that both the president and liberalism itself are at a kind of cross roads, joining us now is charles kesseler clair mont review of books which bills itself as the house journal of reinvigorated conservatism and i am the change barack obama, and future of liberalism out on paperback today. >> thank you, axri, it's a pleasure. >> give us your view. >> well, we live in a very polarized time politically. and in a way, the world war ii and early cold war were a time-out from normal american politics. i mean, i think what we're seeing is what is sort of the normal level of partisanship long term in american politics. heightened by the fact that liberalism for a long time has been pushing against constitutional limits of government and therefore opening up as government does more things people are either cheered by them or offended by them and so partisanship in a way expands to fill the amount of space government creates for it. >> charles, let's get directly to your book. you write, tempting as it might be to write president obama off, it would be a big mistake, whatever else he may accomplish, hi