Santorum gets closer to prez run

Rick Santorum hasn't been making all those trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina for the mini bags of peanuts. The ex Senator and Fox News contributor appeared on one of those sites where fellow-minded opinionators talk politics, and told them he is cultivating potential donors and staffers in case he makes a 2012 GOP presidential run:

From the Daily Caller (h/t PoliticsPa):

“I’m going through the process of what someone who is seriously considering running would do,” Santorum said by phone, “in order for when the time comes to decide, I’m in a position that I have a choice.”

Santorum—who was elected to the Senate in 1994 but left in 2006 after losing his seat—said he plans to make a decision on a presidential bid by either the end of this year, or the beginning of 2011.