There were superficial reasons—when he thundered on the political scene at the Democratic Convention in 2004 and then rode on the wave of that thunder to his election in 2008—to compare Barack Obama with Abraham Lincoln. There was the Illinois connection, for instance, and the gifted orator connection, and the “new birth of freedom” connection. Add to these the evident high esteem, even reverence, held by Obama for that towering mentor of his spirit, and it is easy to link the two of them. But what about things deeper than the surface?
A sobering intimation arose in me, in the wake of the euphoria following Obama’s election, that if the similarities between him and Lincoln did, in fact, go deeper, then it would most clearly be revealed if adversity, not smooth sailing, is what he would meet, if failure, not success, is what he would have to deal with. For it was the manner in which Lincoln met adversity and failure which taught us the most.
It is safe to say, six years later, that adversity indeed is what Obama has faced, along with the failure to achieve much that he had hoped to achieve. We now know with dismaying clarity how white-hot is the determination of a sizable minority that this President utterly fail, that his major healthcare achievement be gutted and that his every new proposal be obstructed.
The point here is not to argue politics and policies. The point is to bring the memory of Abraham Lincoln to bear on the present presidency, to see what it might tell us about the character of Barack Obama.
If anyone knew adversity from the beginning of his presidency, it was Abraham Lincoln. Even before he took office, seven Deep South states had seceded because he had been elected. Though he would not, because constitutionally he could not, touch slavery where it already existed, he made it clear, as did the Republican platform he ran on, that he would do everything in his power to prevent its extension. And then on the very day he was sworn in, he received a telegram about the crisis brewing at Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor that could inaugurate civil war. Adversity from the start, and few, if any, pleased.
Listen to Frederick Douglass, himself one of Lincoln’s harshest early critics:
“Reproaches came thick and thin upon him from within and from without, and from opposite quarters. He was assailed by abolitionists; he was assailed by slaveholders...Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined.”
Another of his early critics from the Left, Harriet Beecher Stowe, at first lamented Lincoln’s tardiness, coldness, dullness and indifference, but over time came to see deeper.
“Lincoln is a strong man, but his strength is of a peculiar kind...It is the strength not so much of a stone buttress as of a wire cable. It is a strength swaying to every influence, yielding on this side and on that to popular needs, yet tenaciously and inflexibly bound to carry its great end.”
Fast forward to Barack Obama. While his most vituperative critics are on the Right, the Left has hardly been kind to him when he has compromised on so much, delayed acting on so much, seemingly vacillated on so much. Assailed from both sides certainly fits, as does wire cable, swaying and yielding this way and that, yet tenaciously holding to the great end of a more just and compassionate nation.
But we haven’t yet touched what to me is the biggest thing, the thing that reveals character at its deepest. Breadth of vision and strength of will are indeed essential, but so too are capacity for empathy and kindness of heart. We go back to Abraham Lincoln for perhaps the purest expression.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all...What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing...As I have not felt, so I have not expressed any harsh sentiment towards our southern brethren. I have constantly declared, as I really believed, the only difference between them and us, is the difference of circumstances. I have meant to assail the motives of no party, or individual; and if I have, in any instance (of which I am not conscious) departed from my purpose, I regret it.”
He didn’t just talk it, he lived it. No wonder Abraham Lincoln is loved by so many.
And no wonder many of us still stand back amazed at Barack Obama, yes, partially for his vision that our country must return to being of the people and not of the corporations, and yes, partially for what he has managed to achieve despite entrenched opposition, but equally for how he is responding to his failures, for how he is not responding in malice to the unrelenting disparagement heaped upon him. Will he continue to live according to the values which Lincoln not only espoused but lived? We of course don’t know, as disillusionment has been known to spring like a brigand from the bush. But if six years of testing have not found Obama wanting, if he has neither returned rancor for rancor nor stopped tenaciously fighting for what he believes, we may have here, I submit to your consideration, the real McCoy, meaning a worthy carrier of the spirit of Abraham Lincoln.
