Santorum Suspends GOP Presidential Primary Campaign

Former PA Senator Rick Santorum suspended his bid to be the Republican candidate for President Tuesday. He made a valiant effort and even when he barely squeaked by to get the nod to participate in early debates, he pressed on. He moved his family to Iowa and proudly boasted that he visited each and every one of that state's counties.

Despite the commitment to Iowa, to strive for gravatas, he lost the Iowa Straw Poll last summer to Michele Bachmann.

I've made no effort to disguise my thoughts on Rick Santorum. I never warmed up to him. He was a hard worker, yes, but he wasn't a good candidate. He's not very likable, unless you drink his evangelical style of the Catholic faith and far right social conservatism. The voters in his home state of Pennsylvania - where he no longer lives, he lives in Virginia - soundly rejected him in his last attempt of re-election to the U.S. Senate by an historic 18%. He risked losing Pennsylvania to Romney in the primary race and he knew it, as the polling shows Romney closing in on him as the primary nears.

While there is no doubt of his commitment to his family, clearly he had a conflict in campaigning around the country as his very young daughter battles a terminal disease. His wife, Karen, and his older children were usually at his side on the trail and on stage. They didn't appear as props but as a supportive family.

The problem with Rick Santorum was that he was a loose cannon. He frequently veered way off message and made several headlines that created controversy of his own making. He sometimes appeared arrogant in his own opinions of social values and would not be able to expand out much farther than his social conservative base.

He was whiny when he lost to Romney, complaining that he didn't have Romney's money. He complained that Romney was a negative campaigner. Well, so was he. Santorum even took to holding an Etch-A-Sketch at recent campaign events to mock Romney. That is not taking the high road.

Voters aren't looking for a whiner and complainer. We already have one of those in the White House. The current whiner-in-chief has a really big campaign war chest to use in this re-election season. How would Santorum fight that?

So, congratulations to Rick Santorum for a hard fought battle and leaving before he had to in disgrace. We can all wish him well and hold his ill 3 year old in our thoughts. He can go back to lobbying and making speeches to retire his campaign debts. He has a large family to care for and educate.