In an earlier post, I alluded to this, but it’s such a fascinating non-endorsement that I want to post the actual video. In it, Glenn Beck says the nation desperately needs its next leader to be a man like “Abraham Lincoln,” but, from the context, it appears he meant to say “George Washington.” Why? We need a leader we can trust to hand back the reins of power after two terms, someone whose character and integrity completely eliminate the fear that he will outlandishly, unnecessarily and compromisingly grab at power. The former Fox pontificator then says, of anybody in the field, Rick Santorum could most probably be the “next George Washington.”

Actually, the comparison makes more sense than it seems to at first. Rick Santorum is seemingly so impossibly behind in the polls that it’s difficult to think he’s running for president for his own ego or because he’s particularly power hungry. In fact, what praise Santorum receives is always praise of the same ilk: He fills his niche well, speaking eloquently and evenly about social and foreign policy issues that desperately need to be addressed but threaten to be overlooked in this economy-dominated cycle. Why doesn’t that score him more points with voters supposedly sick of politicians who care more about themselves than they do about the issues?

In the circus that is primary politics, it can be difficult to understand why some candidates — whether ultra-conservative like Rick Santorum or ultra-squishy like Jon Huntsman — get the shaft. In the end, marginal figures seem to reveal just how much image matters. In politics, perception is reality. The electorate might be impressed with you, but, if voters don’t like you, you stand no chance. Ultimately, to varying degrees, that seems to be the problem that plagues most of the GOP candidates. They’re actually a pretty accomplished bunch — and almost all of them are more right on the issues than they are wrong — but they’re just not particularly appealing personalities.