Klein: What Historians Think of Obama's Presidency

"On the evening of Tuesday, June 30, 2009—just five months into his administration—Barack Obama invited a small group of presidential historians to dine with him in the Family Quarters of the White House," writes Edward Klein. "His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, personally delivered the invitations with a word of caution: the meeting was to remain private and off the record."

Judging from Mr. Obama’s questions, one subject was uppermost in his mind: how could he become a “transformational” president and bend the historic trajectory of America’s domestic and foreign policy?

Two similar dinner parties over two years later, one historian who attended all three meetings expresses doubt that Obama will "have the place in history he so eagerly covets..."