Just how did Saintly Rick manage to get a last minute popularity boots?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Title.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Because Iowa.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Iowa made him a flavor of the month at the last minute. But why did they do that?

[Simfan34]

What?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Well they are some nice boots...

[ilikeverin]

If Gingrich is the new non-Romney of the month then the only two non-Romney's who haven't taken that mantle yet have been Santorum and Huntsman.

I bet Santorum is next.

IT WAS ME I DID IT

[minionofmidas]

All the legit choices had self-destructed (though Gingrich's collapse started a day too late for Santorum to win this). It was that or staying at home.

[Bull Moose Base]

1.  Romney and Paul destroyed Gingrich creating a vacuum for a Nonmey/Libertarinon conservative.  I was desperately trying to convince Phil Newt was cauc-blocking Santorum and needed to be destroyed but I couldn't get through to him.

is it time to turn to Newt? Perry decided to abandon his campaign tonight and Cain seems a little preoccupied these days. While I'd love to see Santorum step into the role of the "Anti Romney," Newt seems far better positioned to do so.

I can't believe it's happening but I might just have to support the guy.

I'm surprised you would turn to Newt, Phil. Santorum is at least honest. Newt, not so much. He promised us paradise before.

Seriously.  What kind of a reaction is that from Santorum's remaining supporter when Perry and Cain look to be imploding in parallel?  How hard can it be to destroy Gingrich to leave one less alternative to Santorum?  I'm surprised Santorum held his fire on Gingrich last night.

2. Santorum agreed to Vander Plaats possibly illegal asking price for his endorsement, which did not too much but was enough to break a deadlock among an Evangelical demographic, in a state that is only 1 of 2 in the US never elected a woman to congress or governor.  Santorum was also praised but not endorsed by Palin, Steve King, etc.

3. The media promoted him by asking in self-fulfilling speculation if Santorum would be the next to surge.  Drudge gave him publicity in the form of a front page story about nothing at all.

4.  This (or a fluke) (or Sarah Maria's prayers) were enough to boost him up by a point or two over a collapsing Gingrich in a CNN poll which, as PPP pointed out, inaccurately only measured Republicans.

5. The poll got a ton of press from a media desperate for a new twist and fell on the same day Michele Bachmann's Iowa director jumped ship to Ron Paul, setting the stage for her support to defect not to Paul but to Santorum.

He surged too close to Iowa to be stopped.

*To be honest, Santorum laying off Newt ends up being a pretty smart move.  He doesn't burn a bridge while Romney did the dirty work for him. Now Newt is praising Santorum and hellbent on revenge on Romney.  Which is going to be hilarious to watch.

[TheGlobalizer]

1.  Romney and Paul destroyed Gingrich creating a vacuum for a Nonmey/Libertarinon conservative.  I was desperately trying to convince Phil Newt was cauc-blocking Santorum and needed to be destroyed but I couldn't get through to him.

is it time to turn to Newt? Perry decided to abandon his campaign tonight and Cain seems a little preoccupied these days. While I'd love to see Santorum step into the role of the "Anti Romney," Newt seems far better positioned to do so.

I can't believe it's happening but I might just have to support the guy.

I'm surprised you would turn to Newt, Phil. Santorum is at least honest. Newt, not so much. He promised us paradise before.

Seriously.  What kind of a reaction is that from Santorum's remaining supporter when Perry and Cain look to be imploding in parallel?  How hard can it be to destroy Gingrich to leave one less alternative to Santorum?  I'm surprised Santorum held his fire on Gingrich last night.

2. Santorum agreed to Vander Plaats possibly illegal asking price for his endorsement, which did not too much but was enough to break a deadlock among an Evangelical demographic, in a state that is only 1 of 2 in the US never elected a woman to congress or governor.  Santorum was also praised but not endorsed by Palin, Steve King, etc.

3. The media promoted him by asking in self-fulfilling speculation if Santorum would be the next to surge.  Drudge gave him publicity in the form of a front page story about nothing at all.

4.  This (or a fluke) (or Sarah Maria's prayers) were enough to boost him up by a point or two over a collapsing Gingrich in a CNN poll which, as PPP pointed out, inaccurately only measured Republicans.

5. The poll got a ton of press from a media desperate for a new twist and fell on the same day Michele Bachmann's Iowa director jumped ship to Ron Paul, setting the stage for her support to defect not to Paul but to Santorum.

He surged too close to Iowa to be stopped.

/thread

[tpfkaw]

The so-called Santorum "surge" was totally engineered media astroturf, with a side of electioneering.

Here is the crowd that Santorum drew on Dec. 31: http://twitter.com/#!/evanmc_s/status/153210263900930049/photo/1

Meanwhile, Paul and even Romney drew crowds of hundreds wherever they went, while even Perry drew larger crowds than Santorum even at the end.

[RosettaStoned]

 Evangelical Christian Pastors helped Santorum immensely.

[Ty440]

1.  Romney and Paul destroyed Gingrich creating a vacuum for a Nonmey/Libertarinon conservative.  I was desperately trying to convince Phil Newt was cauc-blocking Santorum and needed to be destroyed but I couldn't get through to him.

I literally LOL'ed.................nice

[TJ in Oregon]

It seems like this all happened because some guy from an obscure Dutch Reformed group in Sioux County, Iowa named Van der Plaats decided he liked Rick Santorum. Isn't it crazy how much power some random guy you've never heard of before has?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

IMO, the surge was completely media manufactured. Not sure if it was intentional or not. Yes, I am bitter, Phil, but I legitimately believe this.

[anvi]

Of course, Santorum's last-minute surge was a certain combination of skill (he basically pitched a tent in Iowa for the entirety of the last year--literally) and chance (last anti-Romney standing, media buzz, ect).  But, I also think there is a more benign reason mixed in with all this that really played into Iowa voter psychology, and may be Santorum's greatest strength going forward. 

Say what you want about his policy positions and ideological commitments -- but Santorum comes across as, and most likely is, a very sincere fellow.  What you see is what you get with Santorum (maybe we should call him the WYSIWYG candidate).  And that makes for a very powerful contrast with Romney, who is practically the archetype of the calculating, say-whatever-it-takes-to-please-'em-whether-you-believe-it-or-not politician.  So long as they happen to agree with some or most of his central policies and religious or moral values, that kind of sincerity can be powerfully appealing to voters, and, I'd even hazard to say, quite understandably and even rightly so.  Santorum is, when you think about it, the best anti-Romney flavor of the month for conservatives of the lot--he comes without Gingrich's baggage and Perry's, Cain's and Bachman's respective incompetence and zaniness. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think any of this means Santorum has enough resources or support to win the nomination, especially in most of the pre-Super Tuesday contests.  I also think, as we speak, that the Romney super-pac is combing through its opposition file to craft devastating ads against Santorum in the remaining January states.  But, regardless of the content of his or their convictions, voters like sincerity, and they find it in Santorum.     

[TheGlobalizer]

Hitler was a pretty sincere fellow.