POLITICO's James Hohmann reports:

Foster Friess, the mega donor behind the pro-Rick Santorum Super PAC, dismissed questions about his patron’s controversial views on women in combat, contraception and gay marriage.

“Here we have millions of our fellow Americans unemployed. We have jihadist camps being set up in Latin America, which Rick has been warning about, and people seem to be so preoccupied with sex. I think it says something about our culture," he said. "We maybe need a massive therapy session so we can concentrate on what the real issues are.”

He went on: “On this contraceptive thing, my Gosh it’s such [sic] inexpensive,” he added. “You know, back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.”

Host Andrea Mitchell interjected, "Excuse me, I’m just trying to catch my breath from that, Mr. Friess, frankly,” she said after a long pause. “Let’s change the subject.”

He laughed.

A minute later, Mitchell circled back to the contraception question. “Aren’t we going back decades with some of the social issues that he’s espoused?”

“I didn’t realize he said he was against contraceptives,” Friess said. “Has he made that statement?”

Mitchell said Santorum has said in the past that it’s not in a women’s interest to use contraception and that sex should be done for procreation.

“Who cares?” he shot back. “Do you honestly think that if Senator Santorum becomes president, we’re going to get rid of contraceptives?”

“I’m amazed at some of the approaches that [you] come up with,” he added after another follow-up. “I think the media has created this ‘extremist’ idea.”

Friess recalled a man approaching him at his “country club” to say that Santorum is too extreme in his opposition to gay marriage.

“So I said to this guy, ‘You know, through the beginning of time, not just the major religions but various African tribal people have said man is marrying a woman. At what point in your life did that suddenly become an extreme idea?’ Well, obviously, he couldn’t answer. So the whole idea of extremism, it’s kind of a bizarre terminology for someone that believes marriage is between a man and a woman. Why is that extreme?”