By Bill O'Reilly

There are many lessons to be learned from the campaign run by Rick Santorum. The first one, non-political. If you work hard in life, and don't give up, you are likely to succeed.

Nobody gave Santorum much of a shot last summer. His polling at about three percent but pretty much on his own, he convinced the voters of Iowa to support him. He did it by old-fashioned "meet the folks" campaigning.

Secondly, the Senator walked the walk, what he says he lives. Of all the politicians I know, Rick Santorum is perhaps the most sincere.

On the downside, however, Mr. Santorum allowed the media to define him. That's a rookie mistake. I've made it myself. If you are a conservative Republican running for office in this country, you must assume the media will try to hurt you. They will take things you say out of context. They'll bait you with questions designed to make you look foolish.

Rick Santorum allowed himself to be drawn into theological arguments. The press knows the Senator is a devout Catholic. And so questions about his belief system were asked again and again. But no politician should answer those questions.

If they ask you about Adam and Eve you simply say… they didn't have jobs and it's Obama's fault! You keep the Q and A on relevant issues. Likewise on contraception. All Santorum had to say was, hey, I've got seven kids, I don't know much about it.

But the Senator allowed the media to drag him into a swamp and that hurt his cause. Like it or not, America is a secular nation. While most of the folks continue to believe they don't want religious instruction in the public arena. They don't want to be told how to live.

Rick Santorum never quite learned that lesson. Partly because his base of support was fervently religious and he had to play to that. But all in all Senator Santorum ran a noble campaign. He challenged Mitt Romney in a way that gave voters insights into both men. The Senator should be very proud.

But now the presidential race is defined. It's between a free marketer Mitt Romney and a social justice liberal President Obama. The stakes ultra high, the vote will be very close, very close.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

Madonna has a new album, but there is some bad news. In its second week in the marketplace, the record experienced the biggest percentage sales drop for No. 1 debuting album in history, 87 percent declined.

Now to be fair, ticket sales for Madonna's concerts are going very strong. But here's a message, Ms. Madonna. Folks want to hear your old stuff, and if you don't understand that, you may be a pinhead. They want the old stuff. Like "Holiday" and "Get into the Groove." That kind of stuff.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.