Very, very encouraging news from Pennsylvania.

If I could snap my fingers and magically decide the outcome of just one race, it would be this one. Rick Santorum, as Peggy Noonan has argued, is the last of a dying breed. He is a statesman, not a politician. Unlike his opponent, he is not a focus group tested composite designed only to squeak by. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, too often to his political detriment. He says what he believes and believes what he says. Nobody does that anymore in politics, least of all Bob — I am pro-life but I will support an anti-life agenda in the Senate — Casey, Jr.

A Casey victory means a defeat for the long-term vitality of our public life. It means that, rather than speaking from their hearts, politicians will increasingly turn to focus groups, to slick political gurus and to the everchanging polls to tell them what they believe. It means our politicians will be increasingly vanilla, increasingly drab and increasingly spineless. They will no longer speak their minds for fear of offending. Mediocrity will reign and aquiescence and appeasement will be political values.

We don’t need more politicians. We need more statesmen.

I hope my home state finds it in them to do the right thing on Tuesday. This poll suggest that may happen:

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum has gained ground in his bid to win re-election, according to a new poll released Monday. The poll of 800 very likely general election voters, was conducted by McCulloch Research & Polling, an independent polling company out of Chicago, on November 4-5.Santorum’s opponent, State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., led the incumbent Senator 48.1-44.1%, according to the poll. “Senator Santorum has a history of closing hard at the end of his campaigns,” said pollster Rod McCulloch. “It looks like this campaign will be no different.”

UPDATE: There are questions about the legitimacy of the above poll.

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