Rick Santorum gave what was billed as a major policy address outlining his plans for the first 100 days in office. The Friday evening speech barely registered in political coverage, and was characterized as "familiar" by the AP, which summarized:

Santorum's campaign had billed his 55-minute speech as a major announcement of his agenda for his first 100 days in office. But the proposals were familiar ones. They included steep cuts in spending and regulations, and the repeal of "Obamacare," the 2010 Democratic-crafted health care overhaul.

Or rehash, as our sister paper, the Toledo Blade, described it:

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. – During his first 100 days in office, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he would increase domestic energy production, repeal scores of regulations enacted under President Obama, and push for lower taxes if elected.

 The former Pennsylvania senator made those promises to a crowd of about 200 people during a Friday night rally at a Knights of Columbus Hall. He is locked in a tight race with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who campaigned in neighboring Detroit earlier in the day.

As in two previous Detroit-area addresses, Mr. Santorum focused on his economic plan rather than the more controversial social issues that have become a hallmark of his campaign elsewhere.

With a "Made in America" banner behind him, Mr. Santorum rehashed aspects of his economic plan, which include an elimination of corporate taxes for manufacturers, a reduced rate for other corporations, $5 billion in spending cuts over five years, and a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"I was fighting for a balanced budget back before it was cool to fight for a balanced budget," he said to applause.

His emphasis on manufacturing is something his campaign is hoping will resonate in Michigan, which until recent weeks was considered an easy win for Mr. Romney, who was raised in the state and whose father was governor here.

Mr. Santorum's plan would rely on the innovation and initiative of the American people, not government intervention and dependency, he said.

"America is great from the bottom up, not from the top down," he said. That's the primary distinction between himself and President Obama, he said, arguing that he's the candidate best suited to draw that distinction.

After reminding voters of his opposition to the bailouts of Wall Street and the auto industry, he said, "You may not like my position on bailouts, but I've been principled and consistent, unlike others."

That indirect reference was one of the few jabs he took at Mr. Romney, who supported Wall Street bailouts but not the bailout of the auto industry.

Mr. Santorum's "first order of business" would be lowering energy prices, he said. He would allow more offshore and deepwater drilling, and more drilling in Alaska, he said. He would also support the construction of the Keystone pipeline, he said.

Also within his first 100 days in office, Mr. Santorum said he would ask Congress to repeal Mr. Obama's health-care overhaul, and he attacked the President's recent mandate that employers, including religious organizations, to provide health care coverage that includes contraceptives. "This is one of the most outrageous affronts to the First Amendment in the history of our country," he said of the latter. Mr. Obama has since modified the mandate.

Mr. Santorum also addressed the housing crisis, an important issue in Michigan, which has the fifth highest foreclosure rate in the nation.

"I know a high percentage of houses in Michigan are underwater," he said. "I'm in a situation in our own house. The value of my house is fraction of what it was when I bought it."

In addition to phasing out government-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and repealing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a financial regulation statute signed into law by President Obama in 2010, Mr. Santorum said he would allow people to deduct losses from the sale of their homes on their income taxes.

"This is a way to soften the blow" without government intervention, he said.

He also said he would reform entitlement programs by funding them through block grants to the states, which would have the flexibility to decide how to best spend the money.

Mr. Santorum, who campaigned earlier in the evening at a Detroit-area fish fry, also emphasized the importance of keeping families whole, though he provided little details about what that might look like.

"When I talk about building strong families, I don't necessarily mean we need the government to do it," he said. Instead, "we need to start a discussion" about teen pregnancy and other issues, he told the crowd, which filled about half the hall and included 13 nuns from Ann Arbor in full habit.

Most of Mr. Santorum's "first 100 days" initiatives — changes to the tax code, a balanced budget amendment, reduced spending, etc. — would require approval from Congress, something he didn't address during his nearly hourlong speech.

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