Rick Santorum: Lord of the wing nuts
2006-10-20
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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rss feedI'm told there was a time when politicians were so confident in the literacy of the American electorate that they thought nothing of dropping quotes from Shakespeare, Milton and Melville into their conversations with constituents.
Whatever may have been the case 50 years ago, most politicians have withdrawn from the tyranny of rational discourse. Lies, creepy sound bites and non sequiturs are the currency of the realm these days.
Still, we continue to hold to the vain hope that our elected leaders will once again demonstrate a renewed respect for our intelligence.
Alas, Pennsylvania's politicians probably won't be in the vanguard of such a movement. Why quote the Bard or Edith Hamilton's "Greek Mythology" when its easier to drop references to King Aragorn or the Shire?
If U.S. Senator Rick Santorum's interview with the editorial board of the Bucks County Courier Times last week is any indication, we'll be knee deep in low-brow literary references and bad analogies for a while.
First, a caveat before we mercilessly tease the junior senator from Pennsylvania for what may be the last time. The editorial board of the Post-Gazette invited Mr. Santorum to sit down for an endorsement interview -- a courtesy we extend to all major candidates.
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