Patrick Allitt

Elephant trap

The three leading Republican candidates for the US presidential race all look certain to fail

issue 07 January 2012

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.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in