On Friday's CBS This Morning, Rick Santorum pushed back against Charlie
Rose's interrogation about supporter Foster Friess's recent "bad
off-color joke" on contraception, all but name-dropping former Obama
pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright as an example of the media's double standard
on playing "gotcha" politics with Republicans, but not Democrats.
Rose initially countered, "This is not gotcha; what
this is, is trying to understand exactly what Rick Santorum stands for,
and what he might say or do as president." But the GOP presidential
candidate wasn't having any of it: "You don't do this with President Obama...he sat in a church for 20 years, and [you] defended him- that, oh, he can't possibly believe what he listened to for 20 years. It's a double standard...and I'm going to call you on it" [audio available here ].
CBS's Big Three counterparts - ABC and NBC - also spotlighted the
Friess controversy. On Thursday's World News, ABC correspondent Jonathan
Karl claimed that the backer's joke was "consistent with
Santorum's Catholic faith, but also a reminder of just how far to the
right he is on social issues, even once comparing homosexuality to
bestiality." The same evening, on NBC Nightly News, Kelly O'Donnell that Friess "veered into volatile territory" with the joke that "caught fire."
The following morning, on Friday's Today show, anchor Savannah Guthrie trumpeted that Republicans "stepped into it a little bit" on the wider debate over controversy over contraception and the federal government's mandate for it, and that the remark "raised a lot of eyebrows." Guthrie then asked colleague David Gregory, "Does this illustrate how quickly this whole issue can get off course?" Gregory replied, in part, that "a lot of strategists...think
that this is a real straitjacket for the party come general election
time, whoever the nominee is, even if the elements of the base right now
are energized by the issue."
Rose led his interview of the former Pennsylvania senator with the controversy over Friess's remark. He asked, "What have you said to him about the comments, other than what you have said to the press?" Santorum retorted by immediately accusing the journalist of playing "gotcha":
SANTORUM: I'm not responsible for every comment that a supporter of
mine makes...it was a bad joke. It was a stupid joke. It's not
reflective of me or my record on this issue....this is the same gotcha politics that you get from the media, and I'm just not going to play that game.
The anchor continued by pursuing the issue with his guest, which led to
a back and forth between the two, and ultimately concluded with the
Republican firing back with the Rev. Wright example:
ROSE: There's no question that those issues are very important, and
they're very important to the voters of Michigan. But also, you have been identified as a social conservative, and those issues have been part of what you have said to the country.
So this is not gotcha. What this is, is trying to understand exactly
what Rick Santorum stands for, and what he might say or do as president-
SANTORUM: Well, Charlie, when you quote- hold on, Charlie. When
you quote a supporter of mine who tells a bad off-color joke, and
somehow, I'm responsible for that shall, that's gotcha. I mean, the bottom line is, we're- we've been- we've been-
ROSE: But nobody said you were responsible, Senator. Nobody
said you were responsible. They said, how would you characterize it and
what have you said to him, not that you were responsible. It's to
understand how you differ from what this person said. So let me quote you-
SANTORUM: Okay. So I'm now going to have respond to every supporter who
says something. Now, I'm going to have to respond to it. Look, this is
what you guys do. I mean, I don't- you don't do this with President
Obama. In fact, with President Obama, what you did was you went out and
defended him against someone who- he sat in a church for- for 20 years,
and defended him- that, oh, he can't possibly believe what he listened
to for 20 years. It's a double standard, this is what you're pulling
off, and I'm going to call you on it.
Even after this exchange, Rose wasn't finished with the subject, and
read a past quote from the former senator on the issue of birth control.
In reply, Santorum defended his record:
SANTORUM: Well, my beliefs are that, as I said, my public policy beliefs
are that this contraception should be available. Again, I've supported
Title X [Ten] funding. I've also supported abstinence-based
education, because I believe that is a healthier alternative. I've been a
very strong promoter of that. I think that pre-marital sex, and
particularly, sex for- with young girls is a very dangerous and at-risk
behavior. I'm not alone on that. The President even supports policies to
try to make sure that folks do not have sex outside of marriage and
at-risk teens [who] get involved- in that at-risk
behavior, that leads to sexually-transmitted diseases; unwanted
pregnancies; you know, abortions, and a whole laundry list of other
things. So, no, I do stand behind the idea that abstinence is the best
alternative, and I've supported that with a program called Title XX [Twenty] within the government.
