Rick Santorum‘s nice-guy family man image took a hit on Sunday after footage of him cursing out a New York Times reporter went viral. While few conservatives seem upset about the blast against the “lamestream liberal media”, the episode may have made Santorum seem frustrated and desperate as his delegate count remains far behind that of front-runner Mitt Romney.

At a campaign stop in Wisconsin, Santorum declared rival Romney to be “the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama,” referring especially to Romney’s track record with health care reform.

Later, NYT’s reporter Jeff Zeleny asked Santorum if it was indeed true that Romney was “the worst Republican in the country,” cutting off the latter part of the statement.

Although Santorum did use those exact words (in a broader context), he immediately accuses the reporter of lying.

Santorum has since defended the outburst, telling Monday’s Fox & Friends, “If you haven’t cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you’re not really a real Republican.”

(This might have been a reference to the 2000 election, when a hot microphone famously picked up then-candidate George W. Bush calling a NYT reporter a “major league asshole.”)

Santorum’s temper is actually nothing new. In more restrained forms, it has frequently been key to his strong debate performances, driving impassioned response to questions about foreign and social policy.

But this episode seemed more awkward and out of control- Santorum’s eyes bug out and he goes on for a full minute when the argument seems to be done. A young woman (I think it’s Santorum’s daughter Sarah, but couldn’t find any confirmation) stands quietly in the back, her disappearing smile and glances showing her concern for the candidate as the awkwardness builds.

What do you think? Is this an impassioned confrontation, or a temper tantrum?

[via Politico]

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