Santorum Is Victim of Double Standard

Obama opposes gay marriage, too, but nobody cares: William McGurn
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2012 1:23 PM CST
Santorum Is Victim of Double Standard
Rick Santorum speaks at the Kent County Lincoln Day Dinner Monday in Grand Rapids, Mich.   (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

William McGurn complains in the Wall Street Journal today about what he sees as the "most glaring double standard in American life today:" Candidate Obama in 2008 declares marriage to be a union between man and woman, and the media yawns. Rick Santorum says the same in 2012 and comes under attack. Obama's statement is a non-story "because everyone understands—nudge nudge, wink wink—that he's not telling the truth," writes McGurn. "The press understands that this is just one of those things a Democratic candidate has to say so he doesn't rile up the great unwashed."

So should Santorum stop talking about such things? Nope, writes McGurn. He is a "conviction politician," and he has found success because GOP voters, even if they don't agree with all his views, "are hungry for a nominee who does not bend with the wind." Santorum can, however, do a better job of not letting himself get caught up in unwieldy "theological debates" on, say, contraception. "He needs to keep his comments simple, clear, and focused on the political point he is hoping to make." (More gay marriage stories.)

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