What the World Was Like the Day Rick Santorum Announced His Candidacy for President

Today, when you heard the news that former PA senator Rick Santorum dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, didn’t it seem like Rick had been campaigning forever? Remember when he announced, and his candidacy had that new-car smell on June 6, 2011, before he became the quotable Santorum. Back then, America felt fresher, seemed less cynical. Bread was cheaper. People didn’t lock their doors. You still had your baby teeth. What was life like back in those days?

1. Gas cost an average of $3.78 a gallon, a whole 14 cents cheaper than it is today.
2. The day after he announced, the Dow Jones closed at 11,951.91. Yesterday, the closing number was 12,929.59.
3. We thought we were going to miss the entire NFL season. (Which almost would have been preferable to the Dream Team fiasco.)
4. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Placido Polanco and Jimmy Rollins were the starting infielders for the Phillies.
5. The same day Santorum announced, Anthony Weiner made a tearful public confession, and said he would not resign from office. (Maybe America didn’t feel so fresh.)
6. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were still married.
7. Ryan Gosling was just that guy from that movie with the real doll.
8. Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” had the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
9. Hunter Pence was a Houston Astro.
10. Jerry Sandusky was just a former defensive coordinator at Penn State University.