an examination of Mr. Santorum’s earmark record sheds light on another aspect of his political personality, one that is at odds with the reformer image he has tried to convey on the trail: his prowess as a Washington insider. A review of some of his earmarks, viewed alongside his political donations, suggests that the river of federal money Mr. Santorum helped direct to Pennsylvania paid off handsomely in the form of campaign cash.
UPDATE: NYTIMES:
The attack on Mr. Romney, Mr. Santorum’s main rival for Republican votes in Midwestern states, used language similar to a new Web video by the Democratic National Committee.
Mr. Santorum had not made the same line of attack in campaign stops over the past week.
“One of Mitt Romney’s greatest accomplishments, one of the things he talks about the most, is how he heroically showed up on the scene, and bailed out and resolved the problems of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games,” Mr. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, told an audience at a hotel ballroom here. “He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic Games,” he then added, “by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bailout the Salt Lake Olympic Games. In an earmark.” Pointing out that the Romney campaign has been attacking him over earmarks in Congress, Mr. Santorum added: “Does the word hypocrisy come to mind?” He also noted that one of Mr. Romney’s supporters this year, Senator John McCain, had criticized the taxpayer money provided for the Games.
The Romney campaign fired back, saying “Sometimes when you shoot from the hip, you end up shooting yourself in the foot.”
“There is a pretty wide gulf between seeking money for post-9/11 security at the Olympics and seeking earmarks for polar bear exhibits at the Pittsburgh Zoo,” a Romney spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, said in an e-mailed statement. “Mitt Romney wants to ban earmarks; Senator Santorum wants more ‘Bridges to Nowhere’.”
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