Most GOP presidential candidates kept mum a day after President Obama chided them for not coming to the defense of a booed gay soldier.

While speaking to a crowd of roughly 3,000 at a gay fundraiser on Saturday, Obama criticized the Republican candidates who attended last month's Fox News/Google presidential debate. At the forum, Stephen Hill, a gay soldier serving in Iraq, submitted a videotaped question via YouTube. Referring to the recent repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” Hill, dressed in an Army t-shirt, asked, “Do you intend to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”

The audience booed Hill's question, but cheered Santorum when he called DADT repeal a “tragic social experiment” and vowed he would reinstate the policy, if elected president.

“We don't believe in the kind of smallness that says it's okay for a stage full of political leaders – one of whom could end up being the President of the United States – being silent when an American soldier is booed. We don't believe in that. We don't believe in them being silent since. You want to be commander-in-chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it's not politically convenient,” Obama said.

During an appearance on ABC's This Week, Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, agreed he should have spoken up.

“In retrospect, because of the controversy it has created and because of the different interpretations that it could have had, yes, that probably – that would have been appropriate,” Cain answered when asked if he should have asked the audience to respect the soldier.

“I happen to think that maybe they were booing the whole 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal more so than booing that soldier,” he added.

According to ABC News, only Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign responded to a request for comment on the president's remarks.

“Michele honors the service of every man and woman in our armed forces,” said Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Bachmann campaign. “As commander-in-chief, she will lead from the front and not put them in harm's way without a vital national interest and a clear mission.”