Our old friend Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum is in a tough spot. Actually, he’s been in a tough spot for a while and hasn’t figured out a way to make it any better.
As it stands now, Santorum is trailing Bob Casey Jr. in polls for next year’s race. Pennsylvania voters are looking for answers about the war in Iraq, which Santorum endorsed enthusiastically, but which Santorum’s constituents are starting to turn against.
This led to an uncomfortable problem last week. Casey has pounded away, arguing that Santorum has been in DC supporting the war, but failing to ask tough questions of the president and the administration. In an attempt to connect with voters, Santorum insisted that he had expressed concerns about the war. When asked for evidence of this, Santorum had a little trouble.
Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s office acknowledged yesterday that it cannot locate public statements of the senator questioning the Iraq war, despite the senator’s claim last week that he has publicly expressed his concerns…. Robert L. Traynham, Santorum’s spokesman, said a search of Nexis, a news database, and the office’s press clippings had not turned up any account of those comments. He noted, however, that the office’s records are incomplete because the office is unable to record everything the senator says.
For a guy who pops off on so many controversial issues it’s hard to keep up with him, Santorum’s public reticence about a misguided war wasn’t doing him any favors. And then, to insist that he’s raised concerns — but fail to find any examples — made a bad situation worse.
That was last week. This week, Santorum can point to an example. Too bad it’s not likely to help.
Aides to Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum produced a transcript yesterday of a 2004 interview in which he voiced “concerns about tactics and decisions” in the Iraq war — after saying earlier that they could not document the senator’s claim he had publicly questioned the war. […]
The transcript of Santorum speaking last Sept. 21 at an impromptu news conference outside a private luncheon of GOP senators in Washington was overlooked during a search of an electronic database and office files, spokesman Robert Traynham said.
“There are concerns — I have concerns — about tactics and decisions that were made,” Santorum said, according to the transcript, made by the Federal News Service. “I think you’d find a lot of Republicans who are very willing to second-guess our tactics in Fallujah, for example.” […]
“And in my opinion, it was not the right call, but you know what? That’s not my decision,” Santorum said in the Sept. 21 news conference. At another point, he told reporters that too much “Monday morning quarterbacking” of military commanders would not help the war effort.
On the one hand, Santorum can now point to an example of raising a concern about Iraq publicly. On the other, if he’s trying to prove that he’s been an aggressive advocate for accountability and responsibility, he’s failed miserably.
In fact, after a week of furious searching, Santorum and his staff have produced one — one! — example of the senator publicly questioning one Iraq-related decision. And even in that example, he decried “Monday morning quarterbacking.”
Given this, Casey’s point is even more valid. Three years, thousands of lives, and $300 billion later, Rick Santorum has publicly questioned the war exactly one time. If that’s the kind of effort Pennsylvania can expect from their senator, no wonder Santorum is losing.