Rick Santorum Drops Out of Race for President

[Guest]

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum just announced he is dropping out of the race. He didn't give any specific reason and didn't specifially say he would support Gov Romney. He just said "I'm suspending my campaign".

[Guest]

Is he suspending because his kid is sick?

Bad news for Romney


Women Boost Obama Over Romney in New ABC Poll - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/women-boost-obama-romney-abc-poll/story?id=16109262)

[Guest]

Rick Santorum Drops Out: GOP Presidential Candidate Suspends 2012 Campaign (VIDEO) (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/rick-santorum-drops-out-2012-race_n_1415372.html)

[Guest]

His youngest child, a 3-year-old daughter, Belle, has been ill. She was born with a life-threatening, rare genetic condition called Trisomy 18. She was just recently released from a hospital in Virginia with an illness related to her disorder.

"In ending his bid for the GOP 2012 nomination Santorum described his daughter as 'a fighter and doing exceptionally well.' But he added her illness 'did cause us to think about our role as parents. This was a time for prayer and thought this past weekend. Just as it was when we decided to get in this race,' he said."

Rick Santorum bows out of 2012 presidential race - CSMonitor.com (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2012/0410/Rick-Santorum-bows-out-of-2012-presidential-race)

[Guest]

His youngest child, a 3-year-old daughter, Belle, has been ill. She was born with a life-threatening, rare genetic condition called Trisomy 18. She was just recently released from a hospital in Virginia with an illness related to her disorder.

"In ending his bid for the GOP 2012 nomination Santorum described his daughter as 'a fighter and doing exceptionally well.' But he added her illness 'did cause us to think about our role as parents. This was a time for prayer and thought this past weekend. Just as it was when we decided to get in this race,' he said."

Rick Santorum bows out of 2012 presidential race - CSMonitor.com (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2012/0410/Rick-Santorum-bows-out-of-2012-presidential-race)

Our prayers are with him and his family. Seems like a man I would love to have as a neighbor and a friend, but not as my president.

[Guest]

Based on what is showing in movie theatres, on television and the hedonistic nature of the celebrity set we need many more role models such as Santorum and Tebow. I hope Santorum continues to speak out and up

[Guest]

God bless Belle. We will pray for her and her loved ones.

Xavier

[Guest]

It would be very tough to have a child with an illness like Santorum's child and I have nothing but the best wishes for her.

I am sure the main reason Santorum quit the Presidential race was that he and his people knew that Pennsylvania would go for Romney. This would have been the final straw so Santorum dropped out before having the humiliation of losing his home state.

I will be interested to see how Santorum speaks of Romney now after calling him the "worst kind of Republican" in a speech not long ago.

[Guest]

Santorum is also setting himself up to run in 2016 knowing full well that Gov Romney is not going to win in 2012.

[Guest]

Based on what is showing in movie theatres, on television and the hedonistic nature of the celebrity set we need many more role models such as Santorum and Tebow. I hope Santorum continues to speak out and up




I hope he does also. Everytime he does, Obama's poll numbers go up.

[Guest]

It would be very tough to have a child with an illness like Santorum's child and I have nothing but the best wishes for her.

I am sure the main reason Santorum quit the Presidential race was that he and his people knew that Pennsylvania would go for Romney. This would have been the final straw so Santorum dropped out before having the humiliation of losing his home state.

I will be interested to see how Santorum speaks of Romney now after calling him the "worst kind of Republican" in a speech not long ago.

i am very saddened that Sen. Santorum dropped out....however, let me point out the incompleteness of buggyone's last quote...he was saying that mitt romney is the "worst kind of republican" to put up against barack obama because he does not offer enough contrast. he was not saying that mitt romney is a terrible person or republican. i am sure that he will support romney as will most of his supporters. there will be a few who will go to paul and waste their vote, but i hope most will rally behind romney who has a good chance to win with all our support. and i had not even thought about 2016 but if we lose this election, i am sure we will come back roaring even stronger after four more years of what we have recently suffered.

[Guest]

i am very saddened that Sen. Santorum dropped out....however, let me point out the incompleteness of buggyone's last quote...he was saying that mitt romney is the "worst kind of republican" to put up against barack obama because he does not offer enough contrast. he was not saying that mitt romney is a terrible person or republican. i am sure that he will support romney as will most of his supporters. there will be a few who will go to paul and waste their vote, but i hope most will rally behind romney who has a good chance to win with all our support. and i had not even thought about 2016 but if we lose this election, i am sure we will come back roaring even stronger after four more years of what we have recently suffered.

Just read for yourselves what Santorum said about Romney.
Santorum says Romney 'worst Republican in the country' to campaign against Obama | StarTribune.com (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/144163565.html)

Santorum does not sound like he is in a love fest with Romney. I would be surprised if they would exchange handshakes anymore.

[Guest]

Just read for yourselves what Santorum said about Romney.
Santorum says Romney 'worst Republican in the country' to campaign against Obama | StarTribune.com (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/144163565.html)

Santorum does not sound like he is in a love fest with Romney. I would be surprised if they would exchange handshakes anymore.

He'll have to cozy up to MR if he wants Party support next time. Then again, memories tend to run short.

