Letters to the Editor
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Great graphic!
It should be noted that Lincoln was in fact appreciated by the eastern newspapers, no matter what his accent was:
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm
The speech electrified Lincoln's hearers and gained him important political support in Seward's home territory. Said a New York writer, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience." After being printed by New York newspapers, the speech was widely circulated as campaign literature.
Here's the money quote, eerily relevant to today's situation:
Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
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Abe Lincoln
This is a very good article. The writer managed to accomplish two important things. First, he articulated with precision those of Bush's qualities that infuriate me and those of Lincoln's qualities that inspire me. Second, he distinguished the leader we have from the leader we need. Very well done.
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Lincoln
Lincoln killed over 600,000 of his fellow countrymen in a war he did not try to avert. He ignored the Constitution and destroyed civil liberties. He delivered the border states-- which had NOT seceded-- into the hands of the
"military," led by his political cronies, who plundered at will. He allowed tens of thousands of Confederate prisoners to suffer and die in preventable circumstances. No, George W. Bush-- as sorry as he is-- is no Abraham Lincoln.
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Apples to Road Apples
It is interesting to note the Lincoln-Bush comparisons made by former Bush employees. From the article,
“Bush speechwriter and loyal supporter David Frum … ‘Lincoln was the last US president to seek re-election in the middle of a big war whose outcome remained uncertain,’”
Considering that Atlanta was captured by Sherman’s Army on September 2, 1864, while the election was held later, in November, 1864, the outcome of the U. S. Civil War did not remain uncertain. Also, the Civil War was not in the “middle” of its duration, but close to its end.
John Yoo’s comparison, “’If the commander in chief couldn’t have taken wartime actions on his own, then the slaves would have remained Confederate property during the Civil War.’”
Slavery was not abolished until after the finish of the Civil War, if one considers the Congressional ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. During the war, the Confederate States of America considered and treated slaves as property.
Not only is the notion of comparing Lincoln to Bush laughable, the comparisons made are laughable.
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Woodrow Wilson
Pretty much cut up the Constitution, tossed Presidential candidates in prison for sedition and was an open racist. Hell he didn't even relinquish power when he was incapacitated, handing the office to his wife. Wilson also helped whip the US into an anti German frenzy. And he sent American troops to invade Mexico.
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Lincoln and Rumsfeld
Someone said Lincoln would have fired Rumsfeld a long time ago. Wrong. Lincoln would not have attacked Canada or any other foreign sovereign country in order to further the interests of a right wing fringe group only interested in Wacko American hegemonic theories or personal gain. Wait a minute, I'm a southerner...Humm, Anyway, he would not have had to fire Rumsfeld. This is not to say Johnson, I mean Bush, shouldn't fire him.
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A chief mistake we made with Bush
Remember the halcyon days of 2000 when some thought that a CEO would make a perfect president? Commanding, confident, decisive, and the ability to lead were traits that many patched onto Bush (on skimpy evidence). Now we know that CEO's can also be hubristic, hostile to criticism, disdainful of those deemed not in their class, intemperate of those who disagree, ever-aware of their entitlements, and in constant need of syncophants. Within the confines of corporate America, such social criminals are to be expected. When in charge of a nation's agenda, though, these alpha-types can bring ruin. Mr. Epps makes a fine point when he notes that Lincoln's being an attorney made him above all else a man who respected the rule of law. We now have ample evidence that to those who have achieved success in the corporate world, laws and a respect for the rights of others is for those further down -- you know, as Leona Helmsley once said, "the little people."
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Graphic
Bush looks precisely like the Mad Hatter in the illustration. That's a comparison that will remain with me.
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Lawyer Lincoln
>> Mr. Epps makes a fine point when he notes that Lincoln's being an attorney made him above all else a man who respected the rule of law.<<
No, being an attorney confers only an awareness of the law, not necessarily respect. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus-- called by Blackstone the greatest writ in English law, the "great writ of liberty," and enthroned in the first Article of the Constitution.
In one respect, Booth had it right: Lincoln WAS a tyrant.
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George W Bush compared to Abraham Lincoln
It is sacrilege to even allege that George W Bush, the Shrub from Texas, could be compared to Abraham Lincoln, the Rail Splitter from Illinois. Lincoln self-educated himself into a skilled and able lawyer while Bush frittered away his time at the University of Texas as a cheer leader. Unfortunately, even here in Springfield, Illinois, the city where Lincoln lived and worked before he was elected President, there are idiots who would slavishly construct a Bush next to a statue of Lincoln.
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Good grief, Jeff/Excellent piece, Mr. Epps.
'If not for Lincoln, Bush not only wouldn't be president, he wouldn't be an American citizen.'
He was born in Connecticut. Jeff, I've called you on this egregious BS once before. Cut it out.
I refer you to:
Quote of the Day
George W. Bush was asked at this morning's press conference whether he'll support Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger in his race against Joe Lieberman. "I'm gonna stay out of Connecticut," Bush said. When a reporter shouted out, "You were born there," the president said: "Shh!"
-- Tim Grieve
Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.
- John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)
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Bush is to Lincoln as....
Another significant difference between Bush and Lincoln is that Lincoln was an experimenter. Yes, he was stead-fast to the cause of Union (though what was success in that cause evolved over time), but in fighting the battle he was totally flexible. Unlike this Commander in Chief who can't seem to get rid of anyone regardless of the quality of performance, Lincoln fired many people before placing Grant at the helm of the Union Army. Lincoln would try anything, re-evaluate his plans, re-evaluate the men who worked for him. Bush, on the other hand sees inflexibility as the hallmark of his leadership...which explains why we have fewer and fewer options in Iraq and elsewhere.