(Image Source: Vanity Fair)

BY BLAKE HANSON

GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum often touts his humble beginnings — but now he appears to be doing pretty well. The former Pennsylvania Senator released his tax returns Wednesday — here he is with Piers Morgan...

MORGAN: “How much money have you earned in those four years?”
SANTORUM: “Probably a little over, more than $3 million dollars in those four years.”
SANTORUM: “Look, I feel very blessed”

Santorum released returns from 2007-2010 — the most years of any candidate to release so far. So what’s this mean for Santorum who’s been known to attack Romney for his income? A writer for Slate says the returns could be an issue for the Santorum campaign, writing...

“The returns are much less labyrinthine than those of Romney and Gingrich … but still might pose a bump in the road for Santorum's bid to relate to working class America. “

Washington Post conservative writer Jennifer Rubin disagrees...

“The fact that he is not blue collar and is not even middle class shouldn’t damage his ability to relate to such voters. It should, however, curb his snarkiness about Mitt Romney’s wealth. Neither one of them is hurting.”

Santorum is currently campaigning in Michigan ahead of it’s February 28th primary. A Republican strategist tells MSNBC Santorum’s decision to release his tax returns falls right in line with his tactics there...

“He’s also coaching to his own strength. I mean, he is everybody, I mean he’s everyman. He’s a guy that does his own taxes, he’s talking about it from the heart, he believes it, he’s doing it. And this is where he’s kind of painting himself in that kind of blue collar crowd in Michigan.”

Meanwhile, a writer for Vanity Fair takes a much lighter viewpoint on political analysis, and says...

“Rick Santorum’s tax returns are about as interesting as Mitt Romney’s candidacy. But Romney’s tax returns … are as fascinating as Rick Santorum’s unlikely path to poll leader. The more boring the candidate, the juicier the tax return; the more compelling the candidate, the more banal the tax return.”

The latest New York Times/CBS News poll puts Santorum in lead with 30-percent of the support from Republican Primary voters nationwide. Romney is right behind, at 27-percent.