"Just when he seemed to take himself out, he pulled himself back in."
That's the lead graph in Steve Goldstein's Philadelphia Inquirer article, posted today after a Santorum breakfast with reporters.
Yes, even though Santorum said in an online chat with The Washington Post on Monday that his "intention" is not to run for president in 2008 -- today, he's backpedaling.
Goldstein quotes Santorum:
"The reason I leave this little window open is because I have no idea what's going to happen between now and 3 1/2 years from now," he said in a breakfast meeting with reporters.
Santorum, who is facing reelection to his Senate seat next year, said it would take "a strange, remote set of circumstances" to alter his plan not be to a candidate for the GOP nomination for the White House.
"It would be easier for me to say no, absolutely, positively, under no circumstances. But in my mind that wouldn't be honest," Santorum said.
This flip-flopping on whether he'll run for president in 2008 seems relatively harmless, right?
But it isn't harmless when he does it over things like Amtrak funding (saying he'll fight the president on funding cuts on one day, and a few days later voting against an amendment that would have saved the funding). Just ask some of the 3,000 Pennsylvania Amtrak employees if they think his flip-flopping is harmless.
And it isn't harmless when he proposes a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases for us, but his wife sues a chiropractor for twice that amount, seeking $500,000 for her pain and suffering. Rick calls their lawsuit a "private family matter" -- this from the guy who believes the rest of us have no right to privacy.
Yeah, this may all seem harmless -- but it isn't. It's a very bad pattern.
Echoing Goldstein's piece, CNN ran a short bit on "Inside Politics" today (see below) -- and they promised to try to "pin Santorum down tomorrow on Inside Politics, when he's a guest." That's a lot of fun for them, but we'd sure like to see them "pin Santorum down" on some of his more egregious flip-flops, like those above.
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Dear David,
What can I say about Rick Santorum's behavior lately? I am sure your head is spinning (like mine is) trying to figure out if he is or is not running for president.
He's definitely not running -- sorta, maybe.
The Washington Post said "Everything seemed clear on Monday, when Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) answered a question posed by a reader on washingtonpost.com by announcing that his 'intention is not to run' for president in 2008. But then Santorum decided that answer had been a little too clear for his liking. At a breakfast meeting with reporters on Wednesday, he sought to de-clarify things a bit. Santorum said he did not want to imply that "no intention" means no chance: "The reason I leave this little window open is because I have no idea what's going to happen between now and 3 1/2 years from now."
Confused? Me too.
Meanwhile, the Bob Casey for Pennsylvania campaign continues to gain momentum. This week Bob made well received visits to Pittsburgh and Erie. Voters are ready for a change! A Rasmussen Reports poll released last week showed Bob Casey with a 52-41 percent lead over Santorum.
While it is very early in the race, the precedent is not good for incumbents this vulnerable, this early in a campaign.
The respected, non-partisan political analyst Stuart Rothenberg wrote in Roll Call this week that Santorum's poll numbers "when viewed in light of previous incumbent losses, confirm his serious problems." He also said that: "Strategists from both parties agree that Sen. Rick Santorum (R) faces an extremely difficult race" and "Santorum's initial standing in the ballot test is horrendous."
We're still 15 months out from the election and a lot of work needs to be done. Thanks for all your help. Together we can win this election and help change the direction in Washington.