Santorum Sounds Like Ultimate Washington Insider in Debate
For more than a year, Rick Santorum has labored to cast himself as an outsider ready to go to Washington to challenge business as usual, which makes it all the more puzzling why he decided to use the crucial debate in Mesa to sound like the ultimate Washington insider. Over and over again, Santorum came off as a defender of Congress, a champion of earmarks and a master of legislative minutiae.
Legislative ratings, Title X, Title XX, earmarks, voting for things you opposed - these are the things that the former Pennsylvania senator talked about. At one point, his tortured explanation prompted Mitt Romney to admit -- or taunt -- he hadn't understood what Santorum was talking about. At other points, his inside-Washington talk and use of legislative jargon set him up for jabs and jibes from Rep. Ron Paul.
It could not have been what Santorum wanted to do in what could be the final Republican debate, the first one held since Santorum surged into the lead in many polls. Perhaps his worst moment was his attempt to explain why he voted for No Child Left Behind even though he opposed it. There were echoes of John Kerry's "I voted for it before I voted against it" only without Kerry's coherence. He said he voted for it because President George W. Bush asked him to do so. "I have to admit I voted for that. It was against the principles I believed in. But, you know, when you're part of the team sometimes you take one for the team, for the leader. And I made a mistake." Not a great answer when you're running to be a leader of a party deeply suspicious of Washington's ways.
That's why the answer drew loud boos in the hall. Defensively, Santorum responded to the boos, telling the audience, "You know, politics is a team sport, folks. And sometimes you got to rally together and do something." He added, "I admit the mistake. And I will not make that mistake again."
Neither Paul nor the audience seemed ready to accept his explanation, though. "He calls this a team sport. He has to go along to get along. That's the problem is with Washington," said Paul. "That's been going on for so long. So I don't accept that form of government. I understand that is the way it works. You were the majority, were the whip, organized and got these votes all passed. But I think the obligation of all of us should be the oath of office. It shouldn't be the oath to the party."
Don't expect to see the exchange featured in any Santorum ads.
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