2012 Decoded

Rick Santorum is out with an effective new television ad in Nevada and Colorado, a 60-second spot that opens with three playing cards lying face-down on a table. "On the other side of these cards are the pictures of three politicians," the narrator says, his voice ominous. "Here are some clues as to who they are."

The narrator proceeds to detail four policies that all three politicians have previously supported, including: "radical cap and trade legislation," "giving illegal aliens some form of amnesty," "government health mandates" and "Wall Street bailouts."

You can see where this is going, right? The cards will flip over, showing President Obama in the middle, flanked by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, further emphasizing the message Santorum has been pushing relentlessly in recent weeks: That he is the only "true conservative" in the race, the lone Republican candidate capable of drawing a bright contrast against Obama.