>>>
good evening. it's become part of this election cycle. we have all watched as multiple candidates have risen to that front-runner status in the gop race. that always means bigger crowds, more money, more media attention and more scrutiny. for
rick santorum
who right now is receiving all of that coming off victories in three of the last four contests this was a weekend of wide-ranging remarks followed by some damage control and clarification. after a series of controversial comments on the president, on
public schools
and on
prenatal testing
it was a weekend that left some wondering what was
senator santorum
trying to say. as the gop race enters yet another crucial phase it's where we begin on this holiday monday night with nbc's
ron
mott on the trail in columbus, ohio.
ron
, good evening.
>> reporter:
hey, brian. good evening to you. over the past two days
rick santorum
has gotten a lot of attention for things he's said on the campaign trail. his every word, his every sentence and what they all mean are now getting a closering loochlt -- closer look. [ applause ]
>> reporter:
for
rick santorum
his recent front-runner status is forcing him to backtrack and explain some rhetoric on the president's energy philosophy for example.
>>
it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology.
>> reporter:
was the religious-sounding attack a swipe at mr. obama's faith?
>>
i was talking about the radical environmentalists.
>>>
on
prenatal testing
.
>>
a lot of prenatal tests are done to identify deformities in utero and the customary procedure is to encourage abortions.
>> reporter:
today he stood firm.
>>
90% of down's syndrome children in this country are aborted.
>> reporter:
on publically led education.
>>
the idea that the
federal government
should be running schools, frankly much less that the
state government
should be running schools is anachronistic.
>> reporter:
was he condemning the
public school
system in favor of home schooling as the santorums do?
>>
parents educated their children because it is their responsibility to educate their children.
>> reporter:
since surging in the polls in states including michigan,
rick santorum
plays to bigger crowds and more scrutiny about his conservative perspective. his take on the president's energy agenda which some interpreted as a knock on the president's christianity was rebuked by the
obama campaign
.
>>
it's time to get rid of the mindset in our politics that if we disagree, we have to question character and faith.
>> reporter:
while leading
mitt romney
in a number of polls
santorum
lags behind with women voters though
santorum
's message of
social conservativism
is resonating with the base.
>>
he's a disciplined guy. he knows what he believes. that's key. he's authentic. that's what primary voters love to see.
>> reporter:
meantime, governor romney was back on the stump today in cincinnati after a weekend off. rather than hitting
santorum
on the social debates, romney stuck to criticizing him on fiscal issues. nevertheless,
mitt romney
and the other two candidates in the race --
newt gingrich
and
ron paul
-- may be asked to weigh in at wednesday's arizona debate. it is the only debate before next week in arizona and michigan and super tuesday on march 6. brian?
>>
ron
mott starting us off from columbus tonight.
ron
, thanks.
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