First take: Hearth and home

Any member of Congress who wants to be close to his family has a difficult choice: Bring them along to Washington, D.C., and pay a political price when accused of moving out of his district.
That's what's happening to Sen. Rick Santorum, who lives with his family near the capital while still using a modest Pittsburgh-area home as his voting address. He got beat up pretty good the other day by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Inquirer columnist Tom Ferrick has written several posts on his blog, including "The House on Stevens Lane." Last Friday, Tom clarified the legal aspects of the residency issue. Bottom line: Santorum's a legal voter in Pennsylvania, even if he lives mostly in Virginia.
There are tough choices facing a lawmaker: Are you a bonafide family man, or a bonafide resident of the state or district from which you're elected?
Hard to criticize someone for wanting to be close to his or her family. Not hard to criticize them for being inconsistent or, even, hypocritical. How so in Santorum's case? As a congressional candidate some years ago, he raised the residency issue against his incumbent opponent. Good for the goose, good for ...