Rick Santorum on Monday offered good-natured support to the growing
theory that his sweater-vests helped drive his rise in the polls in
Iowa.
"I was at a speech two weeks ago and I just happened to wear a sweater-vest that day," Santorum said of Mike Huckabee's anti-abortion forum
in Iowa. The V-neck, sleeveless sweaters are a signature sartorial
choice for the Republican presidential candidate, and he noted on
conservative Laura Ingraham's radio show Monday that he tends to stand
out when the rest of the candidates are wearing suits.
"That speech went over very, very well. If there was one event that
really began the moment, it was that speech. And I think most people
recognized that here, so all the sudden the sweater vest was like,
'Fear the vest,' " Santorum told Ingraham.
Anonymous Santorum supporters have picked up the "Fear the vest"
mantra, creating a Twitter feed for the vests @FearRicksVest, and a
music video titled "Sleeves Slow Me Down."
Santorum told
The New York Times that his campaign has jumped on board
with the sweater's popularity.
“It sort of took on a life of its own," he
told the newspaper Monday.
"So I started wearing more and more. My staff bought me a bunch more.”
According to the Times, Santorum buys most of his vests at JoS. A. Bank.
