Rick Santorum's victories in Minnesota and Missouri represent his first breakout moments in the Republican presidential contest since he belatedly scraped to the top in Iowa more than a month ago.
They certainly give him bragging rights. They will probably earn him a second look from voters who had once dismissed him. They may help him raise money. Down the road, they will add to his delegate count.
But how much they will matter to Mr Santorum in the long run remains unclear.He now faces two major questions: Can he eclipse his immediate rival, Newt Gingrich, and become the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney? And will he be able to pose a realistic threat to Mr Romney, who remains better financed and better organized in other states?
Mr Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, has sought to put both questions to rest. After Mr Gingrich finished a distant second to Mr Romney in Nevada on Saturday, Mr Santorum - who came in third - said Mr Gingrich had "had his chance" to challenge Mr Romney and had come up short.
In his victory speech last night, Mr Santorum looked past his Republican rivals and focused on President Barack
Obama.
His theme was that Mr Obama might have been listening to his speech but did not normally listen to the American
people.
"He thinks he knows better," mr Santorum said of the president. "He thinks he's smarter than you. He thinks he's
someone who is a privileged person who should be able to rule over all of you."
The Republican presidential contest dips into a lull now. The candidates will not have a chance to rekindle their supporters' enthusiasm until a debate in Arizona on February 22, and the next voting will not be until February 28, when Arizona and Michigan hold primaries.
As of now, those two states do not appear to be particularly strong for Mr Santorum, and so he is looking ahead to Super Tuesday on March 6th for another breakout moment. His scheduling reveals as much. While Mr Santorum delivered his victory speech from Missouri last night, he was heading to Texas today and to Oklahoma tomorrow.
Oklahoma does not vote until Super Tuesday, and Texas not until April 3. Like the other candidates, Mr Santorum
will use this lull to raise money and build organizations in those states. Mr Gingrich, who was not on the ballot in Missouri and did not contest Colorado or Minnesota, shows no signs of bowing out. He, too, is looking toward Super Tuesday, and spent time in Ohio this week.
Mr Gingrich and Mr Santorum are equally disadvantaged on Super Tuesday by having failed to qualify for the ballot in Virginia. But Mr Gingrich may have a leg up that day because he can probably count on strong support from Georgia. If both remain in the race, the likely beneficiary will be Mr Romney.
One thing Mr Santorum has going for him right now is his relatively high favorability rating.
"Santorum's personal popularity is the main reason for his sudden re-emergence as a relevant player in the GOP race," Tom Jensen, a Democratic pollster and director of Public Policy Polling, wrote in an analysis of yesterday's vote.Until recently, he added, Mr Romney and Mr Gingrich had ignored Mr Santorum,leaving his reputation largely intact. But that is changing quickly.
Tim Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, who is backing Mr Romney, dismissed Mr Santorum this week as "a nice guy" but not one who is ready to be president.
Mr Santorum continues to insist that Mr Romney would be a weak nominee in the fall general election, saying he would not present a strong contrast to Obama. Last night, he declared himself the "conservative alternative" not only to Mr Romney, but also to Mr Obama.
New York Times