Rick Santorum
Following along in my who’s running and who’s not series, I write today to tell you that former Senator Rick Santorum is running for president in 2012.
This was confirmed to me at The Four Season’s bar here in Washington, by a cousin of Santorum’s. “Oh, yes, he’s running,” she said. This former senator is currently a senior fellow at The Ethics and Policy Center, a radio-show host, a contributor to Fox News and a newspaper columnist. He is also father to no fewer than seven children. (Now, that would make for a full White House…)
Santorum is a devout Catholic and is known for his rather over-enthusiastic (in my view) and borderline belligerent stances against abortion and homosexuality. To say that he is a social conservative’s dream is an understatement. In fact, Santorum’s comments and statements over the years on gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose make me personally uncomfortable, but that’s another blog.
Remember, these are posts about who I believe is running for president in 2012 and who is not, and they’re based on what I’ve read and/or what has been imparted to me by a trusted inside source or two. I reserve the right to change my mind and correct my predictions, but I’m trying to get it right the first time.
Sarah Palin
Now, if I ever questioned whether Sarah Palin was running for president (and I did), I no longer do. First, while the rest of conservative America was fixated on presidential hopefuls at CPAC, Palin was busy hiring Michael Glassner as her new chief of staff for SarahPAC.
Glassner worked with Palin on her vice presidential campaign. His addition to SarahPAC suggests one thing to me – she’s running. As a caveat,a friend who is close to the Palin family had me convinced that Sarah wasn’t running because Todd didn’t want her to. Glassner’s addition cuts against this argument, as it was Todd who actually reached out to the new COS.
Second, let’s also not forget the whole ambition and addictive nature of running for president. James Carville said it best – running for president is like sex. Once you start, you don’t stop.
Finally, I would note that Sarah Palin loves the center – not the polical center, but being the center of attention. Santorum effectively chips away at her ultra-conservative base and creates real competition by throwing himself into the mix. Sarah, being competitive, wants to keep her fan club. As such, how can she not run?
Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s The Savvy. E-mail her at sarah@nmpolitics.net. For full disclosure, Lenti is a Republican strategist who works closely with potential GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s PAC. A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Santorum is currently practicing law with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC.