Rick Santorum’s victories on Feb. 7 kicked off a month-long trial period, which will be capped by Super Tuesday on March 6, to convince Republican voters that he is not only the best conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, but also a viable general-election candidate. Midway through Santorum’s moment, it’s tough to tell if he’s thriving or blowing it. Ignore for a moment the polls, which have been a lagging indicator throughout the volatile nominating fight. To position himself as a credible threat to Barack Obama, Santorum had use the spotlight afforded by his three-state sweep on two weeks ago to demonstrate the breadth of his appeal. “He’s been so visible on social issues that sometimes it overshadows the fiscal conservative record that he has,” Santorum strategist John Brabender told me last week. Santorum likes to describe himself as a “full-spectrum conservative,” and aides suggested now was the time for Santorum to showcase his fluency on issues beyond gay marriage and abortion. He would spend time talking about his plan to spark the Rust Belt’s industrial engines by eliminating taxes on manufacturing; his hawkish foreign policy, an area where Romney has little experience; and the perils of nominating a governor who backed TARP and crafted the antecedent to Obama’s health-care overhaul. (MORE: The Saga of Rick Santorum’s Second Surge) Most importantly, he would stack his carefully cultivated everyman persona against Romney’s executive mien. “We need someone who understands, who comes from the coal fields, who comes from the steel mills, who understands what average working people in America need to be able to provide for themselves and their families,” Santorum said Monday in eastern Ohio. Never mind that Santorum is a trained lawyer who spent 16 years in Congress before become a high-flying consultant, and has never worked a day in either blue-collar idyll. The truth of the statement was less important than the empathy it was meant to convey. But instead of selling this story, Santorum has spent several critical days trying to put out fires of his own making. Over![]()
