The Republican debates thus far have had the effect of damaging the Republican candidates and helping President Obama rise 5 percent in the polls. Sure, some of this is media bias in choosing and framing questions, but the candidates themselves have often treated one another the way they should be treating President Obama.
In the last South Carolina debate Thursday night, Rick Santorum had a large advantage — Romney and Gingrich had been damaged during the day by news about Bain Capital and an interview with an ex-wife. But Santorum chose the low road (attacks on Romney and Gingrich over health care and immigration) and pious statements on his record (which is vulnerable on earmarks, right-to-work, and past public support for Arlen Specter, who cast the deciding vote in the Senate for Obamacare). Santorum appeared pinch-faced and mean-spirited and is likely to gain little from Republicans who want to beat President Obama more than anything else. Is Santorum overly sensitive, as Ron Paul insists, or does he really believe the ticket to the nomination is bashing his fellow Republicans more than the incumbent, who has lost 2 million jobs since he became president?
— Burton Folsom is professor of history at Hillsdale College and co-author (with his wife Anita) of FDR Goes to War (Simon & Schuster, 2011).