This is Romney probing for a weak spot. Even though Santorum may not be the best known candidate, he has a rock solid image of being a social conservative and boy scout. That makes it very difficult for Romney to attack. He spends millions trashing Santorum but it only gets him a win by the skin of his teeth.
That is completely the opposite situation with Newt. The millions he spent, combined with Newt’s baggage, took Newt down until he could be managed and Romney could count on a win whenever he spent the money. With Santorum it’s flip a coin. He could spend and spend and still not be sure of a win. So he has to attack people’s perception of him first. Romney tries to tear people down to make himself look better in comparison. He’s done that to Newt. He tried to do it to Ronald Reagan. It looks like he’ll keep trying with Santorum.
But there is a danger to doing that. People know that Romney spends and spends trashing people so they tend to discount it now. Plus, social conservatives have no love for Romney’s liberal past but he needs them to vote for him. If he is seen as trashing someone who is a known champion for social conservative causes, that, along with his anti-social conservative past, will keep him from ever having their vote.
Here in Pennsylvania I had the honor of voting for Santorum for senator three times. In this area (Philly Democrat news media) you could tell how conservative (and effective) Santorum was by the spitting hatred the liberals had for him.
Your post is intuitive, well written!
People say that “cash is king”. Well, cash is broadcasting king. It amplifies your speech, but you darn well better have something compelling to say.