With their candidate on the defensive, Santorum aides suggest they could force Mitt Romney to defend his faith.

Rick Santorum is on the defensive after the Drudge Report on Tuesday posted comments he made in 2008 warning that Satan is attacking America. That's prompted three lines of response from the former Pennsylvania senator's camp:

1. Pay no attention! Pressed on the matter Tuesday evening, Santorum said, "These are questions that are not relevant to what's being discussed in America today." One imagines that if Satan really is attacking America, it'd be relevant to devout believers, and if Santorum really believes it, one imagines it'd still be relevant to him as well.

2. People agree with me! Byron York of the Washington Examiner has a remarkable article up featuring some commentary from an unnamed Santorum supporter who suggested the candidate was in step with voters:

"I don't know what's newsmaking that Rick Santorum believes in right and wrong, good and evil, God and the devil," says one campaign aide. "I really don't know how that's out of the mainstream."



It's not. In 2007, the Gallup polling organization asked Americans whether they believe in God, in heaven, in hell, and in the devil. The results: 86 percent of those questioned said they believed in God, 81 percent in heaven, 70 percent in the devil, and 69 percent in hell.

Naturally, there's a big difference between voters believing in the devil and wanting their president to be sounding eschatological warnings, and if Santorum was that confident about their support, he would have responded differently Tuesday night.