Morning line

Based on our moving average of polls:

• Obama in virtual tie with Santorum, Romney
• Santorum over Romney by 8
• Romney leads Santorum by 51 delegates
• Electoral count: Obama 196-94

Although the consensus among Democrats is that Santorum would be easy to beat and although he is benefiting from a disproportionate primary turnout of grouchy old white guys who think hate is a Christian virtue, his rapid rise and proximity in the popular vote is more than a little troublesome.

If you forget about the fact that much of what Santorum says is untrue, he says it in a style that is much more comfortable to the average American than Obama’s didactic and sententious approach. And since Santorum wouldn’t be where he is if facts matter, there is no guarantee that Obama would win in a debate.

Even the purported bright side – in which Santorum loses badly to Obama – would have a serious downside, namely the assumption  by Obama that he could now due precisely what he and his major campaign donors want, moving even further to the right than he is now. 

Finally, bear in mind that the level of political corruption in both parties is greater than at any time in our history. We are not choosing leader; we are choosing battlefields.