“There’s this fixation, particularly in the media – and, I would argue, among those establishment types — that people vote for candidates primarily based on issues,” he said. “And that may be true in some campaigns — maybe for Senate and House, primarily — but for president, they vote on a lot of things. They vote on leadership and authenticity and sincerity and trust and likeability. They don’t go down a checklist and say, ‘Oh, if I agree with this guy on issues more than I agree with that guy on issues, I’m for him.’”

Santorum made the case that ever since television became the dominant medium in presidential campaigns more than five decades ago, “the best communicator” has ended up the victor in every general election.

“I don’t care what party or what’s going on economically — it’s the candidate that people like and relate to and communicate effectively with, that’s the person who wins,” he asserted. “And we don’t value that as much as we should. We are stuck in a very different world as Republicans, as to who we nominate, and I hope we don’t make that mistake again.”

Asked whether Chris Christie might be precisely the kind of effective messenger that the Republican Party would rally behind, Santorum complimented the New Jersey governor’s communications skills and “unique style.” But he left it at that.