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MASON CITY, Iowa -- Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, whose months spent campaigning in Iowa is beginning to show signs of increased support, went after Iowa frontrunner Ron Paul today, calling a potential GOP nomination of the Texas congressman's "incomprehensible" and reminding voters of the 76-year-old's age.
During two campaign stops in the Hawkeye State, Santorum used the issue of a nuclear Iran to contrast himself against Paul, who during a debate this month said the greatest danger of Iran attempting to get materials for a nuclear weapon is that a president could overreact.
"You'll have a presidential nominee in Ron Paul, who will be to the left of Barack Obama on national security," Santorum said. "It's almost incomprehensible that we would have a candidate that would be that disconnected to reality."
And Santorum even went so far as to invoke Paul's age: "He's going to be 78 years old. How many 78-year-olds change their opinion?"
The former Pennsylvania senator also used the issue to pivot to an attack on Paul's record as a legislator. "Show me one bill he's passed in Congress," Santorum said. "He's been there 20 years."
Instead, the candidate who has been polling in the single digits but whose campaign is now showing signs of life with one week until the Jan. 3 caucuses, said Paul's history as a lawmaker prove that his popular economic platforms will not pass Congress, but that he will be able to execute orders as Commander-In-Chief, which will leave conservative voters with the opposite of what they want -- no changes to the economy and a military with a minimal presence overseas.
But Paul was not the only candidate Santorum mentioned today. He critiqued Gingrich for saying illegal immigrants here longer than 25 years should not be prosecuted, and said his time campaigning through Iowa has made him better prepared for the scrutiny of being president -- something, Santorum contends, that could have served Rick Perry well.
But for a presidential hopeful, who spent so much time in Iowa, much will be made of how he finishes in Iowa. On WHO Radio in Des Moines today, Santorum would only say that a last-place finish in the caucuses would cause him to drop out.
Santorum told NBC News, "We need to do well."
Asked what constitutes well, he said, "It's like the Supreme Court said, you know it when you see it," a reference to Justice Potter Stewart's 1964 remark on obscenity.
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I can't believe I am agreeing with little Ricky! lol
Did we not learn our lesson with St. Reagan?
There should be a maximum age for the Presidency, after all there is a minimum age requirement...
Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery are both 81 and seem to be doing pretty well. Of course, if you're free to vote for Romney if you want that smooth Reagan-esque tone of voice.
AND a maxium age for the supreme court! Or at least, testing for dementia.
As Reagan aged he got more senile. His Alzheimers didn't help either. Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery are actors not leaders of the free world. Dr. Paul may be in good shape but that doesn't mean his ideas are best or that his policies would garner enough support in Congress to accomplish anything. That would mean another 4 years wasted and no progress toward a better future.
It is his ideas and pricipals that will take hold. I'm sure Ron Paul would pick a cabinet, and certainly a vice President that would continue his ideals.
Ron Paul wouldn't appoint wall street to his administration like Obama has or any other Rep. candidate would.
Santorum just ended up being a face in the crowd for the past year. He never stood out at anytime, be it his interviews or debates.
He was just never able to distinguish himself at any level from the others.
Boring campaign. Boring candidate.
Just about everyone in America "is to the left of Obama on national security", except for a few extremists. If someone could explain to me how the GOP candidates (except Paul) differ from the Obamacrats, I'd really appreciate it.
You mean "to the right of Obama". Attila the Hun was a right winger, and so are the warmongers like Romney, Grinch, Bachmann, Santorum, Perry. . . . In addition, they are not on the same page with the American public, who is tired of these endless wars, not to mention the costs associated with them.
If the GOP wants to wage more wars, they must bring back the draft. No ifs, ands or buts about it. More than the 1% of the American populace must be involved. We must not and cannot ask our young people to serve tour after tour, and making their families suffer, too, for the neo cons endless lust for war.
@Jack Thanks for the comment, but it wasn't a typo. Most Americans either do not believe in the War on Terror or are war-weary at the very least - i.e. they are "left of Obama". But Obama continues fighting on multiple fronts. He is quite skilled at co-opting the usual GOP strategy of making the incumbent look like a wimp. Obama's adopted the most hawkish, charge-to-Armageddon foreign policy we've ever had. Even Reagan withdrew from the Middle East after the 1983 Lebanon marine bombing - I can't imagine Obama doing that. So there's no way "Newt Romney" and company can attack him from the right and make it stick.
Moderate,
I both agree and disagree with you.
On the agreement front, I hope that Obama will withdraw from Afghanistan, and I think he will after he wins re-election.
But where we disagree is that several of the Republican candidates criticized his withdrawal from Iraq (and began criticizing him months ago when he announced he was going to withdraw the troops), and now they are hawkishly pushing for an invasion of Iran--and I haven't seen the president position himself to the right of them.
America must not be fooled by people like Santorum, Newt and Romney. Big whoop about Ron Paul's age. Santorum has nothing to offer America.
Yawn........
Sen. Rick Santorum thought enough of Jerry “Pedophile” Sandusky to sponsor the former Penn State defense coordinator for a “Congressional Angels in Adoption” award, citing his work with a non-profit group he founded to provide care for foster children. Santorum is an idiot for not being able to spot this PEDOPHILE a mile away. Of course Rick Santorum went to Penn State himself and is probably involved in the Pedd State cover-up scandal
When Paul wins we will think more about hard currency, maybe even a gold standard (gasp)
But Santorum seems to be more in favor of a depleted uranium standard backed by a plutonium standard. It's hard to like a hater.
Besides being old as dirt and wanting to take the US back to the begining of the 19th Century Ron Paul would be inefective as Congress isn't likely to go along with his cockamamie ideas. That would mean that the next two Congresses would be doing even less than the current one and if they tried anything at all good he would likely veto the bill anyway.
And yet, Santorum is as young as Obama. Look where the country is at right now. Maybe we need to try out someone old and wise for a change.
But seriously folks, Santorum would be just like Barracchio is now. Three years into it he'd still be reciting all the lies and excuses for his failure and asking for another 1.2 trill. Can't you just see him?
As for Paul being to the "left" of Obama - Obama's foreign policy is actually the SAME as Santorum since Obama kept Bush's Sec Def (Gates), kept Bush's wars going, kept Bush's GITMO and added assassination of American citizens without trial. All that is just what Santorum wants. So why's he even running against Obama? Obama campaigned for peace and human rights but governed like a rightwing Santorum on these issues. Ron Paul has always opposed the Faux News wars and I trust him to keep his word on peace.
I guess if Santorum gets above his typical 3% he can declare victory and the Iowa story will be about his momentum instead of Paul coming in the top 3. Ron Paul is MUCH sharper, more knowledge and more principled than Santorum at any age.
Don't try to rub any Santorum on Paul. Ewww. Don't google that.
It is Ron Pauls principals, and real limited government that need to take hold. It is what America truly longs for again. Smaller government, and fiscal responsibility. I am sure Ron Paul will pick a cabinet, and a vice president that will continue america's strong grass roots of limited government. It is the ideas, and pricipals, that suceed, not one man that makes his cadidacy strong. Otherwise it truly would be a cult follwing that MSM claims is the reason for his ardent following. Pauls ideas are not his own, they were penned 200 years ago, and we would all do well not to forget it.
Santorum: You can't put an old guy in the White House. Just imagine the smell. Nothing's worse than old guy smell. Well, yeah, santorum probably smells worse. Argh! Curse you internet!