“I trust Santorum but can he beat Obama?”
Very doubtful. Perry could however.
Santorum’s rise was so sudden, and so late in the process, that he simply hasn’t been “vetted” yet, i.e., he hasn’t had to endure the anal exam that all of the previous front runners did. But he’ll still get vetted, in front of the S. Carolina primary, at which time he’s as likely to flame out as the rest were.
I agree with you on Perry. He’s got the ground game and the organization to keep gaining ground after his weak start, and he’s clearly a conservative choice, better than Gingrich or Paul. Santorum lost his last election badly, whereas Perry has always won in Texas.
The problem right now is that Iowa caucus goers have this “wanna go with a winner” mentality, which is leading to votes for Romney and Santorum. Romney can’t win enough GOP delegates to be nominated, and Santorum is unlikely to go the distance. Paul is unelectable, if for no other reason than his age (and there are plenty of other reasons besides) and Bachmann is likely to give up soon.
This will leave Gingrich and Perry fighting it out, and my money would be on Perry given his success at winning elections, his organization and money-raising ability, and his conservative message. At least that’s how I see it.