For the past several weeks, few people have been enjoying the Republican presidential campaign quite as much as Foster Friess. The 71-year-old mutual fund millionaire from Wyoming, who has emerged as the key backer of Rick Santorum’s super PAC, has taken advantage of the access his largesse affords by joining the candidate on the campaign trail. While a Santorum surge began stirring in the Iowa cornfields, Friess was a passenger in the gunmetal Dodge RAM — nicknamed the “Chuck Truck,” because it belonged to local supporter Chuck Laudner — that schlepped Santorum around the Hawkeye State. On Election Night, he bounded into the Stoney Creek Inn in Johnston, Iowa, to regale reporters with tales from the caucus site he’d visited. Asked if he was enjoying himself, Friess beamed, “If I was any better I’d be an astronaut. It’s one of the most incredible experiences of America I’ve ever had.” On Feb. 7, he was back standing over Santorum’s right shoulder as the candidate addressed a suburban St. Louis ballroom on the night Santorum’s three-state sweep vaulted him back into the thick of the GOP nomination fight. Three days later, he was tapped to introduce Santorum for the candidate’s address at CPAC. “Life is just so much fun and so filled with humor,” began the snowy-haired financier, clad in a sweater vest of his own. “There’s a little bar a couple doors down and recently a conservative, a liberal and a moderate walked into the bar.” Pause a beat. “The bartender says, ‘Hi Mitt!’” As the crowd cheered, Friess busted out into laughter at his own joke. (PHOTOS: Political Buttons from the Button Museum) Now Friess’s sense of humor has gotten him into hot water. During an interview Thursday with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Friess was asked about Santorum’s stance on social issues, including comments he’s made about contraception. His reply: “We maybe need a massive therapy session so we can concentrate on what the real issues are. And this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it’s such inexpensive. Back in my days, they![]()
