While Rick Santorum isn’t quite the World-Class Serial Liar — Mitt Romney holds that trophy — he’s not above spreading a few frothy half-truths. Consider Monday’s attempt at Holy War, delivered to the good people of Muskegon, Michigan:

“When you have the President of the United States referring to the freedom of religion and you have the Secretary of State referring to the freedom of religion, not as the freedom of religion but the freedom of worship, you should get very nervous, very nervous.”

Wait, what? Aren’t the two interchangeable? Well, not quite:

“Because there’s a lot of tyrants around the world who will talk about freedom of worship, but they won’t talk about freedom of religion. Freedom of worship is what you do within the four walls of the church. Freedom of religion is what you do outside the four walls of the church. What the President is now seeming to mold, in the image of other elitists who think that they know best, is to limit the role of faith in the public square and your role to live that faith out in your public and private lives.”

That’s a pretty subtle distinction, coming from somebody who can’t tell the difference between two dudes, and a dude and a dog. And sure enough, it’s not his.

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“We think, well, you know, it’ll get better. Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I mean, it won’t be near as bad as what we think. This will be okay. I mean, yeah, maybe he’s not the best guy after a while. After a while you find out some things about this guy over in Europe who’s not so good of a guy after all, but ya know what, why do we need to be involved? We’ll just take care of our own problems.” [CNN]

“Despite his avowed non-interest and the fact he may not even be constitutionally eligible to hold the office, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is the top choice of Republicans and independents for the vice-presidential slot on the Republican ticket this year, according to a brand-new poll.” [WND]

Our guest columnist sought power, accepted it eagerly, and chose to return to life as a citizen rather than complete a first term.

Celebrating George Washington’s birthday is an American tradition to honor our first president. Though Presidents’ Day is now the more commonly-used term, and has expanded to include all presidents, the legal term for this federal holiday remains Washington’s Birthday.

We honor President Washington, not because he was flawless; he was not. He was, however, the epitome of self-sacrifice — both as a soldier and a statesman. It was that sacrifice that helped make America what it was destined to become. We honor him because of what he accomplished and the manner in which he approached service to this nation: with a servant’s heart.

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For years, Rick Santorum has been known primarily for two things: his titular definition, and his crying daughter. And in the years following his 2006 Senate smackdown, there’s been little reason to know any more.

But now that he’s leading the pack, however transiently, we’re learning that Santorum spreads much wider than we’ve suspected. He’s not just a bigot. He’s not just a bigoted wingnut. He’s not even just a bigoted wingnut fundamentalist.

Rick Santorum is a Holy Warrior.

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Title: “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”

Author: Susan Cain

Rank: 6

Blurb: “Q: Why did you write the book? A: For the same reason that Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique in 1963. Introverts are to extroverts what women were to men at that time — second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent.”

Review: “My final nail in the book’s coffin was the chapter on ‘Asian Culture’. The author went to wealthy Cupertino, CA and interviewed a half dozen Asian introverted students. She lists a few pithy, fortune cookie length ‘Wisdom Sayings’ from Asian and Western philosophers to prove that Asia values introverts and America does not.”

Customers Also Bought: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson

Footnote: Introverts are also the property of their spouses, and were unable to vote until 1920.

Quiet [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon Kickback Link]

Really, ESPN? ‘Chink In The Armor’? [Romenesko]