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Health & Fitness

Rick Santorum Is Tenacious, But Can He Win the Presidency?

If you bleed Republican, you can probably get comfortable with Rick. If you like winners, he may not be your guy – this time.

There is a lot to like about Rick Santorum. Probably one of the biggest attractions is that he is new to presidential politics. That's refreshing.

The guy is tenacious. Look at his Senate record, and you will see he has been in the middle of some major contentious legislation. He has shown the ability to stick to his positions and fight the good fight.

He sings all of the right songs, supporting the Second Amendment. He is against the Obama health care plan; he is pro life; and he wants to secure the border.

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If you are one of the majority of Republicans who just can't seem to settle in on a candidate, you might want to take a second look at Santorum. If you bleed Republican, you can probably get comfortable with Rick. If you like winners, he may not be your guy – this time.

Although his ground game is improving, Florida is going to be tough for Santorum. Can he beat Romney or Gingrich? Probably not. If he shows well in Florida, can he move up on the frontrunner? Probably not. Vice presidential material? Not if he keeps up the heavy attack on Romney.

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About all Santorum offers now is an establishment alternative. Your vote for him doesn't send much of a message to the frontrunners at this point; he is more of a stalking horse for Romney, keeping votes away from Gingrich.

Santorum is going to make a good showing in the presidential campaign, and should Romney or Gingrich be defeated by Obama, which I think is a strong possibility, Santorum may just be the next great Republican hope.

The road to the presidency is long one. Just ask Mitt Romney. While persistence may not always pay off, Santorum is learning about presidential politics, while on the front line, in the fire.

My guess is he will be back, and if the Republicans do not retake the White House in this election cycle, Santorum will be stronger than ever.

As the convention wraps up, Santorum may want to throw in some of those "I'll see you in 2016" comments.

To loosely paraphrase a line from Meatloaf: You can't run forever, but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start.

e-mail doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net.

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