Santorum Defends Comments Made In Ohio About President

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It was a busy Sunday morning for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

He answered some tough questions from CBS' Bob Schieffer on "Face The Nation" as he defended comments he made about the President on Saturday in Ohio.

"The Catholic Church has a theology that says that this is a wrong and he's saying - no, I've got a different… you might what to call it theology, you might want to call it secular values; whatever you want to call it, it's a different moral values – and the President of the United States is exercising his values and trumping the values of the Church," said Santorum while speaking to the Ohio Christian Alliance in Columbus, Ohio.

The former senator says he was talking about President Obama's world view, not his religious beliefs.

Even so, a spokesman for the President says Santorum went too far when he said Obama practices a phony theology.

"I can't help but think that those remarks are well over the line. It's wrong. It's destructive," said Robert Gibbs, an Obama campaign strategist. "It makes it virtually impossible to solve the problems that we all face together as Americans."

On CBS' "Face The Nation," Santorum defended his comments.

"I wasn't suggesting that the President's not a Christian. I accept the fact that the President's a Christian," said Santorum. "I've repeatedly said I don't question the President's faith; I've repeatedly said that I believe the President's Christian. He says he's a Christian, but I am talking about his world view, the way he approaches problems in this country. I think they're different than how most people do in America."

KDKA-TV's Stacy Smith spoke with Santorum on the phone Sunday evening. He talked about those comments.

"What I said was not about President Obama's Christianity, what I was talking about was the environment and the environmentalists of which President Obama has sided with," said Santorum. "I think people are looking for someone to go out there and tell the truth. I've not backed away from any statement I've made on the stump. This is typical liberal media trying to twist things into things that aren't real."

Santorum will be holding a rally in Steubenville, Ohio, Monday morning. He was campaigning in Georgia on Sunday and will head back to Michigan after his stop in Ohio.

RELATED LINKS:
Face The Nation with Bob Schieffer
More News on Rick Santorum
More Political News

In:
• Catholic Church