Santorum, canvassing the state with speeches and rallies as the Nov. 7 election approaches, also said Democrat Bob Casey Jr. had misrepresented Santorum's conservative views and was unqualified on matters of national security.

"He has no ideas. He has no thoughts," said Santorum, who was in Lancaster Saturday for a rally and fundraiser with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity. Afterward, Santorum spoke to the Intelligencer Journal.

Santorum may be facing the end of his 16-year career in Congress, first as a member of the House of Representatives, then as a senator beginning in 1994. Casey has consistently led Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, in voter polls throughout the year, but Santorum vowed to continue "energizing" Republican voters.

On Saturday, Santorum laid out a strategy to win the war in Iraq that includes toppling the Iranian regime, the Shiite Islamic government that American officials say is provoking ethnic violence against Iraqi Sunnis.

"We need to aggressively change that regime to bring about a democratic revolution in Iran" that would "tighten the noose" around the Iranian government, Santorum said.

Santorum pointed to a bill he authored to allocate $10 million to benefit pro-democracy groups inside Iran. It was passed by both Congressional chambers in September, but President Bush has not signed it.

If the Iranian regime was to be toppled and replaced with a democracy, Santorum argued, it would mean a more favorable outcome for Iraq's fledgling government.

The president has "opposed me on that for two years," the senator said.

"This bill forces the president's hand," Santorum said, adding that the administration's "policy on Iran is weak."

Although Santorum was critical of Bush, he directed most of his stinging remarks at Casey, particularly on matters of national security.

"He just doesn't understand," Santorum said. "He has a real problem understanding real basic things."

One example Santorum cited was Casey's responses earlier this month to questions from the Philadelphia Inquirer about wiretap surveillance. Santorum said Casey, by declining to give a firm position on the matter during the interview, failed to grasp the issue of whether the president, without judicial oversight, can order secret eavesdropping on the phone calls of suspected terrorists.

"He either doesn't understand or he can't make up his mind about a question posed to him," Santorum said.

"He has no thoughts. This is a big job. You have to understand the important and complex issues."

Santorum also slammed his critics and Casey for misrepresenting Santorum's views on women in the work force and birth control.

Many critics targeted the senator for things he wrote in 2005's "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good." Critics say in the book Santorum advocated that women stay at home to raise children.

That's inaccurate, Santorum said, because his position is that if parents, not just mothers, can afford to stay home and raise their children, it's an option they should seriously consider.

"Look," the Santorum pointed to his campaign press secretary, Virginia Davis. "The idea I don't want women to work is bizarre," he said.

On birth control, Santorum -- a well-known anti-abortion advocate -- supports slashing federal funding to Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortions. He would prefer Planned Parenthood use federal money to develop abstinence programs.

Birth control, he has said, should be a decision for a person's family, particularly teenagers, and a physician, and he has voted for spending bills that include appropriations for birth control.

"The idea that I'm against birth control is crazy," he said. "Birth control is abstinence."

Santorum also has been noted for his stance against Bush's immigration-reform policies. A bill supported by Bush and passed by the Senate would allow illegal immigrants to become citizens after meeting a list of requirements such as paying back taxes.

Santorum voted against it, calling it "amnesty." Casey said he would support it.

Santorum's father was an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in the 1920s.

"We did things the way they are suppose to be done," Santorum said. "We came to follow the rules. People who don't come here to follow the laws should not be" rewarded with citizenship.

But Ben Donahower of Lancaster, field director of the state Democratic Party's PA Victory '06 efforts, said Sunday that Santorum was "clearly out of step with reality for most Pennsylvanians."

Rather than hold Bush accountable for the Iraq war, Donahower said, Santorum has been a "rubber stamp."

"Pennsylvania deserves a senator that will work to re-establish damaged relationships with other nations so that America can defeat terrorism no matter where the terrorists may hide," he said.

If re-elected, Santorum would receive a third term in the Senate. He is chairman of the Republican Senate Conference.

Dave Pidgeon's e-mail address is dpidgeon@lnpnews.com.