Yesterday I argued that we don’t have the luxury of sitting on our hands in this election.

Iran is watching us, and if the message coming out of the election is that the country wants a Democrat-run foreign policy, Iran will know that it has a free hand to race toward nukes in the two years before the next presidential election. Tim Chapman’s piece today on the Santorum race bears this out.

Santorum has been trailing, but is now closing in on Casey. And according to Chapman, Santorum’s tough stance on Iran and national security is serving as his most powerful weapon. The Pennsylvania race is a microcosm of the election, a small indication of the larger domestic-international message that would emerge from Republican victory or defeat. Pennsylvania conservatives don’t have the luxury of sitting on their hands out of disappointment over Santorum’s past support of Specter. The result of that kind of behavior, multiplied on a national scale, would be a big green light to Iran. On the other hand, even a draw nationally, with folks like Santorum retaining their seats against expectations after taking a tough stand on foreign policy, would hugely strengthen the president’s hand in facing down Iran.