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Opinion L.A.

Opinion: Rick Santorum was full of surprises from the beginning

By Michael McGough
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Post-Iowa, it’s generally accepted that the news media underestimated Rick Santorum. It’s not the first time.

In 1990, I was an editorial writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That year Santorum was challenging an entrenched Democratic incumbent in a House district representing Pittsburgh suburbs.

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The editor of the paper and I interviewed the would-be dragon-slayer, and after he left us, the editor, usually an astute student of politics, turned to me and said: ‘We’ll never hear from that guy again.’

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-- Michael McGough

Opinion L.A.
Michael McGough

Michael McGough is the Los Angeles Times’ former senior editorial writer, based in Washington, D.C. He wrote editorials for The Times from 2006 to 2021. Before that, McGough worked for 30 years for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a reporter, editorial writer, editorial page editor and Washington correspondent. He wrote about law, national security, politics, foreign policy and religion. McGough is a graduate of Allegheny College and also attended the University of Kent at Canterbury in England and Yale Law School, where he received a master of studies in law degree.

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