# Did Santorum almost call Obama the N word? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299 "2012-03-30T17:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/41 "2012-03-30T21:24:08Z")
I think he was going to saw “government negligence”. If so, he may have stopped due to his theme being keeping government out of people’s lives. (And a discussion of _that_ contradiction is for another forum.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/42 "2012-03-30T21:30:09Z")
For those who haven’t seen the video or don’t have time right now, the clip has Santorum saying “We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like. The anti-war government [nig-uh the, f- the, uh], America was a source for division around the world…” > [@ftg](#): > > I think he was going to saw “government negligence”. “The anti-war government negligence” doesn’t make any sense. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/43 "2012-03-30T21:34:04Z")
Look, I dislike Santorum as much as the next guy, but there’s no way I could see that the word “nigger” fits in with his stream of thought. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/44 "2012-03-30T21:35:34Z")
Nowhere close. It sounds like a common case of being tongue twisted to me. Happens to me every once in a while. Plus he would never say that about [blaaa](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/405560/january-09-2012/rick-santorum-on-gays---bla-people) people ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/45 "2012-03-30T21:40:06Z")
Mumble-mouthed. Total tempest in a tea-pot. What bothers me about that clip is the fact that offers up Obama as being anti-war … and that’s supposed to be a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/46 "2012-03-30T22:25:55Z")
Here’s a dumb thought. That probably gives Santorum way too much credit. But, what if this mistake was on purpose. How about this for a conspiracy theory? Racists vote. Courting the racist vote will lose non racists (who make up the majority of the Republican party, but might not make up a majority of likely voters), quickly. Santorum makes a speech where it seems like he is about to use a racist epithet, but doesn’t use it. This supposed flub is easily waved away by his staff as a nervous mistake. The racist voters see it as a wink and a nudge towards their viewpoint. Non racists set it as liberals over reacting again. Yeah. that’s reaching. But, listening to the clip I can’t figure out what naturally fits in there. On the other hand, as much as I dislike the guy I really can’t comprehend him being that much of an over the top racist. But, a byzantine plan to court racists? Sure! ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/47 "2012-03-30T22:32:30Z")
The term “[House Nig\*\*\*](http://www.blacknla.com/news/Articles/DJInthehouse.asp)” was used back in the days of slavery to refer to slaves who turned against the other slaves (or “Field Nig_**s") to gain favor from their masters. Perhaps the term "Government Nig**_” was meant to describe the modern-day equivalent of someone who betrays their fellow citizens to support the evil Socialist Big Government that enslaves us. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/48 "2012-03-30T22:59:49Z")
People opposed to war (or to a particular war) are sometimes disparaged as “peaceniks”, which adds an allusion to Russian communism. The first thing that occurred to me was that Santorum meant to call Obama something like “anti-war-nik”. “Government” might have intruded into Santorum’s thoughts, as a separate slam of Obama as a ‘big-government’ liberal. (Which would kinda clash with the first slam: it’s pretty hard to conduct war without government.) I’m definitely no fan of Santorum, but I’m sure they are many such gaffes on the campaign trail: many speeches, and not enough sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/49 "2012-03-30T23:16:53Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I dunno what he was going to say, but I don’t think it was the n-word. For all of Santorum’s faults (and there are many), I can’t see him as a racist. I know that a lot of rich white dudes are racists behind closed doors, and Santorum is certainly slimy in other ways (notably, his anti-woman views). But he’s never tried to \*hide \*that he’s anti-woman. Eh, I dunno. It seems clear to me that [he’s racist](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/rick-santorum-entitlements-black-people_n_1181212.html), but I expect his handlers were a bit horrified at the backlash from _that_ slip-up and have likely tried to drill it into him that being overtly racist at _that_ level is probably not politically expedient. > [@](#): > > I mean, last week-ish he said Obama would make a better prez than Romney. It’s hard to believe he would think that and secretly think of Obama as a n-word. He’s also said he’d be Romney’s VP if he wins the GOP nom. Santorum doesn’t seem to be very good at, well, consistency. Or public speaking. As for his n-bomb… I can’t think of what other word it could have been. Negotiator? Makes less sense than n\*\*\*er. