When Rick Santorum announced his 2016 presidential candidacy earlier this week, he brought props with him. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a piece of coal,” Santorum said at the beginning of his speech, holding up a glossy chunk of anthracite for the crowd to inspect. “This is where my American story started.” Glancing lovingly at the brick of compressed carbonized vegetation as if it were a photo of a dear, departed relative, Santorum said that his coal-mining immigrant grandfather “didn’t come for this,” referring to the coal, “he came for THIS,” referring to the folded American flag he’d dramatically pulled from behind the lectern.