“Rick Santorum believes that to have a strong national economy, we must have strong families. America’s government must recognize this and help create a positive pro-family environment for our families, our communities and our businesses. Rick believes we are a land of opportunity where all Americans have the chance to rise on their own merits and hard work. Sadly, President Obama believes just the opposite and using class warfare to divide America.

“Rick Santorum is committed to celebrating the family by reviving our economy and creating jobs in America again with a smarter and simpler tax code. Santorum will roll back job-killing regulations, force the federal government to shrink and live within its means by passing a Balanced Budget Amendment and reinvigorate our domestic manufacturing and energy potential. His vision for America is to restore America’s greatness through the promotion of faith, family and freedom”…READ MORE

    “In too many places, we have let allies across the world down, and we have given enemies cause to doubt our resolve. Much of this stems from a political leadership that has serious and systemic doubts about America’s role in the world and the purpose of our moral authority in it.

    “Leading from behind” is the phrase one of the president’s own advisers recently used to describe the president’s foreign-policy approach. It couldn’t be more apt. It’s an approach that views America not as an exceptional leader but, rather, as just one more country in the sea of nations, not intrinsically better or worse than any other nation, not intrinsically better prepared to lead than any other nation. It is an abdication.

    “The tragedy and danger of this is that we are abdicating our role and authority at exactly the wrong time, just when the need for it has never been more important.

    “Just now we need to be reminded of what has made us a role model to others and what has made us so great in the past. There are essentially four fundamentally American contributions to the world that define not only how we have organized our government but how we have organized our lives:

    “First, free markets that are rooted in excellence, hard work, and innovation.

    “Second, religious pluralism where people of faith have the right to pursue their beliefs and not be abused by either their government or a majority. This is the only ground upon which we can truly live in peace with our differences and also advance the moral teachings which are essential for freedom to thrive.

    Third, generosity and humanitarianism. America has a uniquely robust civil society, as observed almost 200 years ago by Alexis de Toqueville. This is how we primarily “love our neighbor.” We are generous with our time and our treasure.

    And finally, a system of governance that promotes human flourishing, seeks the common good and maximizes personal liberty. Rule of law, checks and balances, separation of church and state, subsidiarity, and federalism. Our founders understood that man’s nature is inclined toward self and sin, and that no one person or institution should have the opportunity to consolidate power, lest the freedom of others be taken away.

    By not promoting these uniquely American virtues, we have let down not only ourselves, but our allies and would-be allies.
    Last year, visiting the United States, Lech Walesa put it this way:

    The United States is the only superpower. Today they lead the world. Nobody has doubts about it militarily. They also lead economically but they’re getting weak. But they don’t lead morally and politically anymore. The world has no leadership. The United States was always the last resort and hope for all other nations. There was the hope, whenever something was going wrong, one could count on the United States. Today, we have lost that hope.

    This is a terrible but, I fear, terribly true indictment of what was once known as “the last best hope of earth.”

    I, however, am an optimist about America’s potential to again lead the world. By reclaiming our legacy of liberty I know we can make ourselves more secure and help the rest of the world become more stable and free. Let me suggest a ten-point plan to reverse our course, restore our greatness, and reestablish America’s standing in the world.

    First, we need to begin by seeing the world the way it truly is. We need to see evil for what it is, and confront it; and we need to see decency for what it is and nurture it.

    Now is the time not only to be increasing our military preparedness but to finish the task of a comprehensive missile-defense system. While we are at it, we should restore our missile-defense commitments to Poland and the Czech Republic.

    Second, we need to understand we are in a war, a hot war as well as a war of ideas. Failing to define our foes lest we be politically incorrect does not dissuade them from seeking our destruction. They know who they are and tell us, and they construe our efforts to obscure reality as signs of weakness and irresolution. Such behavior causes despair among our allies and confusion here at home.

    Third, we need a reinvigorated human-intelligence apparatus in the Middle East so we can better understand who and where are enemies are and then identify opportunities to counteract them and support allies and would-be allies.

    Fourth, we need to change our information operations abroad to promote our core values of freedom, equality, and democracy — just as we did with the Soviet Empire in the 1980s.

    Fifth, we must cease our verbal, moral, and diplomatic equivalence as between good and evil. Syria does not deserve an ambassador; its protesters deserve support; Israeli housing starts should not be put on the same moral plane as Hamas terror attacks; and China should be challenged on religious liberty rather than be given a veto on the human-rights activists we wish support…Read more