I have found myself being increasingly impressed with his grasp of certain issues like the ones you just described, and how he weaves the interconnections between those issues.
People talk about how brilliant Newt is (which he is); Santorum is quite impressive, himself.
Gingrich is clearly a smart man who has learned a lot, and is politically astute, and communicates well. In my opinion, he is more a pragmatist or political opportunist than some will believe now that he’s their “conservative choice”, and he is more self-aggrandizing in his speech at times, while other times he is brilliant.
But Santorum has multiple college degrees, including a JD, and passed the bar, which is no small feat. He has been able to win more than a few political campaigns, he is well-spoken, very bright, and has clearly gotten into the depths of various issues.