WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – It’s not like we were doubting the Santorum surge, but Public Policy Polling has chirped up with more free proof. The toplines:
Ron Paul - 20% (-4)
Mitt Romney - 19% (-1)
Rick Santorum - 18% (+8)
Newt Gingrich - 14% (+1)
Rick Perry - 10% (+0)
Michele Bachmann - 8% (-3)
Jon Huntsman - 4% (+0)
Buddy Roemer - 2% (+0)
Ron Paul’s favorable rating is down, which I read as a combination of two things – criticism of his foreign policy, and voter agita about Kent Sorenson’s switch from Team Bachmann to Team Paul. She spent a day whining and accusing Paul of offering a kickback (yes, why else would someone leap off the Titanic?), and both candidates got dinged. Meanwhile, Santorum’s favorable rating has spiked up to 60 percent; he’s easily the best-liked candidate in the race. Shows what staying obscure and unhurt by attacks for an entire year will do you.
