PHOENIX, Arizona—Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum addressed a string of recent gaffes and controversial comments by saying he stands by his remarks.
"I'll defend everything I say," he said, attacking the media for cherry-picking specific quotes from "hundreds of hours of speeches."
Santorum didn't address the specific reports, most notably quotes dug up by The Drudge Report from 2008 of him declaring: "Satan has his sights on the United States of America."
Santorum didn't shy away from the biblical theme, quieting the audience by affirming that "Yes, there are forces of evil in the world."
Over the weekend, Santorum drew fire for accusing President Barack Obama of subscribing to "phony theology," which he said later was about the environment, but was seized on by Democrats as an attack on the president's faith.
Making matters worse, Alice Stewart, the campaign's press secretary, said yesterday that Obama was promoting "radical Islamic policies," later saying that she too meant to refer to the environment.
Santorum's defiant stance should make for some fireworks at tomorrow night's CNN debate, where he will undoubtedly be asked about his recent remarks.
Update 7:10: After his remarks, Santorum addressed his "Satan" remark saying he won't let it derail his campaign.
"If they want to go ahead and dig up old speeches to a religious group, they can go right ahead and do so," he said. "I’m going to stay on message. I’m going to talk about the things Americans want to talk about."
His unwillingness to admit any fault appears to be an attempt to draw contrast with Mitt Romney, who Santorum frequently criticizes for flip-flopping and not being a true conservative.