Character and Courage: Rick Santorum and the 'Bella' Campaign Commercial

"You can't buy courage and decency; you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. If he does, they will give meaning and animation to the great practical requirement of the presidency: He must know why he's there and what he wants to do. He has to have thought it through. He needs to have, in that much maligned word, but a good one nontheless, a vision of the future he wishes to create. This is a function of thinking, of the mind, the brain."

P>WASHINGTON,DC (Catholic Online) - There was a very good book of essays on Presidential leadership written in 1996 entitled "Character Above All" The book contained an excellent essay by Peggy Noonan on Ronald Reagan. Peggy is one of our nation's finest writers.

I believe that Ronald Reagan was the last presidential candidate who was able to reach across our growing divisions and bring us together. He taught us how to hope again. Peggy Noonan's words concerning Ronald Reagan, though written over ten years ago, are worth reflecting upon in the 2012 campaign:

"In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn't brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. White Houses are always full of quick-witted people with ready advice on how to flip a senator or implement a strategy. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks.

"But you can't buy courage and decency; you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. If he does, they will give meaning and animation to the great practical requirement of the presidency: He must know why he's there and what he wants to do. He has to have thought it through. He needs to have, in that much maligned word, but a good one nontheless, a vision of the future he wishes to create. This is a function of thinking, of the mind, the brain.

"But a vision is worth little if a president doesn't have the character--the courage and heart--to see it through.... (Reagan) had the vision. Did he have the courage without which it would be nothing but a poignant dream? Yes. At the core of Reagan's character was courage, a courage that was, simply, natural to him, a courage that was ultimately contagious. When people say President Reagan brought back our spirit and our sense of optimism, I think what they are saying in part is, the whole country caught his courage."

People like me, "former" Democrats, were inspired by the courage, character and manner of Ronald Reagan. His was the kind of "conservatism" which made sense to people like us - who never thought we were "conservatives". He was real, honest and quintessentially American. He moved our hearts and made us want to be better. He helped us remember that we could.

We were not then - and are not now - comfortable with the "Nelson Rockefeller" blue blood image of the old Republican Party. Many of us are from blue collar backgrounds and our ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower. We care about the poor and cringe when any candidate seems to lack a heart of concern for them.

However, we have learned that big government does a horrible job of providing care for them and that collectivism - be it of the right or the left - is anything but the solution. We want a candidate who speaks of opening up economic participation in the American dream to as many as possible; one who recognizes that the market was made for man - and not man for the market.

Though we are not fans of overly federalized and bloated centralized government, the "States Rights" mantra being espoused by some in the current Republican field scares us. Bull Connor's evil was not that long ago.  It deeply disturbs us to hear candidates assert that if some States decide that an entire class of human persons has no fundamental human right to life it is "O.K." It is NOT "O.K."

That was what happened in the old form of slavery, when people of color were denied their personhood. It will happen again in the new slavery resulting from abortion on demand if we just "return it to the States". Face it, another class of persons, our youngest neighbors, have been written off as not worthy of unalienable rights. Hiding their killing behind the sophistry of the language of "choice" is an attempt to cover the lie masquerading as "progressive" in our current political rhetoric.There is NOTHING progressive about killing the innocent and calling it a "right". 

We insist that there are fundamental human rights - and the American founders got it right when they insisted they were endowed by God and not conferred by government. That is not a new idea but rooted in the classical understanding that there is a "Natural Law" which can be known by reason and should inform our life together. That is if we desire to be truly free and advance the real "common good", not the fraudulent re-definition of the term proffered by cultural revolutionaries.

Recently I watched Presidential candidate Rick Santorum's campaign spot in which he introduces the viewer to his beautiful daughter named Bella. Last year I met Bella in the Santorum's home. She earns her name, which means beautiful. Her little smile and serene presence fills your heart with joy when you are with her. She is the little princess in that wonderful family. Their love for her, and for one another, is palpable, pure and profound. It is much needed encouragement in an age which has lost its heart.

This beautiful introduction to Bella is more than a "campaign spot", it zeroes in on something vitally important to our public conversation in this critical hour. It should be viewed by every American. When I heard Rick Santorum say of little Bella, "Bella makes us better" and of us, "We are the disabled ones", I thought of the words of Peggy Noonan - character and courage.

I am convinced that the political "left" knows that Rick Santorum is a formidable candidate from a working class family, right on the issues and a formidable communicator. They also know he possesses the courage needed for the upcoming contest with President Barack Obama. That is why they deride him so viciously.

The Republican establishment likes Rick Santorum's economic conservatism but not his moral coherence. His talk about protecting human life from conception through natural death and his defense of marriage and the family and society founded upon it... doesn't make for comfortable conversation at the country club. That is why they all but ignore him and write off his chances of being elected.  

I am numbered among the growing group of Americans who are tired of the Republican establishment picking the nominee of that Party. I am a "Reluctant Republican". I have no other choice. I left the Democratic Party when the opponents of the fundamental human right to life took control of the leadership of that Party and turned it upside down.

Sadly, a party which once prided itself on being the political home of blue collar everyday Americans has become the tool of cultural revolutionaries. They parade spokespersons on the media who sound and look like the people I grew up with in Dorchester, Massachusetts - but they espouse an ideology which will bring our Nation to ruin. We are not fooled.

We need a President with character and courage again - someone like Ronald Reagan.  As Peggy Noonan wrote "you can't buy courage and decency; you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. If he does, they will give meaning and animation to the great practical requirement of the presidency: He must know why he's there and what he wants to do. He has to have thought it through."

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I know that Peggy Noonan was writing about Ronald Reagan. I have no idea who she is leaning toward in the 2012 campaign.However, listen to Senator Santorum's words, enjoy this beautiful commercial and see if you understand why I make the comparison.  Most importantly, meet Bella Santorum and let your heart fill with hope again.

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