Feeling Ill, Rick? Do Explain.

I solemnly swear that this blog post will not be about Mitt Romney.  Though, I fully intend to devote this piece of writing exclusively to condoning one Mr. Rick Santorum.  I hope you’re excited to find out about what nauseates this presidential-hopeful!

To start from the beginning, you have to be aware of a speech that John F. Kennedy gave in 1960.  That year, Kennedy was running for office in hopes of becoming the nation’s first Roman Catholic president.  While it may seem inconsequential today, there were many fears at the time that JFK would be undermine his personal religious beliefs in his political work, should he win the election.

So during aforementioned speech, he proclaimed, "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute; where no Catholic prelate would tell the President -- should he be Catholic -- how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote."

The speech gained a lot of support from the public, and ultimately set a standard for religion, government, and politics from both political parties.  (What a rhetorician that JFK was! That’s some powerful stuff!)

But on February 27^th, 2012, Rick Santorum said during an interview that Kennedy’s 1960 speech made him want to “throw up.”

Before I go on any further, may I take a moment remark upon how utterly stupid a comment that was?  Santorum did not come off as a well-spoken, informed, or even intelligent politician (or man, for that matter).  His rhetoric was weak.

Santorum then went on the say that “ . . . people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case?"

The man even called the speech an “absolutist doctrine.”

As I watched the interview proceed, I began to wonder if he really knew what he was talking about.  He urged viewers to read the speech—so I did.  I realized that Santorum’s argument was not only completely ridiculous, but he did not understand JFK’s words in the least.  Kennedy never said that religious people should not serve the public; rather, he restated the government’s neutrality concerning matters of faith.  (Smart political move.)

I mean, if Kennedy claimed that religious people should have no role in the public square, just how did he win the election two months later? 

It doesn’t take a lot to see that Santorum is an embarrassment to himself.  He should apologize for his ignorance and lack of propriety.  He can’t expect rhetoric like “throw up” to compete against others during the upcoming electoral season, can he?