When Lincoln ran into trouble during the Civil War, he got new generals. He brought in Grant. I hope that President Obama will bring in some new generals on the financial front.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Lincoln would love the fact that Obama is such a great conciliator, trying to transcend ideology.
It has always seemed to me that Barack Obama has studied intensely and learned a great deal from Lincoln.
I know General Grant better than any other person in the country can know him. It was my duty to study him, and I did so day and night, when I saw him and when I did not see him, and now I tell you what I know, he cannot govern this country.
I'm not sure Lincoln would fare well if he were a presidential candidate today.
From the day he took office, President Obama has been open to any good idea when it comes to the budget, as long as supporting middle-class families remains our North Star. Republicans won't extract concessions over the full faith and credit of the United States.
At the beginning, Lincoln was so inexperienced he had reverence for military expertise, not realizing that there wasn't any military expertise, that the most anybody had commanded up to that point had been somebody, some troops in the Mexican War, and it had been years ago.
Obama does seem to have what both FDR and Lincoln had, which is the recognition that you have to hold back at times and then wait to come forward.
Along with all those books about Lincoln, Obama might read some biographies of Napoleon. The general who established the Legion d'Honneur understood that people fought as much for medals as for morals.
Lincoln had a tremendous capacity for personal growth - more than any other American President.
Abraham Lincoln went through 12 generals before he got Ulysses S. Grant. He had never done a Civil War before.