Santorum Blasts Obama for Siding with Egyptian Protesters

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

WASHINGTON -- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a potential 2012 Republican presidential contender, blasted President Obama for siding with Egyptian protesters as they press for democracy, instead of the American-friendly authoritarian Egyptian government of President Hosni Mubarak.

"We've turned our backs on... almost all of our allies," Santorum said with respect to the president's foreign policy. As protesters voice their anger against Mubarak, "What does the president do? He sides with the protesters."

He qualified his statements to say that it was not necessarily bad to support pro-democracy protesters. However, he said it was a bad move in the context of the president's response to similar protests in Iran in 2009.

"When we turned our backs a year and half ago on Iran, there was a revolution," he said. "Did he call for the current regime to step down? No."

NRA's Wayne LaPierre: "Government Policies Are Getting us Killed"
McConnell: We'll Keeping Fighting Health Care Law Whether It's Popular or Not
Newt Gingrich: Replace the EPA
Michele Bachmann: China's Hu is "Your Daddy"
Read All of Hotsheet's Reports from CPAC

Santorum was speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. an annual event that has drawn about 11,000 conservatives to the capital. He was the first speaker at the event to broach the ongoing protests in Egypt.

The president's approach to those separate uprisings, Santorum said, tell American allies "that when things get tough, we walk away." And it tells American enemies, he said, "that when things get tough, we'll be with them."

President Obama has, in fact, called for immediate change in Egypt, but he has stopped short of calling for Mubarak to resign.

"America will continue to do everything that we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in Egypt," Mr. Obama said today following reports that Mubarak may step down. "We'll have more to say as this plays out," he added.

In 2009, Mr. Obama gave similarly hands-off remarks regarding the situation in Iran.

"The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government," he said. "If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."

It was generally thought that Mr. Obama's remarks were intended to avoid giving Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the ammunition needed to accuse the United States of interfering with their political process. Yet Santorum said that Mr. Obama's strategy lacked courage.

Sizing Up the 2012 GOP Presidential Contenders

The president, he said, "has refused to look at the sitaution in Iran and Egypt and around the world and do what Ronald Reagan would never be afraid to do - call evil, evil."

He criticized the president for not calling jihadism "evil" or sharia law "incompatible with with Western civlization."

15 Photos

2012 Republican Contenders

Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here.

[Zann-Zel]

These Republicans are really starting to scare me!

[hakori]

Santorum--like Palin, Gingrich, Bachmann, Fox, Paul, Wilson, Gingry(sp) and just about any other republican are far-right wing radicals. I'm tired of the media pretending that half of the American political process has not become radicalized. The things the radicals on the right say these days wouldn't have been tolerated twenty years ago by any self respecting conservative, but now it's the norm. They speak of government staying out of people's lives the whole time they're trying to inject goverment into people's personal lives; they speak of deficits while they create record deficits; they speak of intolerance on the left while they demonize anyone who disagrees with them. Our government doesn't work anymore because of them! The hateful rhetoric is coming from their side! There is no equivalence! The media made evey attempt, especially Fox, to pretend that words have no power or consequence after the shooting in Arizona. Even it this incident had nothing to do with the hatful words from the right, there will be in the future if it doesn't stop. The words of Christ inspired a religion and the words of MLK inspired a civil rights movement. Words have power and words do have consequences regardless what the media would have us believe.

[abbe91]

Saddam Hussein also was an ally of the US ...

[liberalme]

Sadam was placed in power under the Kennedy admin---he was provided chemical weapons under the Regan reign and that is what Bush was stating when he falsly invaded Iraq. Those chemicals had long since dissipated.

[nearl451]

Santorum wasn't real clear on what he would do. Join the Egyptian military and coerce them to start cracking down on protesters?

But he seems to insinuate that support of friendly dictators for 30 years is the way to go.

Heck, Bush was all for this democracy among the Muslim countries thing (bringing "Freedom" to Iraq and all).

