I wouldn't be so sure. If Santorum could keep the focus on the economy and not on social issues, it would be much harder to paint him with the same brush they used to paint Romney (that of the out of touch, mega-rich guy who is only looking out for others like him). Arguably, Santorum had the most centrist fiscal policy of the batch (short of Huntsman, obviously).
Therein lies the problem. Santorum has shown himself incapable of sticking with the economic message, instead he lets himself be distracted by social issues. Just look at the primary season where he would have won Michigan had he not gotten obsessed with talking about how much JFK wanted to make him throw up.
This is true, but also remember that Santorum was running in a GOP primary that lacked a strong social conservative until his candidacy took off. He was the strongest candidate for social conservatism and thought he could fill that void and ride the wave to the nomination (his biggest mistake). Had he made it to the general, I wouldn't be concerned about his priorities.
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