Senator Rick Santorum unveiled a new campaign spot Friday in Iowa focusing on the Santorum family and the senator’s record of achievement as a champion of social conservative issues. It’s a pop-up ad and a little corny for my taste; but if the message is meant to be that Santorum is a family man, I think it is relatively effective. It also boasts snippets of praise from both Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin that can only help his campaign resonate with “values voters.”
As I’ve said many times through this primary process, I’m somewhat surprised that Santorum has yet to have a surge in the polls like the rest of the field. He’s far more polished than Bachmann and he’s exponentially more conservative than Romney or Gingrich. Maybe Iowa’s his window/opportunity. It better be. He’s wagered his whole campaign on a good showing there.
For what it’s worth – and I’m sure that’s very little – while I think the Palin/Huckabee blurbs will help him make the case in Iowa, I do believe it’s somewhat disappointing that Huckabee and Palin hinted that Santorum was the best candidate in the field, but stopped short of actually endorsing the guy. With either of them in his camp, his chances of winning Iowa would have increased dramatically. Caring very little for either conservative capitalist, I’m really not all that surprised that both played it safe. They’ve floated their names and tepid support out there – just in case he has a good showing; but have preserved their “good names” should he finish poorly out bow out of the race just after votes are being counted.
Mark my word. If Santorum has a top three finish, one of these opportunists will claim ownership in his candidacy and one of them will endorse him before South Carolina.
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