Rick Santorum continues rise in polls, denies comparing Obama to Hitler

Expanding on his lead, Rick Santorum now enjoys a ten-point advantage over Mitt Romney among registered Republicans nationwide in the race to be the nominee for US president, according to a Gallup Daily Tracking Poll.

The news comes as Santorum’s solidifying front-runner status is bringing him new scrutiny and hostility.

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CBS News reported today that Santorum found himself denying that he had compared President Barack Obama to the German dictator Adolf Hitler in remarks he made on Sunday.

Speaking at an event in Cumming, Ga on Sunday evening, Santorum had said Americans may be reluctant to get involved in national politics just as they were reluctant to enter the war against Nazi Germany in World War II.

He denied today that this comparison had likened Obama to Hitler: "No, of course not," CBS quoted him as saying. “The World War II metaphor is one I've used 100 times in my career.”

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According to CNN, the once possibly erstwhile presidential candidate and real estate developer Donald Trump, who last month endorsed Mitt Romney, today attacked Santorum, calling him a “gift” to the Democrats — in the form of weak opposition.

"There's no gift, no Christmas gift that could be given better than Rick Santorum to the Democrats," Trump was quoted by CNN as saying in a radio interview that aired in Michigan, where Romney is behind in recent polls. The Democrats "are just salivating at that. And, you know, I don't think they believe it's going to happen. But boy, would they like it to happen because that would be an easy election."

Michigan voters go to the polls in eight days and Nate Silver of the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight currently gives Santorum a 72 percent chance of winning.