While some supported President Barack Obama's call, in his 2011 State of the Union address, for investments to restore America's global competitiveness, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum dismissed the president's proposals as "wasteful government spending."
In an op-ed today in the Union Leader, Santorum writes: "Rather than letting the American entrepreneurial spirit ignite the free-market economic engine, Obama is again choosing to depend on government to lead us to economic prosperity. But when has government ever succeeded in doing this?"
The former senator, who may have his eyes on a 2012 presidential run, also accuses the president of ignoring the deficit and entitlement reform and claims that the "real employment rate" -- those who are underemployed or stopped looking for work -- is growing.
He ends his letter with a clear statement that the president has failed: "I sat watching Tuesday night with great hope to see a new Obama: a President who recognized the message that voters in New Hampshire and across the country overwhelmingly sent just three short months ago. But instead, we saw Obama the liberal try, try again."
