Santorum rejects ‘extremist’ label in first post-campaign appearance
Surrounded by members of his family, Republican presidential candidate, former US Sen. Rick Santorum announces he will be suspending his campaign during a press conference at the Gettysburg Hotel on April 10, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Santorum’s 3-year-old daughter, Bella, became ill over the Easter holiday and poll numbers showed he was losing to Mitt Romney in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Rick Santorum appeared at ease Tuesday night in his first appearance since suspending his presidential campaign, reflecting on his family and why he was labeled the "extremist" GOP candidate.
The former Pennsylvania senator made the revelations during an on-stage interview with Focus on the Family’s James Dobson at Lancaster Bible College, CNN reported.
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He suspended his campaign earlier Tuesday as polls showed the once-surging candidate behind Mitt Romney in his home state of Pennsylvania. His 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who suffers from a rare and often fatal genetic condition, has also been hospitalized recently, the New York Daily News reported.
Santorum kept the Lancaster Bible College audience rapt as he argued for more support for marriage and fewer abortions. At one point, he spoke movingly about how his disabled 3-year-old daughter, Isabella Maria, communicates with her parents, the Washington Post reported.
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While Dobson praised the former two-term Pennsylvania senator for having the courage to talk about marriage and the sanctity of human life, he chided conservative political commentators for considering those views “extremist," CNN reported.
Santorum said his opponents share similar opinions.
“If you go down the list of sort of the life, marriage, social conservative issues, we were all pretty much in line, yet I was considered the extremist, which I found very interesting,” CNN reported him as saying.
When asked what his plans are, Santorum replied, "I'd like to get some sleep," the New York Daily News reported.
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