[thinking-voter]

Bombing for democracy. It's the only tool in the tool box for the Neanderthals. Anything less destructive is just too much of an intellectual challenge for them.

[tafhdyd]

Only difference between Palin, Bachmann and Santorum is he is male, I think. A total off the deep end nut case.

[JV1970]

Apparently you didn't read CBS's last article on Palin. She supports the people of Egypt who are fighting for their freedom, not Mubarak. She also thinks Obama is a weak president but, unlike Santorum, she thinks he should take a stronger stand for the Egyptian revolutionists. She says that the US should always stand for freedom and democracy.

[mryoubrian]

What Santorum fails to understand is that, what we say in our foreign policy gets people killed. What we do not say, gets people killed.

Obama knew that he had to say just enough to let the youth in Iran know that we support them, but not enough to enrage the leadership. Because the regime in Iran would not have taken their frustrations and anger out on Americans but on their own people. You just can't say whatever you want, when you want and not have consequences.

The same is true in Egypt, 300 are dead and Khalid Said was beaten to death in the street by 2 policemen for "Posting on a Facebook page." I saw the morgue pictures beside a recent picture and can tell you that I did not even recognize the person in the morgue as a 22 year old man.

These protests could erupt into violence at any time and have remained surprisingly peaceful...so far. Santorum does not understand that you cannot say anything to antagonize an already deadly situation, because the Egyptian people will have to pay the price.

What an unthinkable thing to do now..stir things up about Egypt even more than they are now ...just for your own personal and political gain. Shame on your Rick.

I said 10 years ago that Rick Santorum would run for President. No one believed me then but I sure am glad he is running now because I want to see Palin, Santorum and Michelle Bachman in the same debate. It will be more entertaining than American Idol!

[JV1970]

Palin would win!

[thinking-voter]

Even ol' Ronnie knew restraint, put the word detente in our vocabulary. Obama did well with Iran and likewise is treading carefully with Egypt.

According to Santorum's insanity, the Iranian people's failure where the Egyptians might be succeeding is all Obama's fault? And it has nothing to do with the leadership and conditions in the country of Iran being very different from those in Egypt?

Santorum sounds like another one who's bulk of foreign policy experience consists of being able to see from their house.

[thinking-voter]

That fits well with McCain's giant bulbous jaw.

[stn_sage]

Let's be honest here! The point is, Santorum doesn't care what BO does!
He is going to attack him on this NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES! WHY?!
Because Santorum sees himself as representing the extreme right-wing opposition to him, that's why! Santorum is purposely arguing just to be disruptive and a contrarian...which is a big part of the reason the voters voted him out of office! Thus, we shouldn't waste a lot of time seriously considering or indulging in...his irresponsible behavior!

[nearl451]

You're right. If Obama said he was against cancer, Santorum would would wax apopleptic.

[johnnyart2]

It isn't surprising that a repuplican right winger would choose a dictator over a "DEMOCRACY" choosen by the people just so he can disagree with the "PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" and spread fear and hatred about Muslims...there is no other spin on this...check the FACTS

[waitingandwatching]

ALL I have to say is this is God's country and he is correct about that! So many have turned there back's on the facts that we need to constantly let people who are offended rule. StAnd up america put prayer back in school. our founding fathers believed in God. We cannot put a large cross on our property we offend others. Wake up we are losing our rights and letting these evil people rule our country. We were once a great nation! Obama not just him bush has spent us into a great depression and it will get worse. WE need a strong man of faith to restore our country with god behind him to do the right thing. Jesus will return ! wake up the only thing obama has left us with is change and not for the better.

[nearl451]

You are truly wacko.

"Jesus wept."

[maxcoffee-2009]

If Jesus died at Golgotha outside of Jerusalem... why would he come back to America? I personally feel that many Americans wear their faith on their sleeve. With as gluttonous and lustful as many Americans are... It's been over 2000 years and he hasn't come back yet, either here or there.
Why would a man of faith be any better at restoring America then any other?
I think that you'll be waiting for longer than you can imagine for the return of Jesus.