Baby Bella and the Last Act of Santorum ’12

I can’t tell if baby Bella was the stopper, the excuse or a little of both as Santorum pulled the plug — officially, I guess, pressed the hold button — on his campaign. This rare shot of her on the campaign trail comes from the launch of Santorum’s quixotic campaign back in June ’11. (Here she is, also, in this screengrab from the Santorum for President site.)

With Santorum saying “Good Friday was a Passion play for us with daughter Bella,” and then going on to refer to his fortune in the Presidential race as ‘one miracle after another, attributable to God,’ it seems any ability to tease out the emotional dynamics from the family’s religious faith from hard (and bleak) political calculations in the ultimate decision is really not possible. Just imagine, however, this same combination of forces playing out time and again in the workings of a Santorum Administration. For that, perhaps, we can say little Bella has redeemed us all.

(photo: Reuters. caption: Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (L) reaches back to rub the forehead of his daughter Isabella Maria, who is held by his wife Karen at a rally to officially announce his candidacy for President of the United States on the steps of the courthouse in Somerset, Pennsylvania June 6, 2011. Santorum launched his long-shot Republican bid for president on Monday, pledging an unflinching commitment to conservative policies, including a Medicare reform plan that has proved unpopular with voters. linked photo: Santorum for President)