Oh yeah, I'm sure. Well then he is about as dumb as rocks, because he knew the media would claim he snubbed the president. If you are in a desperate run for your office and the leader of your party comes through town you are either there or you are snubbing him. This "prior speaking engagement" is as naive as they come.
Setting the record straight - Santorum was a KEYNOTE SPEAKER at the American Legion veterans day luncheon in Philly. This was an important engagement and it would have been foolish to break just to be on the podium and hear Bush speak:
http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.View&ContentRecord_id=1523&CFID=27432827&CFTOKEN=40102369
Following the grant presentation, Senator Santorum delivered the keynote speech at the annual American Legion Veteran’s Day luncheon at the Union League of Philadelphia. On October 5, 2005 Joseph C. Hare, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the Union League and Peter Klenk, Commander of American Legion Post No. 405, invited Senator Santorum to be the keynote speaker for the event today.
“I cannot think of a better way to spend Veteran’s Day than to have the opportunity to personally thank and acknowledge the men and women of the United States Armed Forces - both past and present,” said Senator Santorum. “I encourage all of my fellow Pennsylvanians to take time today to thank our veterans and honor these heroes who have made tremendous sacrifices and dedicated their lives to protect the freedoms and liberties that we cherish today.”
“We are extremely proud to have Senator Santorum as our Veteran’s Day Keynote Speaker. The Senator's record of support for our military services and personnel is outstanding. This is a wonderful opportunity today to say ‘Thank You’ to our Vets, while sharing with the Senator our thoughts and concerns about the current state of the military services,” said Rear Admiral Joseph C. Hare, Chairman of the Union League's Armed Services Committee. “We are especially pleased to be hosting a number of members of the 10th Mountain Division, and this event is a special opportunity for these veterans to share some time and conversation with one of our key leaders in Washington.”