a good thing to look at. We can see what ignoring them does with Clinton and the Obamanation.
It is interesting to note that the Christianity issue came up with both Clinton and Obama. In both cases we saw men who were, at best, inconsistent Christians. In fact, I submit, both use it as a cover for their immorality and anti-americanism.
Also I think you need to look at Madison's writings on the issue. Like so many, you are taking the man out of context.
Quin| 6.7.11 @ 3:56PM
Jeesh, Aaron, EVERY analyst with even half a lick of sense realized, and wrote, that there was NO nastiness from Santorum towards Palin in that comment. Look at it in context, and it was a perfectly reasonable thing to say, not at all snarky, and even Palin fans recognized as much. Go to NRO back then and see agreement all around, once the full video clip came out.