a piece was written about the education of the president. he said, some white house aides who are ready to carve a new spot on mt. rushmore two years ago concede that he cannot be another abraham lincoln after all. have you lost your idealism, david axelrod? >> not in the least. not in the least. first of all, let me say i never had my chisel out to carve his image in mt. rushmore. i had realistic expectations. i do have great admiration for the president. he's provided strong leadership in a very difficult time. he's working very hard to solve problems that he -- that he walked into that have plagued this country for some time. and -- and so, you know -- but, you know, my feeling is that it is a great privilege to be here and try and deal with those problems and fight your way through some of the noise of this town to get it done, but i still believe that each day -- look, i give you the one