Jonathan Bernstein watches the GOP presidential hopefuls attempt to out-pander each other:
[C]andidates are going to try to try to distinguish themselves on the basis of who expresses resentment the best, or who can show the greatest contempt for Barack Obama, or who is least afraid of what Tea Parties see as stifling liberal orthodoxy. That’s … the best way to understand Rick Santorum’s bizarre choice to campaign on George W. Bush’s rejected Social Security plan. It’s not that Santorum thinks that Republican primary voters really want to get rid of Social Security; it’s that he believes what they want is a candidate willing to be as radical as they think of themselves as being.
The Dish 