we think shutdown passions are intense. here to put it in historical context, author of ulysses s. grant, michael is also the former editor and chief of simon and shuster and joins us at the table. let's start with that. any lessons that we should take from ulysses s. grant skill as a negotiator for today's crisis? >> i think so. ulysses s. grant pursued the path directly, he never veered from it. when he was a child he was remarkable because he would never retrace his steps. so if he was going in one direction, he would never back up. he would always go forward. and as a negotiator, he was very much the same kind of personality. in a very polite but firm way he stuck to what he believed. >> we could probably use him today. it would be nice if we more