Santorum makes candidacy official

    Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum made it official Monday morning as he formally announced his candidacy for president.

    A few hundred people stood around the Somerset County, Pa., Courthouse steps to hear Republican Santorum make the announcement–then blast President Barack Obama.

    Santorum said the president inherited a bad economy, and made it worse with the stimulus plan, health-care overhaul and other initiatives.

    The two-term senator says the president “devalued the country’s currency. He’s devalued our culture through our marriage, and not standing up for the Defense of Marriage Act. Through federal funding of abortions.”

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    Santorum, who served two terms in the House and two in the U.S. Senate, ran for a third term in 2006, but lost badly to Democrat Bob Casey.

    His announcement comes less than a week after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney formally entered the presidential campaign. Other official candidates include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

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