Having said that, for a guy who threw his hat in the ring less than a year ago, has been doing a great job getting his message out to those who will hear him. He hasn't pandered just to be able to speak to certain groups. It's a political risk, but one that has been paying off well for him so far.
Yes, it's his job to get his message out, but as the least funded candidate he has to be judicious about his ad buys, scheduled appearances etc. i don't recall where I saw the stat, so I can't cite the figures precisely but when you look at the $ to vote ratio of each of the candidates thus far, Rick is by far and away the leader. If that doesn't bespeak his ability to get his message out, or his ability to take advantage of the opportunities he's given, nothing does. Frankly, it tells me he's a better steward of his resources and can do more with less than any of the other candidates.
You missed my main point...he HAD the perfect opportunity FREE OF CHARGE...when the press was trying (and succeeded) to get him to talk about this moral position (not necessarily a wrong one but we all know the press will spin it in the worst possible way), he could have said, “Morality is very important and enforcing our obscenity laws is vital, but right now the majority of Americans are most concerned about the economy so here’s my plan...” See, THAT’S what makes him an amateur in my eyes. He lets them set the narrative. That shows a lack of communication skills. As I said before, the ability to communicate, especially when he has a chance to speak to a national audience about the key issue of this election, he blew it. Now, the press still would have hit the morality stuff but he also would have a chance to introduce himself and his economic plans to the country. IMO, this is pretty minor politics 101 stuff also part of the vetting process. He’s going to have tougher communication issues with world leaders. How will he handle that if he can’t handle the press?
I understand how easy it is to think your candidate is doing great because you’re focused on them and enthusiastically read everything you can. I was the same way with Palin & Cain. But if you view things objectively (from the point of view of someone who is relatively informed, as I said I read Santorum threads here, listen to the debates and occasionally listen to FOX or CNN) then you’ll understand what I’m trying to convey.
Cindie