Santorum Surges ... But Is His Base Too Narrow?

According to the New York Times website yesterday (February 13, 2012), two polls -- including the Pew Poll -- show that Mitt Romney's commanding lead over Rick Santorum has dwindled to a slim margin ... among Tea Party patriots and white evangelicals. As Shakespeare would say, "Ay, there's the rub." Is that base of firmly committed conservatives enough to keep Santorum's presidential aspirations alive? That remains to be seen. The New York Times also suggests that Barack Obama would edge out either Romney or Santorum if an election were held today.

Meanwhile, also yesterday, CNN's Political Ticker contemplated a number of different scenarios as the Republican primaries and caucuses move forward to Super Tuesday and beyond. The site offers visitors the opportunity to experiment with allocating various combinations of delegates to the four candidates.

But, to quote a well-worn phrase, the only poll that counts is Election Day. And that's a long way off.