Santorum Says Obama's Agenda Based on 'Phony' Theology, Not Bible
Rick Santorum, who many believe could be the Republican presidential nominee, took aim at President Barack Obama's policies on Saturday, saying they are based on some "phony theology," and not the Bible.
Obama's policies are "not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your jobs. It's about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology," the former Pennsylvania senator told tea party activists and evangelicals in Columbus, Ohio.
Santorum later expanded on his statement at a news conference, saying, "In the Christian church, there are a lot of different stripes of Christianity. If the president says he's a Christian, he's a Christian." He added that Obama was imposing his values on the church. "He can categorize those values anyway he wants. I'm not going to," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
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Santorum's attack can hurt Obama's campaign given that the president is seeking to project his policies as being informed by his Christian faith. At the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2, Obama cited snippets of popular Bible verses as he spoke about his policy stances. He said, for instance, "When I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street…or making sure that unscrupulous lenders aren't taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy strong for everybody… But I also do it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in God's command to 'love thy neighbor as thyself.'"
Obama's campaign took Santorum's allegation seriously, calling it "the latest low in a Republican primary campaign." It has been fueled by "distortions, ugliness, and searing pessimism and negativity – a stark contrast with the president who is focused everyday on creating jobs and restoring economic security for the middle class," Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement.
Of late, Obama has been busy raising money. However, while he raised $36.8 million in January 2008, the count in the last month stood at $29.1 million for his 2012 re-election campaign and the Democratic Party. About $11.9 million went to his campaign account, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission Friday.
The Republican Party criticized Obama for giving priority to raising money over governing. "Averaging a fundraiser every two days, it's clear President Obama's priority is saving his own job instead of working to create jobs for struggling Americans," USA Today quoted GOP spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski as saying Friday. "The president is good at two things: raising money to save his political career and breaking promises like the one to keep unemployment below eight percent with the $825 billion stimulus."
Santorum, who won caucuses in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri this month, has said his campaign is not depending on money. He trails former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his biggest rival, in both funds and organization, but is leading in polls in Ohio, the "ground zero" for March 6, when 10 states will hold nomination polls.
On Saturday, Santorum also attacked Romney. "One of Mitt Romney's greatest accomplishments, one of the things he talks about most is how he heroically showed up on the scene and bailed out and resolved the problems of the [2002] Salt Lake City Olympic Games," Santorum said. "He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic Games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake games – in an earmark, in an earmark for the Salt Lake Olympic games."