[Guest]

i am not impressed with the link to the star tribune article...it is just more selective parsing of words which naturally would make Santorum as irritated as it makes all other republicans! our media is a disgrace!

[Guest]

i am not impressed with the link to the star tribune article...it is just more selective parsing of words which naturally would make Santorum as irritated as it makes all other republicans! our media is a disgrace!

Can you give other links to other papers to show that Santorum did not say Romney would be the worst Republican to put up against Obama or that the other quotes from Santorum in the Star-Tribune article were incorrect?

[Guest]

why do folks spend so much time linking statements of convenience? Especially politicians. Where is the link that showed Santorum last time around stating Romney was the best conservative to represent the party.

Links and polls all about the same value...the heat of the moment....then you can almost hear the candidates and pollsters say....NEXT!

Politicians are wind waggers....flip floppers.....they will and do lean in ANY DIRECTION and or say ANYTHING that will earn them a vote. Substance is not a criteria politicians are noted for....

btk

[Guest]

why do folks spend so much time linking statements of convenience? Especially politicians. Where is the link that showed Santorum last time around stating Romney was the best conservative to represent the party.

Links and polls all about the same value...the heat of the moment....then you can almost hear the candidates and pollsters say....NEXT!

Politicians are wind waggers....flip floppers.....they will and do lean in ANY DIRECTION and or say ANYTHING that will earn them a vote. Substance is not a criteria politicians are noted for....

btk

"Politicians are wind waggers...flip floppers...they will and do lean in ANY DIRECTION and or say ANYTHING that will earn them a vote". You have just described Mitt Romney to a tee. He has been pro-choice, pro-life; pro-gun control, anti-gun-control; pro-gay rights, anti-gay rights; pro-individual mandate, anti-individual mandate. He can be "severely conservative", moderate, or liberal, whatever it takes to win.

[Guest]

Say what you want, but Mitt Romney is a man of integrity and a steadfast, loyal friend.

(2008) By Ronald Kessler

Mitt Romney was faced with a crisis in July 1996. The 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner in Romney's new venture capital firm, Bain Capital, had disappeared. As it turned out, she had attended a rave party in New York City and had become high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was.

Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to try to find Gay's daughter.

Romney set up a command center in a conference room at the LaGuardia Marriott just outside Manhattan. He hired a private detective firm to assist with the search and established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the New York City Police Department, but he still wasn't satisfied. He raced through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York. He asked them to help his company find their friend's missing daughter.

The company's accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and its law firm, put up posters on street poles with a photo of the missing teenager. Cashiers at Duane Reade Pharmacies, which was owned by Bain Capital, put fliers in the bag of each shopper.

Romney and others from the Bain Capital posse trudged through every part of New York, even scouring Central Park, and talked with everyone they could - prostitutes, drug addicts - anyone who may have seen her. They also made rounds at the local nightclubs at 3 a.m., hoping someone somewhere could identify her.

The same day the Romney team came to New York, the hunt made the evening news. Television cameras showed photos of the girl and video of investment banker types prowling through Central Park.

The next day, a teenage boy she was with phoned in. He asked if there was a reward. But the boy got nervous and quickly hung up. Luckily, the police traced the call to a home in Montville Township, N.J.

Gay's daughter, when they found her in the basement of that home, was shivering through detox after a massive dose of ecstasy. Doctors later told Gay that he was indeed fortunate - his daughter probably would not have lasted another day.

"It was the most amazing thing, and I'll never forget this to the day I die," Gay says, adding of Romney's intervention, "I'm not sure we would have gotten her back without him."

It is often during a crisis that we gain insight into a person's real character. Romney's action demonstrated leadership, loyalty, and selflessness - attributes that Americans just might like to see in a president of the United States.


Mitt Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008 (http://archive.newsmax.com/romney/)

[Guest]

Integrity and loyalty maybe, consistency no.

[Guest]

Say what you want, but Mitt Romney is a man of integrity and a steadfast, loyal friend.

(2008) By Ronald Kessler

Mitt Romney was faced with a crisis in July 1996. The 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner in Romney's new venture capital firm, Bain Capital, had disappeared. As it turned out, she had attended a rave party in New York City and had become high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was.

Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to try to find Gay's daughter.

Romney set up a command center in a conference room at the LaGuardia Marriott just outside Manhattan. He hired a private detective firm to assist with the search and established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the New York City Police Department, but he still wasn't satisfied. He raced through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York. He asked them to help his company find their friend's missing daughter.

The company's accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and its law firm, put up posters on street poles with a photo of the missing teenager. Cashiers at Duane Reade Pharmacies, which was owned by Bain Capital, put fliers in the bag of each shopper.

Romney and others from the Bain Capital posse trudged through every part of New York, even scouring Central Park, and talked with everyone they could - prostitutes, drug addicts - anyone who may have seen her. They also made rounds at the local nightclubs at 3 a.m., hoping someone somewhere could identify her.

The same day the Romney team came to New York, the hunt made the evening news. Television cameras showed photos of the girl and video of investment banker types prowling through Central Park.

