(New Castle, NH) Former Senator Rick Santorum says the country is ready to tackle the looming bankruptcy of Social Security and Medicare, and thinks the recently passed financial reform bill is a big step in the wrong direction. The Pennsylvania Republican capped a day of barnstorming across New Hampshire at a fundraiser for Executive Council candidate Chris Sununu at the home of Rep. Will Smith (R- New Castle)

Santorum served with Sununu’s brother John in the U.S. Senate from 2002 to 2006, when he lost his re-election bid in that year’s huge Democratic sweep. New Hampshire voter replaced Sununu two years later with Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, a decision Santorum called a “national tragedy.” He said that he always looked to John Sununu on the Senate Banking Committee, and that the country could have used Sununu’s insight in responding to the financial turmoil caused by the collapse of the housing market.

Santorum argues that the recently approved Wall Street overhaul does nothing to address the cause of the housing bubble, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He told the crowd that Sununu led the charge to reform the government-created boards long before the bubble burst. He says instead of addressing the real cause of the problem, Congress simply grabbed more control over the financial sector.

Santorum tells New Hampshire Watchdog that the American people are ready to address the looming bankruptcy of the nation’s largest entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare. Santorum pressed for a Social Security reform package in 2003, but ran into reluctance from fellow Republicans and a filibuster threat from Senate Democrats. But he thinks that with exploding deficits and out of control spending at the top of the political agenda, voters will embrace candidates willing to reign in government.

Watch our exclusive interview with Rick Santorum in New Hampshire.

Yesterday marked Santorum’s third trip to the Granite State so far this year. He says he’s hit 25 states campaigning for GOP candidates. Santorum says New Hampshire voters have a chance to flip two House seats from Democrat to Republican, and hold onto retiring Senator Judd Gregg’s Senate seat for the GOP. Santorum expects Republicans to retake the House, and now have a long-shot bid at the Senate. And he says Republicans will need to pick up more than a handful of seats in order to convince Washington DC that the country really wants to change direction.