Trip Gabriel reported from Chilton, Wis., and Nick Corasaniti from New York. Katharine Q. Seelye contributed reporting from New York.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Santorum Goes Bowling for Votes in Chilton, Wis.
Mr. Santorum dropped in to Pla-Mor Lanes here on Sunday afternoon, his fourth visit to a bowling alley in Wisconsin, as part of what appears to be a clear effort to drive home his working-class credentials to voters. It is a comfortable setting for Mr. Santorum, who grew up bowling with his father and even took Bowling 101 for credit at Penn State. A week ago in Sheboygan, Wis., he struck political pay dirt at the lanes after rolling three strikes in a row. “That’s a turkey,” he explained on the CBS News program “Face the Nation” the next day. “That tells you that you’ve got someone here who can relate to the voters of Wisconsin, just like those of us in western Pennsylvania who grew up in the bowling lanes.” Mr. Santorum’s aides said he returned home to Pennsylvania excited by his performance and rummaged for his old bowling ball. He did not bring it back on the campaign trail, but he has added a bowling alley appearance almost every day. He has hit lanes in LaCrosse, Fond du Lac and here, where he rolled 10 frames before the Twilighters Couples League took over. “It’s really meant to be a cultural story, who Rick really is,” said John Brabender, his chief strategist. “I think every presidential candidate wants people to get a peek into their real life so they can make a value judgment.” It hardly needs to be said how sharp the contrast is with Mr. Romney, who has sometimes seemed out of touch in trying to appeal to working-class voters and has drawn ridicule by mentioning friendships with Nascar team owners and challenging Gov. Rick Perry of Texas to a $10,000 bet. And in a state like Wisconsin, where such voters can help turn elections, the visits seem to be paying off. “I feel a common denominator with him,” said Carrie Pritchard, a 40-year-old homemaker who watched Mr. Santorum roll an Everyman’s score of 124 here. “If anybody can come to a bowling alley and hang out with everyone, I like that a lot.” With reporters watching his bowling last week, Mr. Santorum caused a small fuss on the Internet by jokingly telling a young man not to pick up a pink ball — “we’re not going to let you do that” — since it was meant for women. He has another bowling alley on his calendar for Monday, the day before Wisconsin voters go to the polls. The state has a broad conservative streak that Mr. Santorum would very much like to draw on to blunt Mr. Romney’s sense of inevitability. But polls show him trailing. Over the weekend, two of the state’s leading Republicans, Representative Paul D. Ryan and Senator Ron Johnson, added their endorsements to a growing list of conservatives nationally who have rallied behind Mr. Romney, who leads Mr. Santorum more than two to one in the delegate race, according to The Associated Press. In an appearance on the NBC News program “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Mr. Santorum said he would withdraw from the race if Mr. Romney reached the 1,144 delegates needed for the nomination, but he dismissed the idea that it would happen soon. “Without a doubt, if he’s at that number, we’ll step aside,” he said. “But right now, he’s not there, he’s not even close to it.” In an interview about his bowling background, Mr. Santorum referred to the famous book about bowling as a thread in the fabric of small-town America, “Bowling Alone,” by Robert D. Putnam, a professor of history at Harvard. “ ‘Bowling Alone’ is about the breakdown of social capital in this country,” he said. “People used to come together in leagues and groups. Bowling is a social sport. You talk and eat and drink and are together. It’s a commitment to go every week. My dad bowled in a league, and I went with him. He was a lefty. We went on league night, it was part of my childhood.” Presidential candidates have long embraced the symbolism of the bowling alley. From Richard M. Nixon to Barack Obama, they have visited the lanes to exhibit their common touch, not always successfully. Mr. Obama, as a candidate in 2008, rolled a 37 over seven frames. Vice President George Bush, campaigning for President Ronald Reagan, was filmed slipping and stumbling down the lane. On Sunday, Mr. Santorum’s form was far smoother, though his results were not near his campaign-trail high score. “Not a particularly strong, but a winning game,” he pronounced. He was pleased to have beaten a campaign aide, his usual foe. “I now have a 3-2 advantage, so there you go,” he said. Those in the know say Mr. Santorum shows talent, compared with other politicians. “George W. Bush, he had decent form, and Bill Clinton bowled a lot,” said Tom Clark, commissioner of the Professional Bowlers Association. “But Mr. Santorum, he knows how to bowl. With a few tips from a professional, he would probably be a high-level bowler.”
