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

host, David Axelrod.

There are many things on which I disagree with Mike Gerson, a conservative columnist at

the Washington Post, who served for six years in the administration of George W. Bush.

But I really admire him.

I admire him for the work he did in the Bush administration on the issue of PEPFAR, the

anti-AIDS program in Africa that was a miraculously successful effort.

And I admire his thoughtful commentary.

A lot of his commentary these days has been a classically conservative critique of President

Trump and the departure from norms and standards and institutions that have so marked this

administration.

Here's our conversation.

Michael Gerson, welcome and welcome to the Institute of Politics.

It's been great to have you here.

There's plenty to talk about in our politics today.

And you've been a really pointed voice in this debate about how we've gotten off the rails.

But I want to set that aside and just talk a little bit about you and your...

You came from St. Louis.

Yeah, that's why I grew up in St. Louis.

And your family is an evangelical family, but your grandfather was Jewish.

Gerson's a very typical American story in a certain way.

One grandfather and Nazarene circuit preacher and the other one, you know, they were Jews

...