Is Liberalism Back?

The very words "liberal" and "liberalism" have been out of fashion for decades. Even now, you don’t hear President Obama use that language.

But the budget put before the country last week by the Obama administration, and the principles articulated by the president almost every time he takes the stage, are clearly liberal.

Political scientist Alan Wolfe says it’s about time — that the country is overdue for a straight-up dose of liberalism. And he wants to remind the nation what, in his view, that means.

This hour, On Point: Back to the future. Saying hello, again, to liberalism.

You can join the conversation. Are you ready for a dose of liberalism? Do you hear it in President Obama? And what does it mean to you, today?Guests:

Alan Wolfe joins us in our studio. Professor of political science and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, his new book is "The Future of Liberalism." You can read an excerpt here.

And with us from Washington is Byron York, longtime writer for National Review and now chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner. He's the author of "The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy."