Rick Santorum: As Electable As George Wallace

On the other hand, Jonathan Chait makes an argument that, though “electability” is notionally Mitt Romney’s greatest strength, there’s reason to suppose he’s no more electable than Rick Santorum. It’s true that Santorum, as yet unpummelled on the national stage, can conceivably reach downscale voters for whom Romney’s Bain Capital background is a significant problem. As Chait puts it:

As hard a time as Santorum would have closing the sale among certain moderate quarters, I don’t think it’s sunk in quite how poisoned Romney’s image has become among downscale voters. Coverage of Romney’s wealth, corporate history, and partially released tax situation coincided with, and almost certainly caused, a collapse in his support with white voters with income under $50,000. Republicans have enjoyed great success attracting downscale whites in recent years, but that success has hinged in part on things like not nominating standard-bearers who epitomize everything blue-collar whites distrust about their party.