Mr. Santorum is all moral values all the time. When I interviewed him as part of an educational forum in November, the former Pennsylvania senator spent nearly all of the half hour talking about the moral failure in the family and schools. At every turn he quickly changed the subject from school choice (which he favors) or national standards (which he opposes) to the culture and the need for a president to address those issues from the White House bully pulpit.

This will pay off if Mr. Santorum manages to surprise and win the caucuses or perhaps place a close second. The publicity would earn him a closer voter look in New Hampshire. But if he’s going to have a chance to beat Mitt Romney, he’ll have to consolidate conservative voters of all stripes. This will require a larger message than culture decline, especially on the economy, which is the top voter concern.