Karen Santorum: Rick's Presidential Run Is 'God's Will'

By Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post

26 February 12

ick Santorum's wife granted a rare interview Thursday, telling conservative talk show host Glenn Beck that she initially had been against her husband running for president but finally concluded it was "God's will."

Speaking in deeply spiritual terms, Karen Santorum said she had been reluctant to throw her support behind the idea because her husband's failed 2006 Senate re-election campaign had been so brutal. Also, she said, her husband had become more involved with the family after leaving the Senate, and was even coaching Little League.

But she said she prayed on the matter, and finally changed her mind after the passage of the 2010 health care overhaul.

"I did always feel in my heart that God had big plans for Rick. Eventually it was there, tugging at my heart," she said. "When Obamacare passed, that was it. That put the fire in my belly."

Karen Santorum has been largely behind the scenes during the campaign, busy in part taking care of the couple's youngest child, Bella, who suffers from a terminal disorder.

She has been speaking out more lately, a shift that has coincided with growing concerns on the part of the Republican's supporters that his comments critical of contraception and some prenatal testing could harm his standing among women.

She turned up on Beck's Internet television show toward the end of a more extensive interview that began with Rick Santorum saying that his wife loves the talk-show host - "loves you more than me sometimes," he joked.

Karen Santorum also defended her husband's performance in Wednesday's debate, saying that he was right to admit to having made mistakes while in Congress. She said it is inevitable to sometimes lose one's way in Washington. "You really have to keep your prayer life in order," she said, "and really keep faith and family the top priority always. And keep your feet on the ground. Because you can get lost."