Rick Santorum seems to have no idea how to take a day off.
[See pictures of Rick Santorum on the campaign trail.]
Over the weekend, the Santorum campaign announced that it would suspend efforts on the trail on Monday while Santorum's youngest daughter, Bella—who suffers from the rare genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18—recovers after needing hospitalization on Friday. While he is not out actively campaigning, Santorum still delivered his message on Monday, penning an op-ed for the New York Daily News that calls out President Obama and Mitt Romney on their Israeli policy.
Santorum blasts the Obama administration's stance on Jerusalem's status as the capital city of Israel, arguing that the administration "is not complying with U.S. law" because it has opposed listing "Jerusalem, Israel" as a birthplace on American passports. He says that Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney has not stated a differing opinion regarding Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital.
[Read Romney Reminds Pennsylvania Voters That Santorum is a Loser.]
"It has been longstanding U.S. policy not to officially recognize any part of Jerusalem as part of Israel—and it is dead wrong," Santorum writes.
If elected president, he says that he would immediately move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and he cites his 1995 Senate vote to mandate using Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state to prove his pro-Israeli bona fides.
After Santorum lost three primaries last Tuesday and took the Easter weekend to regroup, speculation that he would call his campaign off has grown to a crescendo. Couple that with reports that he has still not made a significant ad buy in Pennsylvania, which holds its primary on April 24, and the hunch that he might drop out gains even more legitimacy. On Tuesday, he plans to restart his efforts on the stump with appearances in Bedford and Lancaster, Pa., but his schedule for the upcoming week appears light compared to his usual load.
Still, Santorum is picking fights with the president and his chief adversary, Mitt Romney—an indication that he may not be ready to hang it up just yet.
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Tom of UT 5:51AM April 13, 2012
Alfred of CA 9:54PM April 09, 2012