Yes, Mitt Romney is pretty boring, but is Rick Santorum really in a position to be throwing punches like this? He only caught on with voters after they’d exhausted every other possible option, and could barely draw a crowd a few months ago. But it sounds like Santorum’s chalking up his newfound popularity to his own personal charisma, according to an email blast his campaign sent out earlier today:
No more sitting on the sidelines. Now is the time to act or get stuck with a bland, boring, career politician who will lose to Barack Obama. Tomorrow will be too late. Will you unite with me, merge conservative support, and help us hold our banner high?
What’s so bad about bland? Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich were exciting, but they lacked any substance to back it up. The boring Santorum was great. He was serious and impressive at the debates, and best of all, he wasn’t gimmicky. He had an honesty to him that was refreshing.
George Will made the argument earlier this week that Santorum is the “fun” candidate, the one who will energize the Republican masses. Santorum’s campaign now seems to be running with that narrative, and you can’t exactly blame them – it’s quite a compliment. But Santorum should also remember what he told an Iowa audience just one month ago, back when he embraced his boring side:
“I’m confident that when [voters] do [take a second look at me], they’ll find one person who — maybe I’m not the flashiest person, I may be a little boring when it comes to, because I’m consistent,” he said. “My record isn’t Swiss cheese. I mean it’s solid, it’s a solid block of cheese.”
Santorum insisted he’s just the kind of boring Iowa likes.
“I’ve been married 21 years, got seven kids. Go home to my wife and kids at night and, you know, coach Little League. There’s not a lot of bling,” he said. “But we’re conservative, we’re consistent, we’ve led with principle, we’ve gotten things done and I’m fairly confident now that I’ve spent a lot of time in Iowa that’s what people want.”
Santorum isn’t flashy. And that’s fine. He won’t convince voters otherwise, and he’s better off focusing on the strengths he’s displayed through the race: consistency, strong values, and seriousness.
