Jonathan Zimmerman: Santorum's Lesson for Liberals

Jonathan Zimmerman teaches history at New York University and lives in Narberth. He is the author of "Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory."

Rick Santorum and I go way back. That's how it feels anyway. Over the past 15 years, I've written more than a dozen columns condemning something Santorum said.

This column is different. I come to praise Rick Santorum, not to bury him.

Put simply, Santorum is authentic. Like him or not, he says exactly what he thinks. And that surely helps explain why he poses a pesky challenge to Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, who says exactly what he thinks will get him elected.

Santorum also speaks in simple, moralistic language: Some things are good, and other things are evil. And that's the language my fellow liberals need to rediscover....