Santorum claims California universities don't teach U.S. history

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Are we still paying attention to Rick Santorum? Well, sure, for the time being. I was rooting for him to beat Romney -- for obvious reasons -- but his campaign, for all its stunning wins (given that he seemed to come out of nowhere), has been one long series of gaffes and missteps and, well, lies.

The latest... as he said yesterday in Wisconsin, where he's hoping against hope for a come-from-behind win today:

I was just reading something last night from the state of California. And that the California universities – I think it's seven or eight of the California system of universities don't even teach an American history course. It's not even available to be taught. 

Um, what exactly was he reading? Or was that a lie, too? Because, as Think Progress notes:

In fact, of the 10 UC system schools, just one (San Francisco) doesn't offer American history courses. But that's because it doesn't offer any humanities courses at all — it's a medical school.

Meanwhile, Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz all offer numerous American history courses. All require students to take U.S. history before they can graduate.

University of California spokesperson Brooke Converse emailed to note that every single UC undergraduate program is required to study "American history and institutions," though specific requirements vary at each campus.

Go away, Rick. Just go away. You had it going there for a bit, what with your folksy populism and seeming authenticity, but your continuous stream of right-wing bullshit (whether about birth control or education or whatever), as much as Romney's money, has taken its toll. You're done. And now you're just looking more and more like the fool you really are.