FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Some people just can't stand prosperity. Exhibit A: Rick Santorum.
You'd think after last week's wins in Alabama and Mississippi, he'd be on his "A" game in Illinois. Not so much.
On Monday, he said, "I don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn't matter to me."
Issue No. 1 for voters, the economy, doesn't matter? That statement goes beyond stupid.
A spokesman later tried to do damage control by arguing that the campaign isn't solely about the economy but also about returning freedom and restoring the country's greatness. And just how do we do that, Ricky, with a $15 trillion national debt, millions of Americans out of work and an unemployment rate north of 8%?
Call it whatever you want, but Mitt Romney - who's already selling the line that his chief rival is an "economic lightweight" - pounced.
Santorum insists that the country doesn't want another "Wall Street financier" like Romney as president, but there are reports that a message focused more on government outreach and wars against pornography than on whether Americans have a job is inspiring fear among some supporters.
And this isn't the first time Santorum has gotten himself into some trouble. Last month, he said he "almost threw up" after reading John F. Kennedy's famous 1960 speech declaring that a president's religious views were private and should not be "imposed by him upon the nation."
Again, he tried to walk it back, but once the words come out of your mouth, it's tough to put them back in.
To quote that great philosopher James Carville, "It's the economy, stupid!"
Here’s my question to you: Is Rick Santorum suddenly doing himself in?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
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