Stephen Colbert had Rick Santorum on the other night. I don't like to embed Comedy Central videos here because they do odd things to this site but if you missed it, you can see it here. A lot of my friends think Santorum's an idiot. I don't. I think he's like a lot of prominent folks who infest our politics these days: A person who's found a way to profit from controversy. There's a passionate group out there that likes his message, as homophobic and regressive as it is. That group can be exploited for lots of things but most of all, money.
There are people who run for president because they want to be president, and there are people who run for president because it's a good career move. Pat Buchanan is a smart enough man. He knew he was never going to get one electoral vote, let alone enough to move into the Oval Office. I find it hard to believe that in the last election, Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann or Jon Huntsman or Ron Paul ever thought they had a shot at the nomination. Donald Trump certainly didn't. Newt Gingrich, maybe. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney — significantly, both former governors — did…and if Perry hadn't said so many dumb things, it would have come down to him versus Mitt.
Santorum never had a chance and he knew it. He still knows it, which is why he went on with Colbert. But of course, he can't say it, just as Sarah Palin has to keep her supporters hopeful they have something to support. Either of them might run for the publicity but they're never going to be elected. To even have a real shot at it, they'd have to appeal to a wider audience and if they appealed to a wider audience, they'd lose their most fervent supporters…the ones they're planning to spend years exploiting.
The problem Santorum had with Colbert was that he didn't know to what extent he was supposed to play along with or argue against Colbert's parody of Santorum-brand conservatism. Colbert tells his guests before the show, "My character's an idiot so set me straight…challenge me on the stupid stuff I say." But Santorum knew two things. One was that to disagree with Colbert too much would set him on a collision course with his own positions. And secondly, he knew the value of the appearance in promoting the Santorum brand and he wanted to be invited back. Even if all he did was to sit there and let Colbert use him as a punching bag, he got the promotion he wanted.