Posted on 12/17/2011 10:09:46 PM PST by Lazlo in PA
In a presidential campaign marked by sharp rises and falls, Republican Rick Santorum has experienced neither.
“I’m counting on the people of Iowa to catch fire for me,” the former Pennsylvania senator, who described himself as a “strong conviction conservative,” said Thursday during a debate with his rivals. “Iowans are beginning to respond.”
His dogged courting of Iowans the old-fashioned way — campaigning in living rooms, coffee shops and town squares — may be starting to pay off and at just the right time, as Iowa’s Jan. 3 presidential caucuses approach.
“Rick Santorum is the best-kept secret in the campaign,” said Tom Clark, a West Des Moines Republican and one of about 150 people who came to hear the candidate at a suburban Des Moines restaurant this past week. Clark left the event as a Santorum supporter prepared to volunteer for him, despite this concern: “I just don’t know if he can win.”
That worry could be why Santorum remains near the back of the pack in national GOP surveys. He also trails former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul in Iowa even though he has been the most aggressive campaigner in the leadoff caucus state. He’s visited all 99 counties and held 350 campaign events.
Santorum acknowledges that not all gatherings have been as lively as the recent one at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
The Hawkeye Cauci is like a High School Cheerleader election on steroids.
Anything can happen, and it means almost nothing whatever does happen.
It’s only a little less weird than the impact it has on primary elections.
Don’t get me wrong...I’d be very pleased if Santorum could get the nomination...it just seems unlikely. Please God, let me be wrong here!
I live in liberal NY, but just this afternoon I heard a talk show host say that she was now seriously looking at Santorum, and minutes later a caller said about the same thing.
While this is not Iowa, I wonder if the “catch on fire” trend is going on in many states, including Iowa.
Be wary of FoxNews Watch wishful thinking. :)
It’s up to us, NOT them.
Was Sea Biscuit at longer than a hundred to one odds? That's what Intrade has Santorum as, for the nomination.
Not really. Rick is living in that state and has been for a year under the impression that a win there could catapult him. Perry is everywhere all the time which is also a strategy. The fact is that whoever gets SC is probably our nominee so that is where I would have focused. Perry spends a lot of time there. Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
Perry has a good chance in SC if Newt crashes and burns.
Myth will likely take new Hampster
If my fuzzy memory is right, didn’t Howard Dean have the winning bet in IA that cycle? Intrade is not infallible.
Self-immolation perhaps?
A number of Republican leaders have suggested that the best way to win back the White House is to call a truce on talking about social issues. Issues like abortion, marriage, school prayer, and immigration. In my book that’s not a truce…it’s a surrender!
Makes sense to me.
I think money is overrated, we have seen many well funded campaigns collapse because they had no support.
All this HYPE about Iowa. I remember, not so long ago, that many candidates skipped Iowa altogether because it was MEANINGLESS.
When was that?
Debates have hurt little ricky. He comes across as way too whiney, immature, and childish. He will never succeed nationwide.
When I opened Santorum’s web site, right up front, he shows he is pro-God and pro-life. He doesn’t try to bury it like some other politicians do, even pro-life ones.
Nobody has more integrity than Santorum.
The Iowa race never predicts the winner...it winnows the field. Endorsements to follow...
Santorum was the very first candidate I saw here in SC last April. He came to one of the county conventions and was the keynote speaker.
Santorum needs to run and lead as Governor before he has a chance at the White House.
He has little leadership experience.
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