And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN, the Axviles, with your

host, David Axelrod.

I think it's fair to say that there are many things on which I disagree with Rick Santorum,

the former senator from Pennsylvania and two-time presidential candidate.

But I also have come to know him from our work as senior commentators for CNN.

And while I still disagree with him on many, many things, I also have found points of

common concern that have been interesting to me.

And I asked Rick in the wake of the Alabama election with all its consequences to sit down

and talk about his life and career and where the Republican Party is today.

And I think some of it may surprise you.

I should say we're going to break from our normal format here and take an exchange that

happened at the end of the conversation and move it up to the front of this podcast,

because I thought that the subject was so consequential that I didn't want anybody to

miss it.

So we're going to move that up and then get back to Senator Santorum's very interesting

story.

And I hope you'll stay on board for the entire journey.

Rick Santorum, so good to be with you.

It seems like just hours ago that we were sitting on a set talking about the election in

Alabama and we'll get to that.

We had this election in Alabama, followed an election in Virginia.

There's something going on in the country and there was something going on in 2016.

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