That thought worries me.
Don't get me wrong - he seems a decent man (man in both senses of the word). But to put him in the top slot would be a mistake. That doesn't need a decent man. Jimmy Carter is a decent man. Look how well he fared. The rest of the recent and much more successful presidents have been hard nosed pragmatists.
In 2016 I will have a choice of the GOP nominee and the rat nominee. One of those 2 people will be the next President. It is almost a certainty that whoever the GOP picks will be the lesser of 2 evils. I'm all about the lesser of 2 evils. Heart attack or stub my toe...sorry toe. I don't understand why when people are given a choice, the less evil choice is hard. I'm just stupid that way.
Some times a decent man is the best you can get. You fight the battle with the army you have. I would love to believe my President was a decent man. It maybe there are no decent men in the halls of power. They are all sinners. I look for the least detestable of the lot. I could do a lot worse than Santorum. Ultimately I believe our primary process succeeds in picking the best available GOP candidate. I don't believe anyone had a better chance to beat Obama than Romney. We'll never know and ultimately my vote won't mean anything.
If I had to pick my personal favorite it would be Rand Paul. If I had to put money on a prediction it will be Rick Perry or Chris Christie.
When I read between the lines of what Santorum said above he's telling his GOP audience that voters carry a perception the GOP doesn't care about the worker. I think Santorum might not want to be the President who tells the guy who got downsized a year ago, "hurry up already! Quit milking the clock, slacker."
Here's how Reagan dealt with long term unemployment
Reagan's 1983 State of the Union.
http://reagan2020.us/speeches/state_of_the_union_1983.asp Shortly, I will submit to the Congress the Employment Act of 1983, designed to get at the special problems of the long-term unemployed, as well as young people trying to enter the job market. I'll propose extending unemployment benefits, including special incentives to employers who hire the long-term unemployed, providing programs for displaced workers, and helping federally funded and state-administered unemployment insurance programs provide workers with training and relocation assistance. Finally, our proposal will include new incentives for summer youth employment to help young people get a start in the job market.
Now me, I agree with conservatives. Having extended unemployment benefits reduces the number of productive workers. Like Santorum, I don't assume everyone shares my drive. Some voters might not see them as the parasites I see.
“We live in a bubble. We don’t realize what’s going on,” said the once and perhaps future presidential candidate who is now head of a movie studio based in Flower Mound that produces Christian entertainment. “How many of you watch prime time network television? I suspect none of you.”
We need to reach out to the non-ideological voter, and coming from the view that we applaud success can sound like we only care for the rich...That sounds pragmatic. But I'd expect that from a 2 term Senator from purple PA. I have no doubt Santorum could be elected in 2016 but can he win the primaries?
I wouldn't be shocked. In Oct of last year freshman Senator Ted Cruz and freshman Senator Mike Lee expected a grass roots uprising of conservatives to flood telephones and email and keep pressure on the GOP to stall Obamacare with a government shutdown and eventually force President Obama to give his blessing to killing Obamacare or drive enough Democrats to pass a VETO proof repeal.
It never came.
But ask Karl Rove about the power of the evangelicals in 2004. That's a voting block that Santorum can mobilize.