2012 republican presidential nominee III: can romney get santorum out of his hair?

His kids are all growed up now or something:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-waK_APFgTsk/TkbrAzzGCSI/AAAAAAAAIto/56p5FzqxLHA/s400/104.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e6rdqhtvRTM/Tj3d4DzWhVI/AAAAAAAAIoQ/NC5c3g6jlvI/s400/053.JPG

From this, which includes this:

“Our prayers are paying off,” said 13-year-old Sarah Maria Santorum, whose father soon emerged from the throng, stood on a chair and addressed the crowd. …

“Our prayers are paying off.”

Understand that I wasn’t “interviewing” Sarah Santorum. We were just talking, and I made some remark about how huge the crowd was, and then she just said that sentence clear out of the blue. It made such an impression that I immediately jotted it down on a scrap of paper.

Advanced Reporting Seminar, for you newbies: You get the best quotes when you just talk to people, instead of interrogating them in a confrontational manner. Be informal and friendly, put people at ease and listen to what they say. You’ll learn a lot more that way, whether you get a quote or not, and people will say real honest stuff rather than reciting talking points.

But my memory is shaky and I’m bad with names, so when I sat down to write my column – in the deli department of the Hy-Vee grocery story, which has free WiFi – I wanted to make sure I had Sarah’s name and age right. And when I Googled her name, one of the results was that picture at the top of this post.

Yeah, it’s her: The Santorum kid who gave me that quote was the same girl who cried so helplessly on national TV that night in 2006 during her dad’s concession speech. I’d forgotten all about that, until I saw the picture. Then I remembered how the video clip had been played over and over on the news, and also on late-night comedy shows while people mocked the way Sarah and her family cried. And I remembered my wife saying how bad she felt while watching that little girl, hugging her doll, and crying for the whole world to see.

Amazing that I’d talked to her without recognizing her – a poised and cheerful young lady — as that same little girl. But even more amazing, I think she’s exactly right when she says, “our prayers are paying off.”

As I write this, the folks on “Fox and Friends” are marveling at how Santorum went from single digits in the polls to being a serious contender in the space of just a few days. Say what you will, I call it a miracle.

Aw, bless. The hangover'll be amusing.

why is she not holding a doll w/matching red eagle santorum shirt, i am confuse

why is this child, the product of an immaculate conception, wearing mini shorts?

Chance of Ron (or Rick), generally Mitt.

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/iowa-weather-forecast-for-iowa-caucus-voting/

prays for sleet

Morbs, I'm sorry to say that, although the consequences of two near-identical corporatists "debating" for 10 months might be to completely delegitimize the Republicrat oligarchy, the more likely outcome is to just make most people so discouraged and unhappy that they give up and tune out politics entirely.

yes! and so it begins!

do you think it is likely that this will be a low-turnout election?

ELECT YOURSELF

(icey, I'm sorry I let you have it w/ both barrels, but enough w/ the username masquerades)

depends on the economy I think xp

lol no worries morbs

Let Herman Cain move you. Nationally.

lol

In Perry, Santorum gave his opinion that President Obama was more of a divisive figure than Richard Nixon, keeper of the enemies list: “I suspect President Nixon, although I don’t know, would talk and work with people and wouldn’t go out and demonize them as this president has done.”

Cain still claims he will endorse a candidate eventually — and in an “unconventional” manner in keeping with his “unconventional candidate” theme, to boot.

The mind reels at what this might entail.

http://www.newquaypeople.co.uk/images/localpeople/ugc-images/275722/Article/images/11027204/1825828.jpg

And yes--Nixon had a strict rule about demonizing his opponents.

do you think it is likely that this will be a low-turnout election?

Which sect is bigger, motivated haters of "the Kenyan socialist" or stayin-home 2008 Hopers whose fantasies were crushed?

Which sect is bigger, motivated haters of "the Kenyan socialist" or stayin-home 2008 Hopers whose fantasies were crushed?

in voting, positive motivations outweigh negative motivations every time, so 2008 Hopers for the win

uh, in this election they're BOTH negative, boss.

I would think that positively hating someone is a strong motivator...any chance you could take it over here for the next few hours, Morbius?

Indefinite Detention? But I Have Soccer Practice at 4: U.S. Politics 2012

no, I'm done. Enjoy your flea circus.

Hope, as they say, springs eternal. It's just another thing to drive you crzy.

uh, in this election they're BOTH negative, boss.

no. the people who want to vote for Obama will be more likely to vote than the people who want to vote against Obama. it's that simple.

ie you are vastly overestimating the number of 2008 Hopers whose fantasies have been crushed

I generally don't try to police threads. I just feel like tonight is about Rick Santorum's heroic struggle to keep black people off welfare.

interesting if true

xxp

I mean, keep slack purple off welfare.

yo, is the reason i can't just subscribe to jonathan chait's rss posts on ny mag but have to read that entire stupid blogs content bc they realize that if i could just subscribe to chait i wouldn't read the rest of the crap?

I like this:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/01/03/say-anything-to-take-us-out-of-this-gloom/

Especially the bits about how abortion is a subject using the same tactics and thinking that popped up during the satanic panic e.g. wild impossible unverifiable horrifying stories passed around by folks using them to backstop their own fucked belief systems, and no one is ever called on it.

Why I miss Herman Cain: he's on CNN tonight openly campaigning--not hinting, but listing his qualifications--for Secretary of Defense. Wild guess that Romney would pass.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Hmmm...better check your calendar, iatee.

haha yeah I know

nobody cheat and vote after tonight

I'm thinking the poll will be swarmed by Ron Paul supporters after midnight.

wish i could remember who i voted for

You closet WGPHF, you.

idk what that means, but i assume that's an acronym of what i called you on sandbox?

Yes--wild gossipy political horserace fiend. I must wear those words like a Scarlett Letter for the rest of my life.

oh plz. you're proud :)

It was "wild" that hurt my feelings. If you'd called me a judiciously gossipy political horserace fiend--a JGPHF--I'd have printed up business cards.

mordy i made a yahoo pipe rss thingy for chait

it is neither perfect nor particularly timely, but possibly better than nothing

(the one i tried to make for nabisco works less well)

ur objection is that your political gossip taste is more discriminating than the average gossipy political horserace fiend? fine, conceded. JGPHF it is.

xp thank u mookieproof!

I need to master the intricacies of emoticons.

_/\_\o/_/\_

Two witches and a bowling ball?

drowning in a shark-infested lake?

dingdingding ^^

Can you make it one of those little dancing gifs, with the Jaws theme overtop? That'd be cool.

Honestly, this is riveting. There's a lady in a green sweater counting out little green pieces of paper--"68, 69, 70, 71, 72"--and the CNN reporter explains what's happening: "She's finished counting, Wolf: 72."

It's almost cute:

Tagg Romney 08:58 PM ET
Just spoke in urbandale for my dad. Lots of support, felt great. Very different feel vs 2008!

Griffin Perry 08:58 PM ET
Just finished my caucus in Ankeny, IA. Lots of support and spoke between Paul and Thune. Hope I made @GovernorPerry proud!! Love you dad!

Your names are Tagg and Griffin, and the latter of you is not Griffin Dunne. Get fucked. (With each other, then see what happens.)

everyone get ready to google ron paul ive got a good feeling!