Santorum Being Santorum

Imagine that,..Rick Santorum putting his family before his political aspirations, huh? And he got voted out for such trivialities??

Santorum: No oval office run
Some backers sought an '08 campaign, but he said: "Absolutely, positively not."
By Carrie Budoff
Inquirer Staff Writer

Don't expect to see Sen. Rick Santorum's name on the 2008 presidential ballot.

"Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not," Santorum said yesterday on The Michael Smerconish Show on WPHT-AM (1210). "My wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in '08."

Even though he lost his Senate seat last week by 18 points to Democrat Bob Casey Jr., some supporters hoped he would still fill the social conservative niche on the Republican ticket.

William J. Bennett, the former U.S. secretary of education and national drug czar, had predicted a "draft Rick Santorum" movement, citing a lack of conservatism on the part of the current GOP front-runners, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Bloggers hashed out the possibility over the last week, too, posting commentary under headlines like "Rick Santorum for President!"

One online betting Web site listed his odds at 18-to-1, better than former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, but longer than Giuliani, McCain, or Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"I've told you that like 10 times," Santorum said yesterday in a brief phone call.

True, he has said before that the presidency in 2008 probably wasn't in his plans. But he's also squirmed a bit on the point. In July 2005, he said he would not run. The next day, he said he would not completely rule it out.

When he released It Takes a Family, his 2005 book outlining his conservative philosophy, pundits suspected Santorum was aiming for a national audience.

Losing in a landslide "is hardly a recommendation to your political party to nominate you," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political analyst. "Adding him to a Republican ticket in either spot would guarantee a loss in Pennsylvania."

Santorum cited his family as the reason he won't go for it.

"I have no bitterness towards anyone, but it was tough," Santorum said about the Senate race. "My wife went through a heck of a lot."

Opponents criticized the two-term senator for spending most of his time in Virginia while a Pittsburgh-area school district subsidized his children's tuition in a Pennsylvania cyber charter school. Santorum has said he paid local taxes and owned a house in the district.

He said he had spent the last week meeting with staff - "it has been very teary" - and considering job offers, including some from media outlets. He declined to provide details.

Santorum told Smerconish he hoped to travel to Africa next year to continue the work he started in the Senate with Bono on AIDS and debt relief.