The Washington Times - December 11, 2011, 01:23PM

GOP presidential candidate former Senator Rick Santorum spoke to reporters after the debate at Drake University in Des Moines on Saturday night. 

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I told Mr. Santorum he seemed more relaxed on the debate stage on Saturday than in past debates and asked what he did to help strengthen his debate performance in this area considering critics have said he has come off too stressed in his delivering his message.

“I can thank my wife and my kids. They communicated that message to me, and part of the problem I’ve had in the past is just a little frustration of not getting the time. And so you just get a little edgy and you try to do too much with the time you have, because you don’t get as much time,” he said. 

“The fact that there were only six candidates, I saw that I could get more time than I had in the past to be able to discuss it, and I did. I think I’m past that, and I feel my debates are only going to get better and better as we go along,” Santorum added.

Mr. Santorum also told reporters the advice his family gave him was to “chill out” on the debate stage.  He also said they told him to “enjoy the moment” while he was on stage running for president of the United States.