Rick Santorum has participated in countless debates over the course of his career, most recently during the GOP primary race. What does he think are the biggest problems caused by the format? How will Mitt Romney do tonight? Check out the conversation from radio today in the clip above.
Rough transcript of interview is below:
GLENN: I have on the phone Rick Santorum. Let talk about the debate.
VOICE: I would say that this is going to be the an important debate that and I'm hopeful that they give the opportunity to have a real engagement. I mean one of the big problems I have with the debates the 20 debates I was involved in that the media decided they were the story, and not the candidates. They didn't allow the type of interaction that is really important to get a sense of who these candidates really are. I'm hoping they try to get these guys engage each other.
GLENN: President Obama has not been questioned except by Univision in four years. Nobody has really pushed him up against the wall, and questioned him. Romney I believe the goal should be if I'm a strategist, and I'm not saying Romney he's got to be very careful. Through the power of prayer should be to get the President to reveal who he really is. He's not a likable person and he's an arrogant, arrogant guy. And you know when we were thinking about this. There's only two candidates that ran on the right that Barack Obama absolutely 100% despises, and that is you, and Mitt Romney. You're Christians. You're good practicing Christians. You're white males. You might as be wearing a pilgrim outfit, and bringing a turkey. You are Mr. Colonialist in his mind. Mitt Romney is a big businessman. He's got to despise Mitt Romney. His faith, anti-abortion, anti-Planned Parenthood helped with the proposition 8 in California. There's nobody he hates more. Do you think.
VOICE: It gets to why. I think you sort of laid it out. Barack Obama is a fundamentally different vision for America. He wants to transform America. But what he's not been clear about. He's been clear on the policy but is his vision for America he sort of hides the ball. What his real vision. His vision he'd like us to be the French -- the culmination if you will of the French Republic as opposed to the American Republic. One of the reasons I wrote this book. I do I'm sort feeling I'm pro-Glenn Beck, and teaching us American history. But I thought it's just really important for us to get out there, and lay out who we are. Our founder's vision versus Obama's vision, and Obama's vision is the French Revolution now in its current iteration versus the American Revolution which is the founding principle as you mentioned God given rights, you know people being responsible for the problems they have, and their families and their communities. And government is there to provide an atmosphere for these great treasures of family and faith and community to be able to knit a society as opposed to the French vision which is not liberty from the beginning. But liberty in the end and the folks who're going to craft that liberty and equality is the government. That's European socialism which has adopted the French model is all about. That's what we mean. That's Obama's vision. Romney vision my vision your vision hopefully your listener's vision is something that is more akin to the American one that made us the greatest country in the world.
GLENN: The heroes by Rick.
VOICE: Disappeared.
GLENN: They're erased.
VOICE: Again, again, I feel like I'm repeating the words you say all the time on the radio. They've erased it because this is the elites in our culture who're trying to transform America and you can't do it with one President. You've got to do with it education system, and with entertainment, and Hollywood and news media. So I tip to my hat to you, and to be out there and be willing to provide a place for the truth about who we are, and what America is, and what's going on in the world today.
GLENN: I will tell you Rick that I look for books that I can read to my son that will get him involved in the American movement, and you know so many times you'll pick up a history book and they're boring as snot and they go and on and on and on and he just loses interest. Great, great book. Short, sweet. To the point. Well done.
VOICE: Thank you. Well, look again I don't want to be sucking up to you here. One of the things I do learn in looking at you, and how you've effectively communicated is I thought some of your most powerful books from some of the little books that did that short sweet, delivered a message did it clearly and had the biggest impact. Trying to follow in the footsteps of great steps of great fuss.
GLENN: It's available everyone but you can get it Patriotic voices. The name of the book is Patriotic voices answering the call to freedom. What is the one thing that Mitt Romney has got to do tonight.
VOICE: You know, I really do believe this, and I saw it in me and my debates. The debates I did well I was comfortable. I was confident. I wasn't arrogant but you conveyed a message by how you handled yourself. And I think that is really important for -- how Obama is able to pull it off in so many cases is that he can pull it off he just -- he looks the part. And I think Romney -- as much as you think people know Mitt Romney they don't. And a lot of people for the first time are going to size him up in this kind of intense atmosphere, and see what is this guy made of, and I think it's really important for Romney just to relax, to be as natural as he possibly can.
GLENN: Let ask you this. How hard to relax. Mitt Romney has to know if he blows it tonight he's blown it. He's worked eight years. As much as you say you want him to relax. How hard to do that moment.
VOICE: It's really hard. In that moment for me I did particularly well. I had a debate where that was sort of I thought one of the key points for me we had just done very, very well. We were starting to gain momentum and I didn't come across well. I didn't connect and communicate well. I think it cost me a lot. And I'll be honest with you. It was the same thing for Mitt Romney, and he did. He did very, very well. It was my first moment to be in the kind of spotlight, and be under that kind of intensity. I did okay. I didn't do well as I could have. I didn't do as well he could have. I think it's hard but he's been through this. He's done it with the debate with me. But he did it in other debates with other folks at other times and Obama hasn't had that. He hasn't been in the situation for four years. Even when he was he has been so cobbled by the media that if Mitt Romney can have that AURA I think you're going to see the real people come out in this debate.
GLENN: You're the President. Let's say you're Mitt Romney, and you're standing against the President of the United States. Mr. Romney you said 47%. It appears that you don't care about 47% of this nation. How would you respond.
VOICE: You respond from the truth which is truth is that Mitt Romney is dedicated his career in creating opportunities and serving the public not and trying to help people experience a part of the American dream. Mr. President you're the guy that's caused highest level of poverty in history. You're your policies. My career has been about successfully taking on and giving opportunities for those to get off the programs you want to put people on. I think you've got to paint the positive vision what he's done, and what he's about. Don't run away from dependency. It's not that people want to be dependency. They make short-term economic decisions that where the government has come in with such largesse it makes the economic choices very, very difficult to go out and work, and sacrifice things in the short-term that which may end up long-term.
PAT: How hard is that to turn the thing around in a positive light. You went through the debates in the Republican debates. First of all they never went to you. Because you had two% support. And then at the end when you were actually leading the race, then it was all spun in a negative way you had the war on women. Is it hard to turn it around, and get your message out there and push forward your agenda.
VOICE: It is. But governor Romney has been prepping for this, and the lines of attack are going to be pretty obvious, and he has to be comfortable with again -- it's not just not what he says. Does he come across Asner /SRUS and off balance when he's answering. Or does he come across as Reagan would do. He's not Ronald Reagan. To slough it off, and take it seriously but sort of turn it into something that.
GLENN: Make sure you have a twinkle in your eye.
VOICE: Those are important. It's hard to do. That's what you've got to do. If you want to be President of United States.
GLENN: Rick Santorum. A book that everyone should read. Thanks Rick. We'll talk again.
