HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. -- GOP hopeful Rick Santorum took a surprise trip down memory lane Wednesday, courtesy of a gift given to him by one of his longtime supporters.

Following a campaign rally here with a homecoming theme and a marching band, the former Pennsylvania senator was approached on the rope line by a man holding a picture taken 18 years ago, when Santorum was making his first run for the U.S. Senate.

In it, Santorum is holding a baby boy in his arms.

"That little guy right there is the big tall kid," Santorum said as he looked at the picture of him cradling his son. "That's John, back in 1994, he was all of 2 years old. That's pretty cool."

The gift was handed over by Dale Dilling, one of Santorum's county chairs in 1994.

It comes as Santorum kicks off the campaign to win his home state's primary -- a contest he guarantees he will win and also admits he must.

He will have a lot of work to do. While Santorum has held a solid double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania over the past few weeks, the latest Real Clear Politics average shows he is now up by just 6 points.

The former senator is banking on his Keystone State beginnings, and some of those same supporters of the past who propelled him to that senate victory back in 1994. (read more)

Rick Santorum got testy with reporters following a campaign speech Franksville, Wis. in which he said GOP rival Mitt Romney would be "the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama."

Surrounded by reporters seeking clarification on that comment after the speech, Santorum said he was only talking about the issue of health care. 

"That’s what I was talking about, and I was very clear about talking about that. OK? C’mon guys, don’t do this. I mean you guys are incredible," Santorum said. 

"I was talking about Obamacare, and he is the worst because he was the author of Romneycare,” he added.

 But questions on the "worst Republican" statement kept coming as the senator worked the rope line, and Santorum eventually let loose with an expletive.

"Quit distorting our words, it's bulls---," Santorum told New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny. "Come on man, what are you doing?"

WEST MONROE, La. -- Secret Service is determining whether an investigation is needed after somebody urged Rick Santorum to "pretend it's Obama" while he was test-firing a weapon at a campaign stop. 

Santorum stopped at the Ouachita Parish Sheriff Office Shooting Range in West Monroe, La., on Friday morning.

As Santorum squeezed the trigger of an M-19 Colt pistol, the onlooker screamed out, "pretend it's Obama."

Secret Service representative Lou Velez said, "We would look into it, we would definitely look into it."

Speaking to reporters after his event, Santorum called the outburst "absurd."

"No, we're not pretending it's anybody but shooting pistols," he said. "It's a very terrible and horrible remark and I'm glad I didn't hear it."

BALLWIN, Mo. - Rick Santorum is now claiming the race for the GOP nomination is closer than you might think.

"We're looking at the rules, we're looking at how things are stacking up, and we're in much better shape in these caucuses and some of these apportioned states or winner take all states which in fact are not winner take all states," Santorum told caucus-goers here.

"We've got some new delegate math that we're going to be putting out that shows this race is a lot different than what the consensus is."

According to the latest math from the Associated Press, Mitt Romney has secured 495 delegates. Santorum trails with 252. A total of 1,144 are needed to win the Republican nomination.

Santorum did not say when his campaign will release their own numbers, but during a later visit to a caucus site in Hazelwood, he did make another claim that caught Team Romney's attention.

"All of the Midwest is one color. It's our color. We've won every state in the Midwest," Santorum declared.

Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul has a much different take, and released the following statement in response. (read more)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Rick Santorum misstated his qualifications to lead America's armed forces during a campaign stop here, telling reporters "I'm the only person in this race that has any experience as commander in chief."

The statement came after a question on how he is appealing to voters in Alabama, but was far from accurate.

The former senator has never served in any commander in chief capacity. His GOP rival Mitt Romney however has, when he commanded the Massachusetts National Guard as governor of the Bay State.

Santorum spokesperson Alice Stewart was quick to clarify the flub, saying, "he meant he was the only candidate that has any experience "to be" commander in chief. She added the Santorum was referring to the time he spent on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

STEUBENVILLE, OH - Rick Santorum's campaign is laying out a new message to conservative voters; convince Newt Gingrich it's time to step aside.

"Poll after poll that shows if Rick Santorum were just to have a one-on-one shot with Mitt Romney that the Gingrich supporters go right to Rick Santorum in big numbers," Santorum Senior Strategist John Brabender told reporters here.

"So conservative and Tea Party folks are going to have a decision to make: do we want Mitt Romney to be the nominee or do we want to just keep splitting our vote," he continued.

