The American Spectator

Pat Buchanan writes about the five things Rick Santorum is betting on in his “immense gamble” on the culture war:

First, he is wagering that by emphasizing his moral, social and cultural conservatism, he can trump Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital job-creator card.

Second, he is wagering that Obama, with his latest attempt to impose secular values on Catholic institutions, can be portrayed as possessed of an “overt hostility to faith in America.”

Third, he is wagering that he has the rhetorical and political skills to make this case to the nation through the prism of a hostile media.

Fourth, he is betting that these issues are also the concern of a plurality of Americans in a country far different from the one he grew up in.

Finally, Santorum is betting that Americans still believe this is God’s country, that America’s laws should reflect his Law, and that they will elevate to the presidency a man who presents himself as the instrument to carry out God’s will.

I’d add that he is betting on all those things during an election that would otherwise be a referendum on the economy and Barack Obama’s presidency.