GARY WILLS writes about his experience of having dinner at the White House with Obama and a number of other historians to 'discuss what history could teach him about conducting the presidency.'

I particularly like this bit: "At the end of the meal, he went around the table one time more to ask if there was a final bit of advice we would give. When my turn came, I joined those who had already warned him about an Afghanistan quagmire. I said that a government so corrupt and tribal and drug-based as Afghanistan’s could not be made stable. He replied that he was not naïve about the difficulties but he thought a realistic solution could be reached. I wanted to add 'when pigs fly,' but restrained myself." (via Rigid Morality)