DAMAGE CONTROL

Santorum Courts Minorities

Won't talk about food stamps this time.

Speaking before a Tea Party crowd in Michigan on Saturday, Rick Santorum was careful with his words as he vowed to reach out to minority communities. "I'll talk to minority communities not about giving them food stamps and government dependency but about creating jobs so that they can participate in the rise of this country," the GOP presidential candidate said to applause. Santorum had to defend himself in early January after making a comment in Iowa about food stamps that seemed racially charged. "I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money," he said in reference to food stamps. "I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and their families. When confronted by reporters, Santorum denied that he said the words "black people."