Santorum leads Tea Party rally in chorus of catcalls against Obama, says President 'appeasing evil, crushing Judeo-Christian principles'

Speaking to a tea party audience on Wednesday, Rick Santorum mocked fellow Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and led the overwhelmingly friendly audience in a chorus of catcalls against President Barack Obama.

As Santorum harshly criticized the president on the economy and foreign policy during the speech in Tucson, audience members could be heard calling the president a "liar," "arrogant" – and repeatedly booing his name.

The candidate did not use those words himself. Instead, his words encouraged his audience.

For example, at one point, Santorum accused the president of appeasing "evil" around the world.

"Ronald Reagan was courageous enough to go out and speak about the forces of evil," the former Pennsylvania senator said.

He continued: "Our president refuses to call evil – evil. He refuses to even name it, refuses to confront it. He tries to appease and cajole it in an effort to reduce America's commitments around the world - that if we just have paper or if we just try to make nice with those who are actively doing harm to America and its allies, that somehow or another that threat will go away or be ameliorated."

"And what we have found is that is simply, from history, it doesn't work."

On Tuesday, the former Pennsylvania said, "I believe in good and evil" in response to CNN questions about his 2008 comments that Satan had set his sights on the United States.

The previous comments raised eyebrows. Yet Santorum defended his words.

At another point during the Tucson speech, Santorum accused the president of trying to end core U.S. beliefs.

"Essentially we are going to have to hold together on some set of moral codes and principles," Santorum said. "And we are seeing very evidently what the president's moral codes and principles are about. We see a president who is systematically trying to crush the traditional Judeo-Christian principles in this country."

Such language directly appeals to Christian evangelicals and the conservative tea party movement – two groups Santorum is courting in the GOP race.