Al Sharpton, host of MSNBC’s Politics Nation, asked surging Republican hopeful Rick Santorum to contrast his skills with President Obama’s, but Sharpton couldn’t hide his contempt for Santorum, as he introduced his question with a vague accusation that the former Senator had said “despicable and ugly” things about Obama.
“I can argue with you about some of your ugly statements on the president and all of that, but that would probably help you in the primary if you and I got in an argument this morning,” Sharpton said to Santorum during an appearance on another MSNBC show, Morning Joe. “You’ve said some despicable and ugly things, but we’ll [talk about] that on “Politics Nation” one night; don’t let me help you win the [Iowa] caucus,” he added.
Santorum has gained 11 points in Iowa over the last month, according a new CNN poll showing him in third place with 16 percent support, behind Mitt Romney (25 percent) and Ron Paul (22 percent).
When Sharpton finally asked Santorum why he would lead the country through crises better than Obama, Santorum criticized the president for having “a feckless foreign policy” with respect to Iranian nuclear ambitions and the rise of Islamists in Egypt.
Sharpton and Santorum sparred earlier this year about abortion laws, after Santorum said that President Obama, as a black man, should be more sensitive to the idea of the government deciding who qualifies as a human being. Sharpton said the comparison between 19th century slaves and 20th century fetuses was not a fair one, “because if [black people] were 80 years old or a fetus, they were considered less than human.” Santorum countered that “The person who’s most robbed of their civil right is that child in the womb.”
