Santorum’s Sweater Vests: The Unsung Heroes of His Campaign

The Internet has an explanation for the GOP candidate's amazing performance in Iowa, and it looks a whole lot like Doug Funnie.

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JEWEL SAMAD/ AFP/ Getty Images

As America woke to the news that Mitt Romney had just narrowly beaten Rick Santorum — by eight votes! — in Iowa on Tuesday night, many were surprised. After all, up until now, Santorum was certainly missing out on the shining publicity light that his running mates Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich had been enjoying for quite some time. So just how did Santorum perform so remarkably in Iowa? Why, by using his secret weapon, of course.

Bow down to the power of the sweater vest, also known as Santorum’s favorite sartorial choice. As Mashable points out, while “other GOP candidates make public appearances in suits, the former Pennsylvania senator has been donning sleeveless sweaters.” And apparently it’s paid off handsomely for him.

If you happened to overlook the parade of woolen chest-warmers that have accompanied Santorum publicly, perhaps you haven’t been paying attention to the Internet as much as you should have. Fear Rick’s Vest has cropped up as a Twitter feed, a Tumblr, a Facebook page and a YouTube video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1vEhH7Vnns]

Clearly, sweater vests are a force to be reckoned with — how else do explain such a coup? There’s no other possible explanation. (OK, OK, there might be another possible explanation.)

MORE: Santorum’s Path To and From Iowa