‘Electability’ Update: A Santorum Surprise
Santorum Only GOP Candidate Beating Obama, Rasmussen Daily Poll Finds
Just ahead of three more Republican nominating contests, a new poll — a snapshot in time — shows former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum leading President Barack Obama in a one-on-one matchup.
The Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll for one day only — Feb. 5. — marks the first time Santorum has held a lead over Obama in potential matchups.It’s a small lead for Santorum — 1 percentage point, giving him a 45-44 percent edge over Obama.
“This is the first time Santorum has ever led the president in any poll,” the Rasmussen poll said. “Several other GOP challengers have led the president a single time in the polls, including Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich. Each man briefly held the lead while they were surging in the polls, only to fall quickly. It remains to be seen what will happen to Santorum’s support.”
The same daily tracking poll finds Obama actually beating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP frontrunner, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Neither Obama nor the other GOP candidates gets a majority in any of the hypothetical matchups.
Well, well.
By the way, Michelle Malkin has endorsed Rick Santorum for the GOP nomination.
So do I.
So should everyone who evaluates his competition and understands all that is at stake.
I will support whomever the GOP nominee will be, all I ask is that my nose doesn’t bleed when I vote. In Virginia, my choices are Romney or Paul for the primary, of course my other choice is simply not to vote and stay home as a protest.
And what is in Santorum’s CV on executive experience? Ideology is just one factor in choosing a candidate but in the general election it is NO factor at all since moderates and independents will determine the outcome of any vote in November. This is why Gingrich would do well with them. Santorum in essence made the case for Gingrich by saying he was NOT the champion of the Right/Conservatives as he claimed.
IF you were to pitch to the moderates and independents regarding Santorum, what would appeal to them?
Not Obama? You gotta do better than that.
Competency? What’s his track record in the private sector and leading anything?
Foreign Policy?
Energy Policy? Domestic vs foreign balance of supply/production?
Job Creation? Can he articulate that government does not create net positive jobs but only the private sector can? Can he advocate the reduction of government interference in the economy to unshackle job creation via economic growth?
Housing Market? Can he forcefully answer the issue that jobs not government gimmicks of refinancing will turn the housing market around?
Environmental Policy? Will he roll back the EPA budget and rules back to 2007 levels? Can he make the case for cost analysis based rule making in the light that the US environmental protections are some of the most comprehensive in the world even back in 2007 with the result our environment was getting better incrementally while other nations did not?
Comment by dscott — February 7, 2012 @ 12:00 pm
All great points, and great questions.
Comment by TBlumer — February 7, 2012 @ 12:31 pm
Let’s hope ideology carries weight in the general election. Marxist versus non-Marxist: that choice is all about ideology.
Comment by Michael — February 8, 2012 @ 8:40 am