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Last night I watched the tape of the Rick Santorum – Bob Casey, Jr. Senate debate. I can’t find it anywhere on the web, but when you have a chance to catch it be sure to do so. It was almost without question the funniest political debate I’ve ever seen.
Santorum was articulate, aggressive and impressive. If he should lose in November, the strength of the campaign he has run in this annus horriblus should guarantee him a future in the party. I’m firmly a Romney guy and I’ve always been to Santorum’s left on some social issues, but if he winds up having a lot of time on his hands come next January, he might consider making some leisure trips to Iowa. Santorum has shown himself to be full of the qualities that many other high-level members of our party lack – guts, determination, commitment, and passion.
While Santorum was great, the real highlights of the debate came from Casey. I’m not exaggerating here – Casey came across as a unibrowed version of Chance the Gardener. If he had responded to a question on tax policy by telling the audience that for the garden to bloom in May it must lie fallow in February, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised.
The unquestioned high point of the debate came when Santorum defied Casey to identify the high ranking Iranian mullah muckety-muck that the state department recently (and idiotically) granted a visa to. Amazingly, Casey could not produce the name Khatami.
There’s an even more incredible aspect to that exchange that becomes apparent only when you really think about it. Santorum was so confident of Casey’s ignorance, he knew he could toss him an easy one like challenging him to identify Khatami and not worry about Casey showing him up by actually having a clue.
I've gotten a few letters saying that whenever I mention a candidate, I should provide a link to the candidate’s website so interested readers can do more reading or maybe even kick the guy a few bucks. Until now, I’ve never really felt the urge to do that. But click here to go to Rick Santorum’s website and give the man a hand.
While you’re there, check out Santorum’s closing statement from Thursday’s debate. At least one politician out there has the ability to inspire.
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