60-Second Critic: Rick Santorum

Our über-right-wing ex-U.S. senator’s new Inquirer column is meant to throw conservatives some raw meat in their morning paper (and to get someone to actually read the morning paper). But if Santorum’s first few efforts (published under the moniker “The Elephant in the Room,” natch) are any guide, you’d be better off scanning it at bedtime: The wonky, stifling prose is like typeset Tylenol PM. When not stroking his own ego (“I helped pass two of the most successful antipoverty bills in history”) or plugging his book, Santorum stakes firm neocon positions on issues like Iran, welfare and tax credits. Which would be fine if his writing were more George Will than living will. F