In late September, while the political world was speculating about whether Chris Christie might jump into the GOP race and buzzing about First Michelle Obama shopping incognito at Target, Rick Santorum was quietly doing something of his own -- making money.
On Sept. 29 and 30, while he was mired in single digits in the polls and no one was giving him a chance to win the nomination, Santorum went and made $18,200 in two speeches, according to an amendment to his personal financial disclosure released today.
Santorum was paid $9,100 apiece speaking through the conservative Young America’s Foundation before the Institute of Management Accountants and before the Family Institute of Connecticut.
A look back at Santorum’s schedule for those two days shows no public events or campaigning.
In 2007, Mike Huckabee broke with the tradition of suspending giving paid speeches during campaigns when he hopped off the trail for several then-undisclosed speeches. He eventually lost the nomination, but got his own television show.
Santorum made between $1.4 and $1.6 million in the year-and-a-half reporting period before he launched his bid for president, according to his financial disclosure. But, on the trail, like Huckabee, he has lamented the personal financial cost of running for office.
