Philosophy isn't my strong suit, but Kloppenberg, in a very short book, seems to do a fine job of summarizing the important political philosophy strands of the 20th century and how Obama was impacted by those strands. There are a number of interesting points that I took away from this book. First, I think for the first time I have a better understanding of why the President often does what he does and what he believes. With quite a few of Obama's predecessors, it wasn't so hard to determine what motivated them. With this president, I have found it more difficult - until now. Second, Obama's ideological and philosophical leanings are not outside of longterm American political thought. Of course I never believed that the President was radical, but Kloppenberg shows that Obama fits comfortably in left-leaning directions that are well within the boundaries of acceptable American political beliefs. And third, that Obama is truly a philosopher/intellectual president, unlike all of his predecessors, save Woodrow Wilson. That doesn't mean that Obama will be a good president. Heck, that might mean he will not possess many important talents that are necessary for successful political maneuvering. But he is fairly unique in this intellectual realm. Towards the end of the book, Kloppenberg offers his leftist critiques of a president who is not all that far to the left. That's fine. It's his book. Ultimately, for a short book, this one packed quite a punch.