Bush Adviser Worries About Santorum Bid - Calls him a little bizarre

[RamboLiberal]

Former Bush adviser Mark McKinnon says a presidential bid by former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is a scary prospect.

"Santorum represents, in my view, much of what is wrong the in the Republican Party. While I disagree with him on some fundamental issues, I am much more concerned with his lack of character."

And then there is this little known tidbit: "I'm a pretty tolerant guy, but beyond his ideology, some of Santorum's behavior is just a little bizarre. For example, Santorum has six children. In 1996, he had son born prematurely who lived for only two hours. He and wife brought the child home and introduced the dead infant to the rest of their children as 'your brother Gabriel' and slept with the body overnight."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/08/13/bush_adviser_worries_about_santorum_bid.html

[janx]

1. A LITTLE bizarre?

:rofl:

[Mrs. Overall]

2. What potential Republican candidate isn't just a bit bizarre?

[PretzelWarrior]

3. it's called "Framing". Next to him, Palin doesn't look as psycho if she runs...or wait.

is it the other way around? They're all so bat shit crazy it's hard to tell if anyone is left holding the GOP banner that isn't a couple missed meds away from the asylum.

[OHdem10]

4. McKinnon was a Democrat until he started working for Bush.

I can understand he would see Santorum as a "bizarre."

IMO, his ultra-conservatism will not fly in a genral election.
Go ahead and let him run.

[hedgehog]

5. There's plenty to say about Santorum without bringing

this story up again and again as proof he is strange.

Stillbirth used to be something that was hushed up and unmentioned. Many times the parents never saw the child. Now parents and family members are encouraged to hold the baby, bathe and dress it and take photos.

Everyone handles grief differently.

[janx]

11. I haven't heard about this recent handling of still births.

Can you provide me with more information about it? It sounds like something that may have existed in a distant past--like taking photos of the corpses of children with their mouths sewn shut.

I'm trying to be respectful in light of what you say, but I really can't understand it.

[hedgehog]

13. Here's a couple of links

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=1600326

Should Parents Opt to Hold Their Stillborn Baby?:

The answer is different for everyone: Some parents find that holding the baby is essential for the coping process, while others do not want to see the baby at all. The research is mixed on whether holding the baby is therapeutic (some research suggests that holding the baby may possibly increase risk of clinical depression), but the decision should be made by the parents.

The hardest part is that couples may not know their preferences until it's too late. Some parents who do not hold their babies end up regretting it later.

http://miscarriage.about.com/od/immediatemedicalconcerns/p/stillbirth.htm

Many hospitals encourage the parents of a stillborn child to see and hold the infant, in the belief that close contact will help the process of grieving and recovery.

...

''Parents will want to make their own decision, but good medical practice is that they are offered all relevant information when they decide,'' she said. ''Having said that, it is an appalling situation in which to have to make a decision. Perhaps some will want to wait a few hours or days before making up their mind.''


http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/03/health/vital-signs-grieving-coping-with-a-stillbirth.html



There is some controversy about whether it is a good thing or not to hold the dead child. I think it depends on the people involved.

[RichGirl]

15. There's a lot of room,...

....between "not allowing parents to see the baby" and "taking the baby home to meet the kids". Honestly, I have a problem with arguements where you go from one extreme to support another extreme. Between the extremes there's a vast area called normal, healthy behavior.

The parents are adults and it is there right to spend as much time with the baby, do whatever they like. But I draw the line with including the children. Children don't have the maturity and understanding to handle confusing situations, especially when it's about death. Even as a pre-teen I had many fearful thoughts about death that kept me up nights. (Maybe because my old world grand parents had pictures of people in coffins in their photo album. Or maybe because a man had died in the house we lived in. I don't know.) A dead body in the house, even if it's a sibling, would have had me in therapy for life!

[valerief]

6. Man-on-Dog Santorum bizarre? Naaaaaaaah!

:rofl:

[Cha]

7. Mark Mckinnon is one of the gop's

more sane people so I can see why ol santorum might give him pause.

[Thrill]

8. He's the one who quit McCain's campaign because he didn't

want to run negative ads against Obama right?

[camera obscura]

9. He is.

[Brother Buzz]

10. Yes, a principled man

"I would simply be uncomfortable being in a campaign that would be inevitably attacking Barack Obama," said McCain adviser Mark McKinnon in an interview with NPR's "All Things Considered." "I think it would be uncomfortable for me, and I think it would be bad for the McCain campaign."

[angee_is_mad]

14. But coached palin for the debates

I believe. So he wasn't totally hands off during the general election.

[kskiska]

12. Where does Santorum live now, anyway?

When he was in the Senate he was found to be living in a huge new house in Virginia with his very large family, while claiming that a very small inhabited house in Pennsylvania was his real home, and using Pennsylvania resources to school his children. Since leaving the Senate I have to wonder whether he's moved back to Pennsylvania. I doubt it.