By AARON HOLMES – Features Writer
In an attempt to appeal to right-wing conservative voters, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has waged war on the media.
When a political candidate needs to boost their approval ratings, they generally seek one thing– an enemy. An enemy can serve as a scapegoat for most any of the candidate’s failings.
For many candidates, especially in highly-televised presidential elections, an obvious adversary is the media.
Last month, during a Wisconsin speech to supporters, republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum stated that fellow republican candidate Mitt Romney was a bad match to run against President Obama on the issue of national healthcare.
“Pick any other republican in the country,” Santorum said during his speech. “(Romney) is the worst republican in the country to run against Barack Obama.”
Later, after the speech, New York Times political correspondent Jeff Zeleny asked Santorum to clarify whether or not he called Romney “the worst republican in the country.” Santorum’s mouth opened, and his eyes narrowed.
He had found his enemy.
“What speech are you listening to?” Santorum asked, incredulously. “Quit distorting our words. Stop lying.”
Later, in an interview with Columbia Broadcasting System news, Zeleny said that Santorum’s outburst was purposeful.
“He knew the cameras were rolling,” Zeleny said during the CBS interview.
Wouldn’t such a dramatic overreaction bruise Santorum’s image? Probably not. In fact, criticism of the media is commonly a positive factor for political candidates.
“What he’s trying to do is make his case to republicans,” Zeleny said. “It’s very common for Republican or Democrat candidates to use the media as a foil.”
Santorum has also decided to use his new-found enemy as a way to distance himself from other political contenders. Soon after his exchange with Zeleny, Santorum sent an email to supporters saying that he was prepared to “take on the New York Times” and that the Times is “an enabler of Mitt Romney’s and Barack Obama’s liberal agendas.”
Whether Santorum’s claims against the media as a whole will help or hurt his campaign are unclear. In the end, he is just one of many candidates, both Republican and Democrat alike, to make an opponent of the media.