The transcript of the relevant portion of Charlie Rose's interview of Rick Santorum, beginning
at the nine minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour mark of Friday's CBS This Morning:
ROSE: Rick Santorum is back in East Lansing. I'm sorry about that interruption. Let's continue the conversation with the question about Foster Friess's comments. What have you said to him about the comments, other than what you have said to the press?
[CBS News Graphic: "Race For The White House: Santorum On Contraception Flap"]
SANTORUM: Well, you know, this is someone who's a supporter of mine, and I'm not responsible for every comment that a supporter of mine makes. I mean, there's lots of folks who- I mean, they say- it was a bad joke. It was a stupid joke. It's not reflective of me or my record on this issue. You know, it's funny that- I've been criticized by Governor Romney and Ron Paul for actually having voted for something called Title X, which is, actually, federal funding of contraception. So, you know, this is the same gotcha politics that you get from the media, and I'm just not going to play that game. I'm not responsible for any comment that anybody who supports me makes, and my record stands for itself. I've got a very strong record, and I'm- you know, was here- in Detroit, as you mentioned earlier, talking about the economy. I gave a speech yesterday at the Detroit Economic Club, talked about growing the manufacturing and energy sector in our economy, and creating opportunity for everyone in America to be able to rise-
ROSE: Senator, there is-
SANTORUM: And that's what our campaign is about.
ROSE: There's no question that those issues are very important, and they're very important to the voters of Michigan. But also, you have been identified as a social conservative, and those issues have been part of what you have said to the country. So this is not gotcha-
SANTORUM: Yeah-
ROSE: What this is, is trying to understand exactly what Rick Santorum stands for, and what he might say or do as president-
SANTORUM: Well, Charlie, when you quote- hold on, Charlie. When you quote a supporter of mine who tells a bad off-color joke, and somehow, I'm responsible for that shall, that's gotcha. I mean, the bottom line is, we're- we've been- we've been-
ROSE: But nobody said you were responsible, Senator. Nobody said you were responsible. They said, how would you characterize it and what have you said to him, not that you were responsible. It's to understand how you differ from what this person said. So let me quote you-
SANTORUM: Okay. So I'm now going to have respond to every supporter who says something. Now, I'm going to have to respond to it. Look, this is what you guys do. I mean, I don't- you don't do this with President Obama. In fact, with President Obama, what you did was you went out and defended him against someone who- he sat in a church for- for 20 years, and defended him- that, oh, he can't possibly believe what he listened to for 20 years-
ROSE: That was-
SANTORUM: It's a double standard, this is what you're pulling off, and I'm going to call you on it. Now, the fact is, I'm here in Detroit, and we're focused on the economy and jobs, and that's what we're going to continue to do in this election because that's what the American public wants to talk about-
ROSE: I want to get to the jobs, and I invite you to sit for long conversations, Senator, about jobs, about the economy. But I also want to stay with this, and just quote you- did you say, 'One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country- the whole sexual libertine idea. Many in the Christian faith have said, well, that's okay. Contraception is okay.' 'It's not okay,' you said, 'because it's a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be. They're supposed to be within marriage. They're supposed to be for purposes that are, yes, conjugal, but also procreative.' That's what you said, not a supporter-
SANTORUM: Right- no, I-
ROSE: And I'm asking, to understand your beliefs- it's an effort to understand your beliefs.
SANTORUM: Great- Well, my beliefs are that, as I said, my public policy beliefs are that this contraception should be available. Again, I've supported Title X funding. I've also supported abstinence-based education, because I believe that is a healthier alternative. I've been a very strong promoter of that. I think that pre-marital sex, and particularly, sex for- with young girls is a very dangerous and at-risk behavior. I'm not alone on that. The President even supports policies to try to make sure that folks do not have sex outside of marriage and at-risk teens [who] get involved- in that at-risk behavior, that leads to sexually-transmitted diseases; unwanted pregnancies; you know, abortions, and a whole laundry list of other things. So, no, I do stand behind the idea that abstinence is the best alternative, and I've supported that with a program called Title XX within the government.
[CBS News Graphic: "CBS News/New York Times Poll: Republican Support Of Private Birth Control Coverage: Support, 50%; Oppose, 44%; Margin Of Error: +/- 3%"]
ROSE: So that's a fair conversation to have-
SANTORUM: Yeah.
— Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
