Rick Santorum Should Just Go To Hell

The juxtaposition on The New York Times homepage of a shocking story that the Census Bureau has found that 51 million Americans have incomes less than 50 percent above the poverty line and the latest frothings from Little Ricky Santorum was in all likelihood unintentional, but made a big point. Two, in fact.

Point One is that the number of new near poor in the U.S. as the lingering effects of the Bush Recession is much worse than supposed.

Point Two is that Santorum is a self-righteous jerk.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Iowa the day the Census Bureau report was released, the Republican presidential wannabe and helpmate in launching the recession argued that Americans receive too many government benefits and ought to "suffer" in the Christian tradition.

If "you’re lower income, you can qualify for Medicaid, you can qualify for food stamps, you can qualify for housing assistance," Santorum complained, before adding, "suffering is part of life and it’s not a bad thing, it is an essential thing in life."

In case you're wondering, Santorum's net worth approaches $2 million.