To be fair, Rick Santorum made it clear that he was not criticizing Malia Obama herself when he made an issue of her spring-break trip to Mexico. Rather, he said earlier this week that the president set a poor example by allowing her to travel there despite State Department warnings.
Mediaite reports:
Today, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum chastised President Barack Obama for allowing his teen daughter Malia to take a trip to Mexico despite travel warnings issued by the State Department. Santorum told Glenn Beck that it’s important for the President and his administration to set an example for others.
“If the administration is saying that it’s not safe to have people down there,” he said over the phone, “then just because you can send 25 Secret Service agents doesn’t mean you should do it. You should set an example. I think that‘s what presidents do. They set an example.”
Santorum, himself a father of seven, emphasized that he wasn’t criticizing the President’s daughter. In fact, he added, he could definitely see why she’d want to travel down to Mexico with all her friends. That said, her father shouldn’t act “above the law.”
Informal poll: How many of you are planning trips to dangerous locales this week, using "Malia and her 25 Secret Service agents did it, so I can, too" as a justification? Anyone?
On a serious note, did Santorum have a point?
Read more at Mediaite.