accolades for his willingness to acknowledge that although a global force for good, america wasn't always right. five years later, the questions regarding america's role in the world remain unresolved. obama's faltering reset with russia, a muddled response to events in egypt and the steady drip of leaks regarding american surveillance on both domestic and international audiences have jud mind his leadership and to some degree isolated the president on the world stage. at the end of the day, president obama's syria policy may be confusing but it's all the more so because it seems so unlike the president of the past five years, a man who built his reputation on caution and consensus now seems ready to throw caution to the wind and quite possibly go it alone. joining us now is presidential historian and professor at rice university, douglas brinkley, author of "cronkite." professor, i want to talk about the syria decision in the larger scope of the obama presidency. i think one of the things that is flummoxing to obama watchers