Rick Santorum press secretary Alice Stewart says it was an accident when she accused President Barack Obama of establishing "radical Islamic policies."


Stewart appeared on MSNBC Monday with journalist Andrea Mitchell to discuss comments Santorum made about Obama's "phony theology" over the weekend. As she repeatedly railed against Obama's "radical environmentalist policies," she slipped up and said "Islamic" instead of "environmentalist."


After the interview, Stewart quickly called back, while the show was still on the air, her to clarify that she had misspoke.


Readers may remember that Stewart served as spokeswoman for Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., during Bachmann's presidential bid. When that fizzled, she left the campaign, later taking a job with Santorum, who, in some national polls, is the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination.


In a speech to Tea Party conservatives on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, Santorum had dismissed Obama's politics as being based in "some phony theology."


Santorum continued his religious critique of Obama on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, attacking his theology and deference to "radical environmentalists."


"It's not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your jobs," Santorum said. "It's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology."


"Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer began his interview with Santorum Sunday by asking, "What in the world were you talking about?"


"I was talking about the radical environmentalists," Santorum said, suggesting that they believe man should protect the earth, rather than "steward its resources." "I think that is a phony ideal. I don't believe that's what we're here to do... We're not here to serve the earth. That is not the objective, man is the objective."

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.