Could it be that he's tanking in the polls for re-election? Maybe that book isn't quite the "political asset" media consultant John Brabender thought it was. . . at any rate, Rick Santorum (R-VA) has finally said something that makes sense: he will not be running for President in 2008.
Luckily for the Santorum children, PA voters will soon be relieving their daddy of the need to keep up two homes for the sake of appearances and maybe, just maybe, he'll focus on supporting his own family instead of criticizing others for supporting their own families without mooching.
"I have six children ages 4-14. And the idea of coming off a race of the intensity that I am engaged in at this point and turning around and running another two-year campaign for president is not something that I believe is in the best interest of my family"I'd actually like to know when it is that the senator does consider the best interests of his family. Echidne took him to task today for many reasons in addition to this:
So the man earns $162K/year; has a large home in Leesburg, VA and a 2-bedroom home in Penn Hills, PA (that another couple live in, but Santorum keeps to claim PA residency); Tuition-free education for his children, courtesy Penn Hills school district; a wife capable of earning $4,000/month at a work-from-home-in-your-spare-time from media consultant John Brabender; still gets an allowance from mommy & daddy and he has the audacity to accuse other families of not having their priorities straight?"In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might find they don't both need to," Santorum writes.Right. Yet he himself can't support his family on an annual salary of $162,100 without occasional checks from his retired parents:Rick and Karen Santorum, a former nurse and a nonpracticing attorney, have six children between the ages of 2 and 14, and live in Leesburg, Va., about an hour from Washington and as close to Washington as they could afford a home big enough for their family. (Karen Santorum would not be interviewed for this article.) Santorum drives himself to and from Capitol Hill in a 2001 Chevy TrailBlazer. He will not work Sundays, except in extraordinary circumstances, and he rarely stays overnight when traveling because he does not like to be away from his family. He tends a large vegetable garden and several fruit trees, cuts his own grass and does home repairs. Santorum says he does not want his home-state voters to think he feels impoverished on his $162,100 Senate salary, but it is clear that money is a concern and that he is almost certainly one of the least well-off among the 100 senators.
''We live paycheck to paycheck, absolutely,'' he says. Does he have money set aside for college? ''No. None. I always tell my kids: 'Work hard. We'll take out loans. Whatever.' '' He volunteers that his parents help out financially. ''They're by no means wealthy -- they're two retired V. A. employees -- but they'll send a check every now and then. They realize things are a little tighter for us.''
Luckily for the Santorum children, PA voters will soon be relieving their daddy of the need to keep up two homes for the sake of appearances and maybe, just maybe, he'll focus on supporting his own family instead of criticizing others for supporting their own families without mooching.
Tags: Rick "man on dog" Santorum; Politics;marriage; feminism; parenthood; conservatism; HypocrisySphere: Related Content
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