The next day, a teenage boy she was with phoned in. He asked if there was a reward. But the boy got nervous and quickly hung up. Luckily, the police traced the call to a home in Montville Township, N.J.

Gay's daughter, when they found her in the basement of that home, was shivering through detox after a massive dose of ecstasy. Doctors later told Gay that he was indeed fortunate - his daughter probably would not have lasted another day.

"It was the most amazing thing, and I'll never forget this to the day I die," Gay says, adding of Romney's intervention, "I'm not sure we would have gotten her back without him."

It is often during a crisis that we gain insight into a person's real character. Romney's action demonstrated leadership, loyalty, and selflessness - attributes that Americans just might like to see in a president of the United States.


Mitt Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008 (http://archive.newsmax.com/romney/)

What I like about this guy personally is that his life is open, not shrouded in any mysteries, nothing closed out and he has been vetted and vetted for years. To have his experience in so many facets, and not to have anything to be ashamed of is something special.

They talk about flip flops....I never liked that term...never liked it when applied to Kerry...people do change their minds and circumstances change....even our President is given a gimme on the many many items where he has changed his mind.

Mitt Romney is good man, with an open life about everything.

[Guest]

What I like about this guy personally is that his life is open, not shrouded in any mysteries, nothing closed out and he has been vetted and vetted for years. To have his experience in so many facets, and not to have anything to be ashamed of is something special.

They talk about flip flops....I never liked that term...never liked it when applied to Kerry...people do change their minds and circumstances change....even our President is given a gimme on the many many items where he has changed his mind.

Mitt Romney is good man, with an open life about everything.





The Cons told us Palin was vetted too.

How'd that turn out?

[Guest]

some of you continue to amuse me when you try to differentiate the characteristics of a politician and then pretend either your guy does not have those traits or that whatever is said gets turned around to apply to the opposition only.

Politicians are a generic category. They all lie, cheat, flip flop, wind wag, say one thing today and the reverse tomorrow depending who is in the audience.

To continue trying to differentiate which politicians don't do what they all do, just makes your position less credible. Especially when you use the R vs D criteria.

How about measuring a passing cloud for us. The results might be more credible than differentiation of a politician's characteristic!!!!

btk

[Guest]

some of you continue to amuse me when you try to differentiate the characteristics of a politician and then pretend either your guy does not have those traits or that whatever is said gets turned around to apply to the opposition only.

Politicians are a generic category. They all lie, cheat, flip flop, wind wag, say one thing today and the reverse tomorrow depending who is in the audience.

To continue trying to differentiate which politicians don't do what they all do, just makes your position less credible. Especially when you use the R vs D criteria.

How about measuring a passing cloud for us. The results might be more credible than differentiation of a politician's characteristic!!!!

btk

BTK...you probably would enjoy this article.....the title is "The Most Outrageous Clowns Are in Congress"

The Most Outrageous Clowns Are in Congress - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-10/the-most-outrageous-clowns-are-in-congress.html)

[Guest]

some of you continue to amuse me when you try to differentiate the characteristics of a politician and then pretend either your guy does not have those traits or that whatever is said gets turned around to apply to the opposition only.

Politicians are a generic category. They all lie, cheat, flip flop, wind wag, say one thing today and the reverse tomorrow depending who is in the audience.

To continue trying to differentiate which politicians don't do what they all do, just makes your position less credible. Especially when you use the R vs D criteria.

How about measuring a passing cloud for us. The results might be more credible than differentiation of a politician's characteristic!!!!

btk



Pretty broad brush you are using there. While I agree to an extent, saying they ALL lie, cheat, flip flop, wind wag etc makes your position less credible. I am confident there are politicians who do none of those things and are in politics for purely altruistic reasons, though they seem to be rare. My feeling is that MOST get into politics out of pure intentions to right wrongs, and have a positive effect on mankind, however, it would seem, MOST get corrupted by the system and cynical about the ability to affect real change over time. Term limits are, in my mind, essential to changing this cycle.

[Guest]

Pretty broad brush you are using there. While I agree to an extent, saying they ALL lie, cheat, flip flop, wind wag etc makes your position less credible. I am confident there are politicians who do none of those things and are in politics for purely altruistic reasons, though they seem to be rare. My feeling is that MOST get into politics out of pure intentions to right wrongs, and have a positive effect on mankind, however, it would seem, MOST get corrupted by the system and cynical about the ability to affect real change over time. Term limits are, in my mind, essential to changing this cycle.

EWEISSENBACH.......I must say your post was spot on, from my perspective.

[Guest]

I agree with you and eweissenbach, Bucco. I've known a few politicians at all levels of government who were'n't cheats, liars or thieves. They were good men and women. I don't believe they all get corrupted either. There is a game that is played and there is a fine line that governs how the game is played in politics. That is one reason to me to try at all costs to keep the government out of our lives.

[Guest]

yes my broad brush no doubts cuts across some good well intended folks just as you state.

It is unfortunate they are overwhelmed by those that fit my brush stroke to a 't'.

And some of them wind up resorting to the business as usual, high spending, low effort and results mode of operating. And of course we the people allow it to continue and re-elect the same cronies year after year.

A purge is direly needed and then term limits......very definitely term limits.

btk