Rick Santorum Compares Mitt Romney To Michael Dukakis At GOP Debate In Arizona (VIDEO)

Tired of hearing Mitt Romney crow about his record of balancing the budget while governor of Massachusetts, Rick Santorum delivered what may have been the best zinger of Wednesday night's CNN debate in Arizona.

By Romney's implication, Santorum said, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis -- a liberal bogeyman -- is qualified to be president.

"Yes, you balanced the budget for four years, off a constitutional requirement to balance the budget for four years. No great shakes," said Santorum. "I'd like to see it federally. But don't go around bragging about something you have to do. Michael Dukakis balanced the budget for 10 years. Does that make him qualified to be president of the United States?"

Dukakis led Vice President George H.W. Bush until late in the 1988 presidential election, when Bush overtook him to win the White House.

Romney, meanwhile, deployed a creative way of giving Santorum the credit/blame for President Barack Obama's health care law: If he hadn't endorsed Arlen Specter in 2004, he never would have been in the Senate to switch parties and ultimately vote in favor of Obamacare.

Santorum responded as he always has: He backed Specter, he said, only after Santorum won from Specter a promise that he would not block pro-life Supreme Court justices as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The resulting confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito vindicated him, Santorum said.

Romney insisted that such an explanation was "torturous."

"Just about as torturous as six years later blaming me for Obamacare," Santorum quipped.

As @philipaklein tweeted, Romney was pro-choice in 2004, just as Specter was.

@philipaklein
Philip Klein

Romney attacks Santo for endorsing "pro-choice" Specter in 2004 -- but Romney was still publicly pro-choice that year.

February 23, 2012 2:06 am via TweetDeck Reply Retweet Favorite

Related on HuffPost:

 

 

Comments

[websmith]

05:51 PM on 02/24/2012

Obama wants to give a corporate tax cut to the rich but, he wants to tax the rich. This is not going to work out especially since the corporations are taking all the jobs of shore.

[StopStephenHarper]

10:27 AM on 02/24/2012

The thought of this religious zealot being president is absolutely frightening.

Welcome to the 13th century.

Remember GW people. This would be ten times worse.

[Pastori Balele]

02:15 AM on 02/24/2012

Have you seen the latest Verizon commercial? I think it's racially disturbing. It features a black boy calling a white girl “boss.” I think this perpetuates inferiority complex on black kids. Specifically, black kids may think that white kids are superior to black kids. This ad is offensive to me and black kids. I am asking Verizon to pull out the commercial.

[VietnamVeteran]

07:35 PM on 02/23/2012

Santorum. No division of church and state. Catholic religion based on guilt, mean nuns, and pedofile priests. I am not sure how this religion made it through the dark ages.

Rick, if this offends you, then please forgive me.

[fvleo]

07:31 PM on 02/23/2012

Dukakis was better than either of these buffoons.

[TEPK]

05:06 PM on 02/23/2012

We just ought to give the original confederate (and now Red) states back to the rednecked Johnny Rebs (and fundamentalist religious nuts of all types) ... and let Sanctus Santorum and the other rightwing nutcases like him move down there and freely do their thing ... however they want ... and all normal and reasonable people can move to or continue to occupy the so-called Blus states ... governing themselves in a more moderate, rational and responsible way ... without interference from the anti-American seditionists who call themselves "Republicans".

[AmericanFellow]

04:27 PM on 02/23/2012

seriously, ron paul needs to start a 3rd party bid. this would allow the millions upon millions of GOPs disgruntled by their lack of qualified wannabes to vote against their own party which is now corrupt beyond repair and let the GOP be put to a merciful but much needed death

[Yikes11]

04:24 PM on 02/23/2012

How old is hick?

[Razpooten]

03:39 PM on 02/23/2012

Now this is a trait we look for in a president, acting like 12-year old.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

02:51 PM on 02/23/2012

Lewis Black, How to Pick the President, maybe Republicans would fair better.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptrBFb6ODig

[BrandyWine25]

02:42 PM on 02/23/2012

"Santorum responded as he always has: He backed Specter, he said, only after Santorum won from Specter a promise that he would not block pro-life Supreme Court justices as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The resulting confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito vindicated him, Santorum said."

Same ol' pay-to-play politics. I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine, GOP or dem, doesn't matter.

[macousticboy]

01:40 PM on 02/23/2012

"Average Joe" Schriner For President 2012

There's only one candidate in this election that's a true “man of the people.” Only one man is against all forms of institutionalized killing: War, Abortion, Capital Punishment, Euthanasia. Only one individual in this race has traveled some 82,000 miles across America with his family in a camper seeking common-sense remedies to our problems at little or no cost to the American Taxpayer.. Only Joe Schriner will be both an "Activist President" and an advocate for Community, State, and Local Government solutions. Solutions that local communities throughout America have proven to work in helping the environment, ending homelessness, offering access to quality healthcare for all, and cutting government waste.

Visit Joe at http://voteforjoe.com. Podcast at http://averagejoe2012.tumblr.com.

[BrandyWine25]

02:48 PM on 02/23/2012

Why is this the first time I've ever heard of this guy?

Love this:
"Each taxpayer designates where some of their money goes (environment, social programs, military...)"

[Razpooten]

03:41 PM on 02/23/2012

Right, leave it up to the mob rule; the south would spend in on NSACAR and beer kegs.

[koko7750]

03:33 PM on 02/23/2012

Go drag this man to Washington and we'll make him President. I'm serious.

[Frog in a pot]

01:31 PM on 02/23/2012

If only Romney were like Dukakas.Dukakas actually created jobs.Romney brough Mass right above louisiana levels AFTER the hurricane...47th in job creation.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

02:52 PM on 02/23/2012

Dukakas would have been a good president, better than any of these clowns.

[Lucile S]

01:28 PM on 02/23/2012

Once again Santorum doesn't want to admit that Romney is more competent than him. What has he done? Nothing. The health insurance Romney has made pleases most people in Mass. They're proud of it. But that's a too moderate idea for Santorum and others within GOP. That's why he blames Romney. Only for that.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

02:55 PM on 02/23/2012

The right doesn't care about competent, they only care about their own ideology, the country can go to hell in a hand basket.

[Eric Sandoval]

01:27 PM on 02/23/2012

I hate to say this, but the only word I can think of for these people would be WICKED, because evil just doesn't quite cut the mustard.