Well, the good news is that for a change the best GOP candidate will likely emerge as the winner. Santorum is in his early 50's and is easily a better choice than Gingrich or Romney.
The question is, who will he choose as a running mate. I think he should maybe give Huckabee a second look. I know Huck kind of looks goofy with his silly little talk show, but on the whole, Huck is a decent candidate.
Its really too bad he didn't throw his hat in the ring this year after such a strong showing in the last GOP race.
In any event, I think maybe the writing is on the wall for Obama if Santorum wins. He is the only candidate who have give Barrack a run for his money.
First, these recent poll numbers and sudden emergence of Santorum could possibly be another flash in the pan from the non-Romney candidate. We have seen this with Gingrich, Perry, Cain, etc...
Super Tuesday will be the day we separate the men from the boys and get a clear picture on who the favorite is. Until then, Santorum is just the flavor of the week.
As far as a running mate for Santorum, well, you are putting the cart before the horse. Let us see if he actually has a chance before we anoint him the GOP winner and commence discussing his running mate.
And lastly, your comment about Santorum being the only one that can give Obama a run for his money could not be further from the truth. Quite the opposite, actually.
If you are a Republican, Santorum is the last person you want winning the GOP nomination. He is far too conservative to win over the Independents and moderates. He is just too extreme in his conservative views to have a chance against Obama.
Romney is without question the best chance the GOP has at defeating Obama. And even with him, I only give it a 35% chance at this moment in time. Santorum would be much less.
Obama won over 360 electorate votes in '08 against McCain. Romney would not fare too much better. He may limit Obama to the 340-350 range, but it would be similar.
Santorum, on the other hand, would get crushed due to his extreme conservative views and allow Obama to most likely receive 370+. Santorum just will not win over the Independents and moderates---and anyone that follows politics knows, those are who decides most elections.
The Republicans are in a pickle. Do they nominate the candidate they like (Santorum) or the one that has the best shot at Obama (Romney)?