Instead of riding his wave of momentum to a strong showing in what is likely to be the final GOP presidential debate of the primary season, Santorum struck out. It’s not just that he faced a tough and well-prepared opponent in Mitt Romney (which he did), it’s that numerous times when either the moderator or one of his opponents threw a ball right in his strike zone, he watched it sail by.
One of the best examples came when Romney attacked the former Pennsylvania senator for his record on earmarks and Congress’ voracious appetite for spending.
Santorum’s response: “What happened the – the 12 years I was in the United States Senate, we went from the debt to GDP ratio, which is now over 100 percent. When I came to the Senate it was 68 percent of GDP. When I left the Senate it was 64 percent of GDP.”
Instead of turning Romney’s attacks into an opportunity to get on the offense and back on message, Santorum spent his time responding with process arguments and Washington gobbleygook speak. Santorum has spent the last couple of weeks portraying himself as an outsider. He undid all of that work in last night’s CNN debate in Arizona.
Santorum couldn’t seem to muster a clean comeback as he attempted to point out Romney hypocrisy for challenging him over earmarks when Romney, himself, had requested them for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.
Instead of riding his wave of momentum to a strong showing in what is likely to be the final GOP presidential debate of the primary season, Santorum struck out. It’s not just that he faced a tough and well-prepared opponent in Mitt Romney (which he did), it’s that numerous times when either the moderator or one of his opponents threw a ball right in his strike zone, he watched it sail by.
One of the best examples came when Romney attacked the former Pennsylvania senator for his record on earmarks and Congress’ voracious appetite for spending.
Santorum’s response: “What happened the – the 12 years I was in the United States Senate, we went from the debt to GDP ratio, which is now over 100 percent. When I came to the Senate it was 68 percent of GDP. When I left the Senate it was 64 percent of GDP.”
Instead of turning Romney’s attacks into an opportunity to get on the offense and back on message, Santorum spent his time responding with process arguments and Washington gobbleygook speak. Santorum has spent the last couple of weeks portraying himself as an outsider. He undid all of that work in last night’s CNN debate in Arizona.
Santorum couldn’t seem to muster a clean comeback as he attempted to point out Romney hypocrisy for challenging him over earmarks when Romney, himself, had requested them for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.