PHOENIX ? Rick Santorum said Tuesday that he will ?defend everything I?m saying? as 2008 comments he made about Satan having his ?sights on? the United States drew renewed fire.
Santorum told roughly 200 supporters at a rally here that when candidates veer from ?very structured, very ordered events,? voters believe they have to ?worry about everything he says.?
Continue Reading?No, you don?t, because I?ll defend everything I?ll say,? Santorum told the applauding crowd, pledging to ?tell you the truth about what?s going on in this country.?
Santorum didn?t specifically mention the four-year-old speech from Ave Maria University in Florida, from which the Satan comments came, or a number of other statements on the campaign trail that have raised eyebrows in recent days, including remarks that some say called into question President Barack Obama?s Christian faith. Questions have also arisen over comments Santorum made that appeared to compare the Obama presidency to the rise of Nazism before World War II and remarks about prenatal testing.
Asked about the Ave Maria speech by reporters following the Phoenix rally, Santorum called the question ?a joke? and ?absurd.?
?You know ? I?m a person of faith. I believe in good and evil. I think if somehow or another because you?re a person of faith you believe in good and evil is a disqualifier for president, we?re going to have a very small pool of candidates who can run for president,? Santorum said.
Santorum said questioning whether he believed Satan was attacking America was ?not relevant.?
?Look, guys, these are questions that are not relevant to what?s ? what?s being discussed in America today. What we?re talking about in America today is trying to get America growing. That?s what my speeches are about, that?s what we?re going to talk about in this campaign,? Santorum said.
?If they want to dig up old speeches of talking to [a] religious group, they can go ahead and do so, but I?m going to stay on message and I?m going to talk about things that Americans want to talk about, which is creating jobs, making our country more secure, and yeah, taking on the forces around his world who want to do harm to America, and you bet I will take them on.?
While Santorum?s past remarks are facing renewed scrutiny now, they aren?t atypical for him. The former Pennsylvania senator often paints a portrait of an America in peril, led by a president who does not believe in American exceptionalism and greatness.
The Satan remarks re-emerged Tuesday on the political landscape thanks to a banner headline on the Drudge Report, with quotes from the 2008 speech but no link to a news article. The headline was accompanied by a black-and-white photo of Santorum at a pulpit with a cross on it.
In Phoenix, Santorum stuck to his traditional stump speech ? embracing the values of ?small-town America? and promoting the rebirth of U.S. manufacturing ? but he seemed miffed about the reaction to the use of terms like good and evil from his 2008 speech.
?Ronald Reagan did it. He called the Soviet Union an evil empire and the media went wild,? he said. ?How dare you, how dare you ascribe terms like good and evil to regimes? Because Ronald Reagan told the truth, he didn?t sugarcoat it. He went out and called it the way it was. He went out and promoted the values of our country.?
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