(Image source: Fox News)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

You're watching multisource politics video news analysis from Newsy.

The military’s ban on openly gay service members has only been repealed for a few days -- but one GOP presidential candidate is already promising to reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if elected.

RICK SANTORUM: “What we are doing is playing social experimentation with our military right now. That’s tragic. … But we would move forward in conformity with what was happening in the past. Which was- sex is not an issue. It should not be an issue. Leave it alone. Keep it to yourself whether you are heterosexual or homosexual.”

But it’s not just Santorum’s answer that perked up political observers’ ears. It was the crowd’s response to the question itself posed to the candidates by a gay soldier.

SOLDIER: “My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military.”
CROWD: (Booing)

That a few members of the GOP debate in Florida’s audience booed a gay soldier took many by surprise. Here’s KSBI’s reaction.

“Two or three bozos disrespectfully booing in the GOP debate crowd. … Personally I think those guys are booing the fact they're not nearly as ripped as that gay soldier.”

After the debate, spokespeople for candidates Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry both called the crowd’s reaction, “unfortunate.”

The Huffington Post called the candidates’ silence in rebuking the crowd “deafening”. HuffPost’s Jason Linkins got reaction from Fred Karger -- the only openly gay candidate in the field who told him...

"Santorum is truly nuts. Just Google him. Congress repealed DADT. Federal court found it unconstitutional."

When CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked Ron Paul about a hypothetical uninsured man. He asked the candidate...

“Congressman, are you saying society should just let him die?”
CROWD: “Yea, yea!!”

Salon’s Steve Kornacki says -- once again the debate audience gave the party a black eye.

“Even if they are isolated, these debate outbursts end up generating considerable attention and helping to establish (or to reinforce) a sense among non-Republican voters that the GOP has gone off the deep end.”

But CNN talked with Ari Fleisher -- who was one of President George W. Bush’s press secretaries. He told the network -- he’s disappointed with the candidates’ silence -- and the incident doesn’t represent the Republican party as a whole.

FLEISCHER: “I think it was a missed opportunity for every single Republican on that stage not to take on the two or three crazy people in that crowd who booed. If I were standing on that stage, I would have taken advantage of it and said those two or three of you, you don't represent the Republican party. … Don't misrepresent what happened there in terms of image of Republicans. I know there's some debate about the crowds at these debates.”

The gay Conservative group GOProud is demanding an apology from Santorum. No response from Santorum’s camp yet.

Transcript by Newsy.