Elephant trap

The Republican voters of Iowa could not make up their minds. Months of flirting with different candidates preceded their decision to give Rick Santorum a moment in the sun. Hardly able to believe his own good luck, he could not help knowing, even in the euphoria of his virtual dead heat with Mitt Romney for first place, that he too would probably sink back into the obscurity from which he had only just emerged. He told his astonished supporters, gathered in a ballroom in Johnston, Iowa, ‘I’ve survived the challenges so far by the daily grace that comes from God.’ Romney remains the presumptive Republican candidate, having won in Iowa by eight votes, but suddenly Santorum looks like the principal alternative.

Santorum, aged 53, a rich lawyer who represented Pennsylvania in the US Senate from 1992 to 2007, depicts himself as the pro-family candidate. The Catholic son of an Italian immigrant, he is attractive to fundamentalist Protestants because of his opposition to homosexuality and abortion, and his scepticism about the theory of evolution. He favours a militant foreign policy against Islamists and supports ‘enhanced interrogation’ techniques against suspected terrorists. American Muslim groups protested Santorum’s suggestion, in a November debate, that Muslims should be singled out for scrutiny at American airports. Gay rights activists have conducted a campaign of scurrilous abuse against him, while Hispanic groups resent his plans for a more vigorous blockade of the Mexican border against illegal immigrants.

A mere two weeks ago, Santorum’s tie with Mitt Romney and his victory over Ron Paul were unimaginable. Despite tireless campaigning in all of Iowa’s 99 counties, he stayed near the bottom of the popularity list. He admitted that one of the 380 ‘town hall’ meetings he conducted in the state last year was attended by only a single citizen. Why the sudden burst of popularity? When Newt Gingrich emerged in December as temporary favourite, mainstream Republicans began pouring money into anti-Newt TV commercials, denouncing him as a superannuated scoundrel.