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Santorum is crossing into taboo territory with his latest critique of Obama. Though the White House has a policy to bar presidential children from becoming news items, they mentioned that Obama’s daughter Malia, 13, who is on a class trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, which recently experienced an intense earthquake, was fine. Santorum took the opportunity to critique Obama’s policy:
“What I would say is that the president’s actions should reflect what his administration is saying,” he said to Glenn Beck this Tuesday. “If the administration is saying that it’s not safe to have people down there, then just because you can send 25 Secret Service agents doesn’t mean you should do it. You should set an example. I think that’s what presidents do. They set an example. And when the government is saying this is not safe, then you don’t set an example by sending your kids down there.”
Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, responded, saying “I think that children, for candidate purposes, have always been off-limits in presidential campaigns, and really any campaign. I’m surprised that Rick Santorum wouldn’t agree with that.”
The State Department warning warned that “crime and violence are serious problems through the country [of Mexico] and can occur anywhere” but did not recommend cancelling all travel there. Santorum, himself a father of seven, explains his comments as pointing out the “higher duty” expected of a president.
