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Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum eyes 2012 presidential run!
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Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum confirms he's thinking about running for president in 2012!
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum confirmed Tuesday he's thinking about running for president in 2012, and he's taking a step that looks like he might be serious.
Mr. Santorum cautioned that the next presidential election is more than three years away, but in two weeks he's headed for Iowa, where the first presidential nominating contests take place.
Mr. Santorum said he would never have considered running six months ago, but "the dynamic has changed."
President Barack Obama's approval ratings have dipped sharply because the president has failed to live up to his promise to be a "transformative president" who would act in a bipartisan manner, Mr. Santorum said during a conference call with reporters arranged by the Republican National Committee before Mr. Obama's speech to the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh.
"That has created a different atmosphere out there and I think, not just me, but I think a lot of people out there are going to take a look and see what they can do to try to confront this presidency ... which many of us believe is injurious to America," he said. "I said that's something (running for the presidency) that I think I would consider. But I went from not considering it at all to saying I would at least consider it. I think that's as far as I'm going to go 3 1/2 years out."
Speculation about Mr. Santorum running for president began last month when he announce he was heading to Iowa on Oct. 1 to speak about the future of the Republican Party at the University of Dubuque, to address a state anti-abortion group's luncheon and to raise money for his leadership political action committee.
The list of other possible Republican challengers to Mr. Obama in 2012 includes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Since losing his re-election bid to Democrat Bob Casey in 2006, Mr. Santorum has returned to practicing law. He also is a senior fellow for the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., offers commentary for the Fox News Channel and writes a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Added on: Sep 15th, 2009
- Country: United States
- Language: English