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/50 "2012-03-30T23:19:05Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Eh, I dunno. It seems clear to me that [he’s racist](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/rick-santorum-entitlements-black-people_n_1181212.html) That’s an atrocious headline from HuffPo since he was not talking about welfare or black people. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/51 "2012-03-30T23:36:43Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s an atrocious headline from HuffPo since he was not talking about welfare or black people. > [@Santorum via HuffPo](#): > > “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money…” Right, right. He wasn’t speaking of _black_ people, but of _blah_ people… Seriously… 😕 I suspect he is in fact quite bad at public speaking, as it requires a level of self-censorship that he’s not accustomed to and he’s having a hard time acclimating to. Hence, the “blah people” slip-up, and now a “Nig–” slip-up. ---
**Author:** ![Imago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@Imago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imago)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/52 "2012-03-31T01:08:52Z")
I’m going with the “governmentnik” theory. Does Santorum even know any offensive words other than “slut”? Last time I checked, religious nuts tended to have huge hangups about swearing. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/53 "2012-03-31T01:16:31Z")
He is certainly not about to say nigger by accident. Nobody says nigger by accident, even racists. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/54 "2012-03-31T01:16:47Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Right, right. He wasn’t speaking of _black_ people, but of _blah_ people… Since he doesn’t say “black” - he says something that might be “bl,” yes, that’s right. > [@](#): > > I suspect he is in fact quite bad at public speaking, as it requires a level of self-censorship that he’s not accustomed to and he’s having a hard time acclimating to. You know he spent 16 years in Congress, right? Two terms in the House and two in the Senate. (And he was a lawyer before that.) He’s a useless idiot, but the idea that he’s unaccustomed to public speaking is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/55 "2012-03-31T01:54:19Z")
“-Nik” makes sense and is what I thought. I thought he clearly said “black” last time. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/56 "2012-03-31T02:03:29Z")
I heard “governmentnik.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/57 "2012-03-31T02:06:25Z")
I didn’t even hear the right part the first time. Upon the second listen he was definitely saying “nik-”. Government n\*\*\*\*\* doesn’t even make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/58 "2012-03-31T02:30:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You know he spent 16 years in Congress, right? Two terms in the House and two in the Senate. (And he was a lawyer before that.) He’s a useless idiot, but the idea that he’s unaccustomed to public speaking is absurd. And a presidential campaign is orders of magnitude bigger and more scrutinized than that. He has to win over people who aren’t his best buds, cronies, and like-minded constituents, if he wants to win the race. He can’t make the good ol’ boy jokes and get away with it in such a public, nationally televised venue. He can’t be casually racist and sexist and get away with it. What he says has to be measured a lot more carefully, at the least so he can have plausible deniability. He may be _used to_ public speaking, but that says nothing about whether he’s _good_ at it, and he’s clearly not. I think you may have misunderstood me. I didn’t say he was unaccustomed to public speaking. I said he was _bad_ at public speaking, because he’s _unaccustomed to self-censorship_ at the level required for national television. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/59 "2012-03-31T02:37:31Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Mumble-mouthed. Total tempest in a tea-pot. What bothers me about that clip is the fact that offers up Obama as being anti-war … and that’s supposed to be a bad thing. I’m with you on this. Maybe he was planning to say anti-war **Big** government something, but stumbled when he realized he’d left out the word big. That’s all I got. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299/60 "2012-03-31T02:43:04Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > I didn’t say he was unaccustomed to public speaking. I said he was _bad_ at public speaking, because he’s _unaccustomed to self-censorship_ at the level required for national television. You actually did say he was unaccustomed to public speaking. Regardless, in this instance he’s not doing anything he isn’t used to. Nationally televised debates were new and things like addressing a conventional hall might be new. What he’s doing here is speaking to voters in a small town in Wisconsin, and it’s no different from hundreds or maybe thousands of settings he has spoken in before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-santorum-almost-call-obama-the-n-word/617299.md?page=4)