FORT MILL, S.C. ? Rick Santorum?s closing argument in South Carolina: values.
The former Pennsylvania senator retreated to comfortable territory, the conservative Upstate region of South Carolina, to speak to huge crowds about values and cement his base on the eve of the state?s primary.
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?It?s decision time as to what South Carolina is going to communicate to the rest of the country,? he told the crowd at a packed town hall meeting in Boiling Springs.?What is the Upstate going to say? Who are they going to stand behind? What message are they going to send to country as to who the conservative standard-bearer will be??
?It?ll be you, Rick!? audience members shouted, applauding.
Polls show that tomorrow?s race here is really between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich: Santorum is competing for third place with Ron Paul. But the former Pennsylvania senator has vowed to continue his campaign to Florida, which votes Jan. 31. A strong performance in the conservative bastions of South Carolina can propel his argument that he is the real conservative in the race.
Santorum held two town hall meetings Friday in the Upstate region, one in Fort Mill and another in Boiling Springs. He also held an event in Lexington in the morning, and flew back to Charleston for an event that night.
He told voters that choosing him would send a message to the country.
?It?s very, very important here in the Upstate,? he told the crowd in Fort Mill, ?because this is the conservative area of South Carolina. This is the area that speaks loudly to the nation. ? This area of the state will say, here?s who we believe the real conservative is in this race.?
?Charleston may not send that message, right, but the Upstate will send that message,? he said.
That was the case in the Iowa caucuses, he said, touting the certified results that declared him the winner by 34 votes yesterday. Iowa?s big cities went to Romney, but the smaller, more conservative counties went to Santorum.
Santorum tailored his speech to the audience at hand, speaking freely about issues of faith, character and morality.
?I always say America is a great moral enterprise,? he said. ?? Given that radical freedom, we needed to have people that lived good, decent and moral lives, because well, otherwise we wouldn?t stay free. That?s where we are today.?
Santorum sought to contrast his values and character with that of Gingrich, who is leading the primary in recent polls, despite charges by his ex-wife that the former speaker wanted an ?open marriage.?
In an earlier speech, Santorum answered a question about Marianne Gingrich?s accusations by saying that a candidate?s personal life and ?character? are fair game for voters to examine.
?Personal matters are personal matters, but they are matters that, particularly when you are in public life as [Gingrich] was at the time ? those issues are issues people will look at,? he said, adding that he ?believes in forgiveness.?
Personal issues, he said, are something each voter must weigh individually.
?These are issues of character and these are issues people will consider based upon the time, when, where, how,? he said. ?I?ll let people make that decision, I?m not going to make it for them.?
And when he and his wife, Karen, were asked a question about how they?d balance life in the White House with keeping their family together, Karen Santorum said their faith is what keeps them strong.
?If God is calling you to do something, he will give you the grace and the strength,? she said. ?I have confidence going into this that he will give us the grace and the fortitude to persevere.?
Santorum?s closing line at the event in Boiling Springs: ?Let the Upstate lead!?
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