Lincoln and Obama
Before television or radio or even the phonograph there were songs. Songs were hot in politics. There was a song for every political position. Songs enlivened political campaigns and up until very recently promoted presidential candidates. Songs enabled people to invest in, participate and actually enjoy political campaigns. Although it was not necessarily true that the candidate with the best songs won the election.
In 1860 many songs were created to be sung at rallies for Abraham Lincoln and for his rival Stephen Douglas. For whatever it is worth more songs were sung for Lincoln than were sung for Douglas. Consider one such song:
Old Abe Lincoln came out of the wilderness
Out of the wilderness, out of the wilderness,
Old Abe Lincoln came out of the wilderness
Down to Illinois
Oh, aint I glad I joined the Republicans,
Joined the Republicans, joined the Republicans,
Ain’t I glad I joined the Republicans,
Down in Illinois
To get you into the spirit of the thing know that it was sung to the tune of the ‘Old Grey Mare Ain’t What She Used to Be’. Sung in its original version could fairly represent this year’s Republican candidate. In fact with McCain, he ain’t what he used to be two weeks ago. At least one colleague and friend in the senate has commented that in his current manifestation he is no longer recognizable.
This election has instead of songs, produced a spate of nasty TV spots that do neither candidate much credit, This campaign has substituted attacks on credibility for music making
One of the attacks on Obama has been that he is long on words and short on experience.
Some offer up a Jack Kennedy comparison. There is some similarity. Both, as they approached the presidency, were/are young, Kennedy was 43, Obama would be 47. In experience. Kennedy had 14 years of elected official government experience, (US congressman 6 years, US senator 8) before ascending to the presidency, Obama, 12 years as an elected official (8 years in the Illinois state legislation and four as a US senator). (Franklin Roosevelt had 2 years as a New York state senator and four years as governor before becoming president, but he had also been undersecretary of the Navy and an unsuccessful candidate for vice-president).
Far more intriguing is sizing Obama wirth Abraham Lincoln the last person from Illinois who made it to the white house. Not only are their experiences similar, they share some of the same character traits.
Lincoln served eight years in the lower house of the Illinois Legislature. Obama served eight years in the upper house of the Illinois Legislature.
Lincoln served two years in the United States House of Representatives. Obama is finishing his fourth years in the United States Senate.
Both men started out as community organizers. Lincoln’s experiences in New Salem as a river pilot, store clerk, soldier, postmaster, small businessman, legal clerk, and politician was meant to keep an economically struggling town afloat (try that for size, Sarah Palin). His work was similar to that of Obama’s on Chicago’s south side.
Both men studied the law. Although Lincoln never had the benefits of formal education, he held education in the highest regard, and used his self-education as a means to become one of the most successful attorneys in Illinois. Like Obama, Lincoln preferred public office to private practice, in spite of the greater wealth private practice would bring.
Both men emerged from the ranks in the rough and tumble of Illinois politics, a vibrant political culture that lies at the cross ways of the prairie and the urban frontier.
Both men ran for federal office and lost—Lincoln for the Senate, and Obama for the House.
Both men ran on the critical questions of the day—for Lincoln, war and race (slavery), for Obama, war and race (combating prejudice with his presence)
Both men were or would be young when elected president—Obama 47, Lincoln 51. Contrast that with John McCain who at 72 would be the oldest person elected to a first term as president. The average age of a first time elected president is 55.
Beyond the experiences shared by the two men, strikingly similar parallels between their characters are evident.
Neither man was afraid of taking on a popular war and criticizing pre-emptive war-making by chief executives. Lincoln wrote that such a doctrine would put “our President where kings have stood.” Any similarity to the current Republican Party and the one that Lincoln established is way beyond comprehension let alone coincidence. Today’s Republicans would do well to heed Lincoln on the role of government,
The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all in their separate and individual capacities. . From this it appears that if all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need for government
In both Obama and Lincoln one finds what is so scarce today - common sense
Common sense does not stand in the way of ambition. Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon described the sixteenth president’s ambition as ‘the little engine that knows no rest.’ The same could be said of Obama’s audacity in running for president when his reputation caught fire and catapulted him onto the national stage, debating the war with his opponents, much as Lincoln had debated slavery with Stephen Douglas a century and a half before him.
Both Lincoln and Obama show a cautious deliberation in decision making, often to the frustration of their supporters. The snail’s pace approach Lincoln employed was calculated, and bought time in the building of compromise and consensus with his opponents. With Lincoln it was expressed in his response to Frederick Douglass criticism for limited progress toward slave emancipation:
I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
Whether Obama will be able to achieve as much through careful deliberation remains to be seen.
Finally, both men show the deepest respect for and understanding of constitutional law, and consider the principle of equality in the American republic to be of paramount importance.
