Look, I love the guy, but I can't see how you can seriously make that claim. Santorum's appeal is limited to hard-core conservatives. Rougly 10% of the electorate. He is about as electable as Howard Dean.
And should he win Iowa, what then? Dean won there too. Santorum has put ALL of his effort there. He has done a townhall in every county. Romney is going to win NH regardless. Gingrich is safe in SC, and looks strong in FL.
Winning Iowa will delay the inevitable for a few weeks for Santorum. The best he can do is this election's Huckabee.
Santorum was repeatedly elected in a left-leaning industrial state until running into the "pro-life" scion and namesake of the sainted Gov. Casey in a Democrat landslide year. He has proven he can appeal to the white working class swing voters that turn Ohio-Wisconsin-Michigan-Pennsylvania.
Newt is an electoral disaster. He was one of the most unpopular figures in America when conservatives forced him out of the Speakership, and it won't take much to remind people why. He has never been elected to statewide office and has never demonstrated electoral appeal outside his district. Polling at 15% in Iowa and trailing Obama head-to-head is evidence of his potential, and not in a positive sense.
Romney is a good bet to win NH, but Gingrich was at 35% nationally a week ago and has fallen to 27% now (RCP avg) -- South Carolina is a full month away and his last 3 polls there are going the wrong way: 42 -> 38 -> 31.
A week is a lifetime in politics. Gingrich picked up a lot of Cain's support but now he's bleeding fast.
Rick Santorum won’t embarrass us to the extent the others will, as he carries much less baggage. He’s an attractive and articulate candidate, but many don’t see.