fb-pixelSantorum backpedals on colleges statement - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Santorum backpedals on colleges statement

Rick Santorum spoke at a campaign stop yesterday in Bowling Green, Ohio.Mario Tama/Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum acknowledged today that he may have misstated President Obama’s position on education when he called Obama a snob for saying he “wants everyone in America to go to college.”

In fact, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace pointed out that Obama actually asked every American to commit to a year of higher education — which could include community college, vocational training, or an apprenticeship. That is similar to what Santorum has said he supports.

Santorum, on Fox News, said he “read some columns where at least it was characterized that the president said we should go to four-year colleges.” “If it was in error, then I agree with the president that we should have options for people to go to a variety of different training options for them,” Santorum said.

Advertisement



Santorum’s campaign is at a critical juncture. After receiving little notice until January, Santorum came from behind to win nominating contests in Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota. But former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has won the most recent contests in Michigan, Arizona, and Washington. Both campaigns are now looking toward Tuesday, when 10 states will vote.

Santorum said his race is harder because former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is taking some of the conservative vote that might otherwise go to Santorum. In Washington State, where Romney won yesterday’s caucuses, and Texas Representative Ron Paul edged out Santorum for second place, Gingrich took 10 percent of the vote. When it comes to the “anti-Romney vote,” Santorum said, “Both Gingrich and I are out there slugging away.”

Santorum declined to call on Gingrich to drop out, saying, “That’s up to him to decide.”

The Romney campaign on Saturday raised questions about Santorum’s ability to run a campaign, given that Santorum did not fill out full slates of delegates in all of Ohio’s congressional districts and may be ineligible for 18 of Ohio’s 66 delegates. He also did not qualify for the ballot in Virginia. Santorum said on Fox News that the delegates had to be filed in early December, while he was campaigning in Iowa and hovering at 2 percent in national polls, with limited resources. “We’ve done amazingly well for a campaign that early on didn’t have a lot of resources to go out and do things,” Santorum said.

Advertisement



Santorum also defended comments he made last fall when he said he believed birth control was wrong. “It’s not ok, it’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that’s counter to how things are supposed to be,” Santorum said then.

Today, Santorum said he was reflecting the views of the Catholic Church. “We used to be tolerant of those beliefs. I guess now when now you have beliefs that are consistent with the church, somehow or other you’re out of the mainstream,” Santorum said.

Santorum said the debate over birth control today is about government intrusion on religious values. He defended the Blunt amendment, which failed in the Senate this week, which said employers can refuse to provide insurance coverage for anything they find morally objectionable — such as birth control or vaccines. “This is a conscience cause exemption, which used to be something that was unanimously agreed to,” Santorum said. “Government should not be forcing people to do things that are against their conscience.”

Advertisement



Wallace also asked Santorum why he only gave 2 percent of his income to charity, given his emphasis on the role of the church in helping the poor. Santorum said he has seven children, including one disabled child who is expensive to take care of – and whose care is not covered by insurance. But Santorum said, “It’s an area I need to do better and will do better.”

Shira Schoenberg can be reached at sschoenberg@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shiraschoenberg.