Tough night for Santorum

MANCHESTER, N.H. - In the parking lot after Saturday night's nationally televised debate, a British television reporter edged into the throng surrounding Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and tried to pose a question about gay marriage.

"Seems to be a preoccupation with that issue," the frustrated candidate muttered under his breath as he climbed into the passenger seat of his vehicle.

While his social conservatism resonated with many evangelical Christians in the Iowa caucuses last week - vaulting Santorum to a surprisingly strong finish - it didn't do him much good in New Hampshire, where exit polls showed the famously flinty population was much more concerned with issues such as jobs, taxes, entitlements and the deficit.

Granite State voters, who pride themselves on getting to know the candidates through thorough research and face-to-face meetings, never warmed up to Santorum, relegating him to a scrabble for fourth place with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Tuesday among the Republicans seeking to unseat President Barack Obama in November.

Still, once the results were clear, Santorum emerged buoyant as he addressed supporters Tuesday night at the Derryfield Restaurant in Manchester, N.H. Thanking his campaign workers, he focused on how the campaign had exceeded expectations of just a few weeks ago, when he was running in single digits.

"We respect the process and we're going to compete in every state," he said from a small stage, surrounded by his wife, Karen, and two of his seven children.

"We were only here for a short period of time and we did not have a lot of money," he said. "But we put in a lot of effort and we got our message out."

Karen Testerman, a former Republican candidate for governor, said she believes Santorum's campaign "still has legs."

Iowa gave Santorum's campaign a big bounce in attention - from voters as well as from the media - that he had hoped to carry on into the nation's first primary.

And, following his own political instincts as well as the counsel of his New Hampshire-based advisers, he tried to shift focus from moral matters to money matters.

To an extent, it worked. The casual give-and-take of the town hall forums allowed him to take questions from the townsfolk, most of whom were concerned with the economy. He saw bigger crowds that cheered longer at his anti-government punches and laughed louder at his self-deprecating punchlines.

He would begin each town hall forum - and he held nearly 40 of them - with a 15-minute spiel on "hostile taxation, hostile regulation and hostile litigation." He never mentioned social issues during his opening remarks.

The growing campaign collected more than $2 million in one week, went from eight to 12 paid workers, and brought in countless volunteers.

But the brighter spotlight also provided more heat. Santorum began to lose control of the audience as it swelled with antagonists and curiosity-seekers who could not vote and often harassed him. His campaign brought in a security team that sternly flanked him, shooed reporters and photographers away and, on at least one occasion, menacingly confronted a heckler with a physical challenge that shut the young man up.

Still, there was no escaping the issue of the social and religious beliefs that Santorum holds. Time and again, someone in the crowd - even when he hand-picked the questioner - wanted to discuss gay marriage or abortion or another emotionally charged topic that has served to set Santorum apart from the other candidates.

Monday's campaign events, in the final hours before the voters went to the poll, were held in an Elks Club and an American Legion Hall. Organizers hoped the members of the Salem Chamber of Commerce and the Somersworth veterans would be focused on the economy.

But in Salem, where the room held barely more than 100 people, 50 of the seats were occupied by high school students on a field trip from nearby Franklin, Mass., too young to vote.

During the session, Santorum called on one of them and his wife called on another. The first asked about gay marriage, and the other asked Santorum how he would feel if one of his seven children were gay.

"I get those questions all the time," Santorum said. "And my positions are the same as those of the other candidates. But I'm the only one who is willing to answer them truthfully. I am willing to talk about the family and how important a strong family is to rebuilding our economy and our nation."

At times, he would get defensive.

"People tell me to quit trying to impose my morality on everybody," he said. "But look at what they're doing. What's that? It's the same thing.

"I'm willing to discuss it, in a respectful manner. I'm not a bigot."

Santorum's campaign manager, Mike Biundo, said the ground forces are in place in South Carolina and Florida - two southern states where Republican voters might be more embracing of a social conservative. Some politicians there already are lined up to endorse the candidate, which could restore his momentum.

In his remarks Tuesday night, Santorum cited the example of his grandfather who immigrated to America.

"He was not deterred by temporary setbacks," Santorum said. "We can win this race. We are going on to South Carolina."