The focus of tonight's GOP presidential debate in Spartanburg, South Carolina will be foreign policy and national security. In preparation, the mainstream media is asking the obvious questions: Will Rick Perry "step in it" again? Does Herman Cain know who the president of "Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan" is? How many times will Jon Huntsman remind the audience he has lived overseas? But the more important (and interesting) question that could be answered tonight is: Can former Senator Rick Santorum turn his eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee and his real world foreign policy experience into serious consideration from Republican primary voters?

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Without their catchy economic slogans (9-9-9, 20% flat tax, 59 points), tonight's more well known contenders may have trouble standing apart from the rest of the pack. Governors and CEO's may have the edge in debates focused on economic issues but when it comes to foreign policy and keeping the nation safe, Cain, Perry and Romney are all theory.

During his time in the US Senate, Mr. Santorum authored and sponsored legislation directly related to current national security challenges. Chief among them, the Iran Freedom Support Act about which he (recently wrote:

In 2004, I first authored the Iran Freedom and Support Act (IFSA) - sweeping legislation that funded pro-democracy groups in Iran and imposed real sanctions on this regime aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons program. At first, not a single Democrats nor Republicans would join me. That changed in 2005, as it became evident of Iran’s involvement in killing our troops in the region – and I collected 60 co-sponsors. In 2006, President Bush entered into negotiations with Iran – over my strong objections. I brought IFSA to the floor of the Senate for a vote making it clear to the Iranians that Congress was ready to act if the negotiations were unsuccessful. My bill faced opposition from Joe Biden and President Bush and it was narrowly defeated. A few months later, Iranian negotiations broke down and that very same bill was passed unanimously and signed by President Bush.

While many of the sanctions were implemented, neither President Bush nor President Obama implemented a key aspect of the bill that funded a movement to overthrow the Iranian regime. President Obama actually cut the funds completely and the money intended to support pro-democracy groups in Iran was never provided to them. So, when the Green Revolution erupted in 2009, we were not in good positions to help them – even if we wanted to. And unfortunately, President Obama did not want to help them, and as a result that revolution failed.

With Iran getting ever closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon, Mr. Santorum's foresight and understanding of what he has long called "the greatest threat to American security" might earn him serious support after tonight's debate if he is able to effectively communicate both his record and what the foreign policy of a Santorum administration would be.

He seems to have gotten a head start speaking yesterday in Florence, South Carolina. In light of the recent the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report which included evidence that Iran is working toward obtaining nuclear weapons, Mr. Santorum called for a joint a US/Israeli military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities saying, "Either we’re going to stop them and take the consequences of having stopped them, which is short term, or take the long term consequences of having a nuclear Iran trying to wipe out the state of Israel."

Expect him to reiterate that position on stage tonight. Then expect him to take on anyone who disagrees and to take them on with the full force of his unique experience among the field. As long as the moderators fight the urge to sensationalize recent events and choose to stay on the promised theme, Rick Santorum should be tonight's candidate to watch.