Santorum Shows Romney's Weak Point

Rick Santorum is winning nearly universal praise from conservatives on his debate performance last night, particularly for the way he went after Mitt Romney on the similarities between his health care overhaul and President Obama's. "We can't give this issue away in the election," said Santorum more than once. The GOP should take heed, writes Jeffrey H. Anderson in the Weekly Standard. It's clear Obama doesn't want to raise the volatile issue, so "if Republicans are going to have a mandate to repeal this unprecedented threat to liberty and fiscal solvency, they will have to bring it up—or, rather, their nominee will have to bring it up. And he will have to know why he opposes it—not merely that he does."

At the National Review Online, Robert Costa says Santorum's push on that issue—"a stark reminder of Romney's vulnerability"—and his rising above the Romney-Gingrich street fight, proved he was "the adult in the room." Unfortunately for Santorum, "it's probably not enough to win Tuesday’s primary, but as Iowa fades in the rearview mirror, it was necessary." (More Rick Santorum 2012 stories.)