Santorum was part of the Senate leadership. His option was to resign that position. That did not seem, at the time, a practical thing to do, because he would have been in the same position where Ron Paul found himself for most of his time in public office, a person who had to be content to getting what scraps fell from the table for his district.
You find yourself making excuses.
I’d rather you say “yeah well I still like him so I’ll vote for him” which I can live with.
But to twist and dance and make more excuses is kind of lame for a FR poster - even moreso for a presidential candidate.
jmo