Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum spent much of the weekend in Ohio questioning President Obama’s faith and criticizing his environmental policy Ohio. Santorum has claimed that the president’s approach is based on an ideology which has places “the earth above man.”
On Feb. 18 Santorum spoke with tea party activists and evangelical leaders. While speaking to these groups, Santorum often speaks of religion and the President’s environmental policy in the same breath. After his speech given on Saturday, he has often had to defend and explain his comments regarding the presidents religious views to the press.
Even though Santorum has referred to President Obama as “Christian,” Santorum has insinuated that Obama does not lead with Christian values. Santorum told his Ohio audience that Obama practices “some phony theology, not a theology based on the Bible.” On Feb. 19, Santorum told CBS’s Face the Nation that he does not question the president’s faith but believes Obama practices one of the “different stripes of Christianity.”
Santorum’s remark regarding Obama’s faith is his attempt to distance himself from the president and portray him as an elitist who is out of touch with the average voter. Santorum is also taking advantage of his Eastern Ohio/Western Pennsylvanian roots in the Democratic-leading section of Eastern Ohio. He has also spent much time emphasizing that he is the grandson of a coal miner and understands the coal industry.
It is unclear if Santorum’s comment regarding the president’s faith has helped or hurt his campaign. According to a Gallup poll conducted on Feb. 19 Mitt Romney trails Santorum nationwide. The poll found that 36 percent of Republican voters favor Santorum, while only 28 percent favor Romney.