(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

He said “Satan has set his sights” on the U.S.

But now — Rick Santorum says a controversial comment from a 2008 speech is “not relevant” to the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

Here’s an excerpt, from ABC.

“If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age? There is no one else to go after.”

Santorum spoke at Ave Maria University — a private Catholic school in Florida — in August of 2008. And despite controversy — the former Pennsylvania senator says he’s not backing down. Still — as WINK-TV reports — Santorum doesn’t think the comments are relevant to the campaign.

SANTORUM: “If somehow or another, because you're a person of faith you believe in good and evil is a dis-qualifier for president we're going to have a very small pool of candidates who can run for president.”

But the scrutiny keeps on coming — even from corners of the conservative blogosphere. Big Government’s Ben Shapiro writes...

“Santorum’s attack on Satan is an ill-advised, horribly misguided attempt to play on his religiosity yet again – and yet again, he has painted himself into the ‘religious nut’ corner.”

Others are coming to Santorum’s defense. National Review’s Rich Lowry says this isn’t a case of rhetoric gone wrong — but a media gone malignant.

“That elite is constantly writing the obituary for social conservatism, which is supposed to wither away and leave a polite, undisturbed consensus in favor of social liberalism.”

But is that what voters are thinking about at the polls? Conservative political analyst Mary Matalin tells CNN — in a sense — yes. And Santorum is talking to THOSE voters.

“They understand the language of the pulpit and the language of the campaign. … People understand the expansion of government in many programs has resulted, but in the degradation of the culture.”

But on MSNBC — GOP strategist Trey Hardin says Santorum’s runaway rhetoric has no place in the race.
 

“Religion has no place in politics. ... Because Rick Santorum is now a viable candidate, he's going to have to explain or answer the question, how are you going to beat Barack Obama? How are you going to get to those independent women voters?”

Talking to supporters in Phoenix — Santorum said he is prepared to defend everything he said.