Santorum: Better or Worse for Obama?

OK I'm just kind of thinking and writing at the same time.

I know that at the beginning of the Republican circus to find a candidate to run against Obama, Mitt Romney was the expected candidate. So the White House, I assume, has been planning their campaign strategy largely around defeating him. However, we all know the race has dragged on much longer than expected, and that with the recent wins in Mississippi and Alabama, Rick Santorum is still very much in the race.

I also know, thanks to Facebook, that many Democrats/liberal-leaning voters have been voting in Republican primaries to help Santorum win the nomination, the idea being that he's too extreme and will be easier to defeat than Romney. And I think this might be true.

But at the same time, is it good for Obama supporters to be helping Santorum into the race? I really am torn about this, so I would love some feedback. But Santorum has gotten more support than I would have expected (though maybe I'm still being naive, with the extremes that so many Republicans all over the country have been leaning toward). It's really terrifying to me that the man who has said publicly that he doesn't believe the separation of church and state should exist has gotten so much support. And as much as I like to encourage myself that liberal-leaners helped him to win in my home state, we all know that there were not enough of those voters to make much a difference. By and large, the Republicans in my home state have legitimately chosen Rick Santorum as their preferred candidate.

So if he is really doing this well among Republican voters, does he actually have a chance at defeating Obama? I hope not. I like to think that the Republican attack on women has gone too far, and will be a deciding factor for moderate and independent voters. As I heard some political analyst say on the news recently, "Abortion is a divisive issue. Contraception is not." This says to me (and I hope it's true) that the extremists of the Republican party are shooting themselves in the foot. I know plenty of young women who grew up in Republican homes who are on birth control (however, this doesn't necessarily mean that they voted Republican once they were of voting age; that I'm not sure about). I know of many young women who do currently identify as Republican who have spoken out against the personhood amendment and attacks on women. And I'm hoping that by having made contraception such a big issue, the Republican party is going to be motivating hordes of young people to head to the polls and vote for contraception, for women's rights, and, therefore, for Barack Obama.

But am I underestimating the amount of extreme conservatives in the Republican party? What do y'all think? Is Rick Santorum a better candidate in the long run for those of us who want Obama and his better-for-women plans to stay in office? Or is he proof that more of the country than I realized is extreme and not concerned with women's rights?