Brabender also downplayed Gingrich's viability, saying delegates the former speaker has already banked could still end up backing Santorum.

"Don't forget there's a lot of states that are in already where they voted for somebody like a Newt Gingrich, where those aren't necessarily binding delegates - they can still vote for Rick Santorum," he said.

"If conservatives and Tea Party supporters unite behind Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney will not be the nominee."

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond scoffed at the comments saying, "the same logic applies in reverse." (read more)

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - "Hypocrisy, plain and simple."

That's how Rick Santorum describes Mitt Romney's recent attacks on the former Pennsylvania Senator for being a Washington insider and rampant earmarker.

The pointed comment came at a campaign rally in the battleground state of Ohio Friday, and after an unearthed 10-year-old video revealed Romney promising to use his own Washington connections to secure money for Massachusetts while he was running for governor.

In it Romney states, "The money is in Washington," and adds, "I have learned from my Olympic experience that if you have people who really understand how Washington works and have personal associations there you can get money to help build economic opportunities."

Team Romney defended their candidate, saying all governors go after federal funds for their state.

Santorum's not buying it.

"He spends millions of dollars with hypocritical ads," Santorum told reporters here. "He was an earmarker himself."

Both Santorum and Romney are now crisscrossing the country, zeroing in on Super Tuesday states that could prove pivotal in the race for the GOP nomination. At his rally, Santorum said Ohio would be "the biggest prize" of the day.

The latest Real Clear Politics average of polling in Ohio shows Santorum leading Romney in the Buckeye State by just under 6 points.

ATLANTA, Ga. - Rick Santorum is making a bold new prediction, claiming that the race for the GOP nomination is now down to two contenders.

"Just about every race right now it's Governor Romney and me; one and two," Santorum said at campaign rally here.

"We're going to do well in every state. First or second, every state," he declared.

The numbers in Newt Gingrich's home state of Georgia, where Santorum was campaigning, don't support the former senator's hunch.

According to a Real Clear Politics average of the latest polls, the former speaker leads Santorum 34% to 25%. Mitt Romney is at 21.5%.

Confronted by reporters with these figures, Santorum insisted Gingrich simply isn't viable.

"You gotta be able to win in states that aren't your home base," Santorum said. "You gotta be able to go out and prove that you are electable other than in your own backyard."

Fox News was reaching out to the Gingrich campaign for comment at the time of this posting.

LANSING, Mich. - GOP hopeful Rick Santorum blamed a sole culprit for the 2008 financial meltdown.

"We went into a recession in 2008 because of gasoline prices," the former senator declared at a campaign rally in Lansing, Michigan.

"The bubble burst in housing because people couldn't pay their mortgages because we're looking at $4 a gallon gasoline. And look at what happened, economic decline," he added.

Many economists disagree and say the recession was caused by a combination of greedy bankers and reckless homeowners who took on mortgages they knowingly couldn't afford.

When foreclosure rates started spiking, banks across the country stopped lending and the credit market froze. Some institutions that invested heavily in toxic mortgage backed securities went belly up. Others got in on a massive bailout from the federal government to stay afloat.

Santorum's comments could come back to haunt him in Michigan.

His GOP rival Mitt Romney is now highlighting his own economic experience as a main selling point here, and a recent Public Policy Polling survey shows 69% of likely primary voters say their biggest concern is the economy. Among them, Romney leads Santorum 45%-30%.

Asked by Fox after the event if he really believed high gas prices alone caused the recession, the former senator backtracked. (read more)

MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Rick Santorum unveiled a final pitch to Michigan voters Sunday, saying the power to dramatically shake up the GOP race now rests in their hands.

"We need to win this race on sharp, clear differences. On someone who can paint a very different vision of this country on the important issues of the day," Santorum said at a campaign rally here.

"Well guess what, you have an opportunity to have a say about that," he continued.

"You have an opportunity to vote and send a very clear and loud message. Particularly here in Michigan. You can set this race on its ear."

The former senator also unloaded on Mitt Romney, accusing his rival of being a blatant hypocrite.

"He supported the bailouts and now says oh I'm not for any more bailouts. Where's the credibility," Santorum asked.

"He still supports No Child Left Behind, but he's criticizing me for voting for it and says I'm not a conservative because I voted for it and yet he supports it, he added. "The implementation of No Child Left Behind was horrendous. I oppose it. It was a mistake. I admit my mistakes. He doesn't."

Romney is ahead of Santorum in Michigan according to an average of the latest polls.

The senator is downplaying that poll position. (read more)