Now let’s see if can find some parallels to Sarah Palin. How about Mae West?
In 1860 many songs were created to be sung at rallies for Abraham Lincoln and for his rival Stephen Douglas. For whatever it is worth more songs were sung for Lincoln than were sung for Douglas. Consider one such song:
Old Abe Lincoln came out of the wilderness
Out of the wilderness, out of the wilderness,
Old Abe Lincoln came out of the wilderness
Down to Illinois
Oh, aint I glad I joined the Republicans,
Joined the Republicans, joined the Republicans,
Ain’t I glad I joined the Republicans,
Down in Illinois
To get you into the spirit of the thing know that it was sung to the tune of the ‘Old Grey Mare Ain’t What She Used to Be’. Sung in its original version could fairly represent this year’s Republican candidate. In fact with McCain, he ain’t what he used to be two weeks ago. At least one colleague and friend in the senate has commented that in his current manifestation he is no longer recognizable.
This election has instead of songs, produced a spate of nasty TV spots that do neither candidate much credit, This campaign has substituted attacks on credibility for music making
One of the attacks on Obama has been that he is long on words and short on experience.
Some offer up a Jack Kennedy comparison. There is some similarity. Both, as they approached the presidency, were/are young, Kennedy was 43, Obama would be 47. In experience. Kennedy had 14 years of elected official government experience, (US congressman 6 years, US senator 8) before ascending to the presidency, Obama, 12 years as an elected official (8 years in the Illinois state legislation and four as a US senator). (Franklin Roosevelt had 2 years as a New York state senator and four years as governor before becoming president, but he had also been undersecretary of the Navy and an unsuccessful candidate for vice-president).
Far more intriguing is sizing Obama wirth Abraham Lincoln the last person from Illinois who made it to the white house. Not only are their experiences similar, they share some of the same character traits.
Lincoln served eight years in the lower house of the Illinois Legislature. Obama served eight years in the upper house of the Illinois Legislature.
Lincoln served two years in the United States House of Representatives. Obama is finishing his fourth years in the United States Senate.
Both men started out as community organizers. Lincoln’s experiences in New Salem as a river pilot, store clerk, soldier, postmaster, small businessman, legal clerk, and politician was meant to keep an economically struggling town afloat (try that for size, Sarah Palin). His work was similar to that of Obama’s on Chicago’s south side.
Both men studied the law. Although Lincoln never had the benefits of formal education, he held education in the highest regard, and used his self-education as a means to become one of the most successful attorneys in Illinois. Like Obama, Lincoln preferred public office to private practice, in spite of the greater wealth private practice would bring.
Both men emerged from the ranks in the rough and tumble of Illinois politics, a vibrant political culture that lies at the cross ways of the prairie and the urban frontier.
Both men ran for federal office and lost—Lincoln for the Senate, and Obama for the House.
Both men ran on the critical questions of the day—for Lincoln, war and race (slavery), for Obama, war and race (combating prejudice with his presence)
Both men were or would be young when elected president—Obama 47, Lincoln 51. Contrast that with John McCain who at 72 would be the oldest person elected to a first term as president. The average age of a first time elected president is 55.
Beyond the experiences shared by the two men, strikingly similar parallels between their characters are evident.
Neither man was afraid of taking on a popular war and criticizing pre-emptive war-making by chief executives. Lincoln wrote that such a doctrine would put “our President where kings have stood.” Any similarity to the current Republican Party and the one that Lincoln established is way beyond comprehension let alone coincidence. Today’s Republicans would do well to heed Lincoln on the role of government,
The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all in their separate and individual capacities. . From this it appears that if all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need for government
Lincoln on Democracy (July 1, 1854) The Collected Works of
Abraham Lincoln, (ed) Roy B. Basler, Vol. 2, p 220 .
In both Obama and Lincoln one finds what is so scarce today - common sense
Common sense does not stand in the way of ambition. Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon described the sixteenth president’s ambition as ‘the little engine that knows no rest.’ The same could be said of Obama’s audacity in running for president when his reputation caught fire and catapulted him onto the national stage, debating the war with his opponents, much as Lincoln had debated slavery with Stephen Douglas a century and a half before him.
Both Lincoln and Obama show a cautious deliberation in decision making, often to the frustration of their supporters. The snail’s pace approach Lincoln employed was calculated, and bought time in the building of compromise and consensus with his opponents. With Lincoln it was expressed in his response to Frederick Douglass criticism for limited progress toward slave emancipation:
I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
Whether Obama will be able to achieve as much through careful deliberation remains to be seen.
Finally, both men show the deepest respect for and understanding of constitutional law, and consider the principle of equality in the American republic to be of paramount importance.
Now let’s see if can find some parallels to Sarah Palin. How about Mae West?
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