That's why I don't want Romney to win. This is so backward; Romney's winning and yet he's probably the least likely of the four to win against Obama.
Like Santorum's positions or not, they're too radical for the general public. Santorum would have never carried swing states. Santorum's ultra-conservative base likely wouldn't have been enough to carry him to the presidency. This is why Romney was actually the best pick among the field of candidates to run against Obama. The problem for Republicans is that Romney is not a very electable candidate either. The other problem for the Republicans is that their current war on women has created a gender gap of about 10-20 points across the board among women (all women). Likewise, it has created more enthusiasm among women, so not only are women now much more likely to vote for Obama, but they are also much more likely now to be the ones who show up and vote. Don't focus all the blame on Romney when the Republicans just have bad policies. And a lot of them.
Not true, at all most of Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina are all in the Bible Belt. Even Ohio is pretty conservative. Santorum could have won, had he not been against Romney.
There's a big difference between "conservative" and "Rick Santorum-conservative." Many of the Republican voters in those states (especially Florida) wouldn't want someone with his extreme positions to win; if they wouldn't vote for Obama, they'd likely just skip the election altogether. On the flip side, his candidacy would energize the Democratic base to come and vote.
You're also forgetting about independents, who really end up deciding the swing states. The support for Rick Santorum among them was fainter than a fart in a tornado.