Praise from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could be just what Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum needs. And he got some of that Thursday night.
Palin lavished praise on Santorum during a televised interview, suggesting conservatives should give him a second look for being a consistent conservative.
The former Pennsylvania senator has campaigned hard in Iowa and New Hampshire, but has not gained much traction.
“If voters start kind of shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they’re going to start paying attention to say Rick Santorum,” Palin told Sean Hannity on Fox News.
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Palin, who opted against a run of her own for the White House, went on to say that Santorum has been “consistent on being a hardliner against Iran to help protect Israel; he’s been consistent in wanting to protect the most vulnerable and the sanctity of life, he’s been consistent in saying we need to slash the federal income tax.”
“People will start paying attention to some of these other messages from some of the other messengers like Rick Santorum,” Palin predicted. “You’re going to see that happen in the next 32 days.”
Palin has not endorsed any candidate yet in the race. Pressed by Hannity whether she will eventually throw her support behind someone, Palin downplayed the significance of it.
“I think today, my personal endorsement probably doesn’t amount to a hill of beans, today at this point in the race,” she said.
Hannity responded: “I’m not so sure about that.”
“Maybe as the weeks progress, it would become a little bit more significant, but right now, I don’t really cast any vote based upon anyone else’s endorsement of a candidate,” she said. “I have great respect for the wisdom of the people.”