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I think also there's no question that Lincoln has been diluted down through history in some way, almost by becoming as iconic as he is, in a way he's become diluted.

But having said all of that, that still doesn't account for a lot of the increase in popularity which stems, I think, from Lincoln's personal characteristics.

People don't realize what a brilliant politician Lincoln was. Looking back, we want to ascribe a level of providence to his every decision but he was a cunning and calculating politician; from the cultivation of his image as a hayseed from Illinois, to his ability to keep this country together under dire circumstances.

I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.

Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep.

Abraham Lincoln never denigrated, never scapegoated, never finger-pointed. And he had reason to.

There is no disputing that Lincoln was a great man.

Lincoln had no such person that he could talk with. Often, as a result, he debated with himself, and he would draw up a kind of list of the pros and cons of an argument, and carefully figure them out, and he might test them in public.

Andrew Lincoln has to be the nicest, ego-less lead actor that I've ever met in my life. His energy and temperament just falls over everyone.

Lincoln was a supreme politician. He understood politics because he understood human nature.