Even though Maya Angelou addressed the following to her sisters, may each of us, in her or his heart, hear the exhortation from this phenomenal woman, who has just left us but whose spirit will never leave us, never to disown either our sweetness or our steel.
“Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. The struggle for equality continues unabated, and the woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory...You keep your sweetness always but inside that sweetness is a ball of steel.”
May your brothers as well as sisters be listening, Maya. May Barack Obama be listening. May each citizen not only of America but of Earth be listening for the sake of the only family. In our darker moments may we neither give up nor lash out. May we hold to sweetness without relinquishing the wire cable, the steel ball. May we listen to Abraham Lincoln from the wings urging us to allow ourselves once again to be touched by the better angels of our nature.
Your comment was posted successfully! Thank you!
https://cheerfulmay05.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/donde-ver-m3gan-2.0-2025-online-y-gratis.pdf
https://cheerfulmay05.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/junior-cuevana.pdf
https://cheerfulmay05.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ver-saiyaara-pelicula-completa-castellano-en.pdf
https://cheerfulmay05.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ver-junior-pelicula-completa-en-espanol-y-latino.pdf
https://cheerfulmay05.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/donde-ver-m3gan-2.0-2025-online-y-gratis-1.pdf
https://onlinegdb.com/PpRrEmUkL
https://taap.it/chainsaw-man-zh
https://taap.it/castilloinfinitotw
https://taap.it/lastritestw
https://taap.it/gataobigbrotherszh
https://taap.it/jujutsukaisen2025zh
https://taap.it/exit8freezh
https://sites.google.com/view/theycallhimog2025moviedownload/
https://sites.google.com/view/they-call-him-og-2025-hidi-fil/
https://sites.google.com/view/they-call-him-og-2025-full-mov/
https://sites.google.com/view/lokahchapter1-chandra2025fllmo/
https://sites.google.com/view/lokah-chapter-1-chandra-2025-d/
https://sites.google.com/view/lokahchapter1-chandra2025fullm/
https://sites.google.com/view/mirai-2025-fullmovie-free-1080/
https://sites.google.com/view/miraifullmoviedownloadfreefilm/
https://sites.google.com/view/mirai2025hidifilmyzilla/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistirdemonslayerkimetsunoya/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-demon-slayer/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-demon-slayerkimetsu/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-invocao-do-mal-4-o-lt/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-invocacao-do-mal—t/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-hd-invocaodomal4oltim/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-a-grande-viagem-da-su/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-a-grande-viagem-da-s/
https://sites.google.com/view/assistir-hd-a-grande-viagem-da/
https://onlinegdb.com/OWfjXwVU_U
https://muckrack.com/henin-hiosaa/bio
https://hackmd.io/@henin3465/rJEVmENnee
https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=26028834
https://profile.hatena.ne.jp/henin3465/profile
https://rextester.com/WFHOZK79525
https://notepad.pw/share/sAwW6OfZsHQqiZLTpiNl
https://www.wowace.com/paste/71d51b32
https://taap.it/khaiaorblasphemyfaithcurse
https://taap.it/therae-thaidub
https://taap.it/infinitycastle-thaidubur
https://taap.it/phraruangriseoftheempire2025
https://taap.it/noisethaibegubau
https://taap.it/naklovemakthaimonyat
https://taap.it/omniscientreadertheprophecy
https://taap.it/weapons-thaidubsub
https://taap.it/toeythaibaan
https://taap.it/peenkleaw
https://taap.it/sokaphiwat
https://pop.store/kayor
https://pop.store/demonslayerinfinitycastle
https://pop.store/demonslayerinfinitycastle2025
https://pop.store/noise
https://pop.store/naklovemak
https://papaly.com/categories/share?id=88ca06db7d554280b7d3dec3c4b82395
https://raindrop.io/lterang558/banditoquontolmania-60350659
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ehzlx2ckgootgg3c74na3sif/post/3lzqhsjmfck2i
https://hub.vroid.com/en/characters/1113223230287424903/models/8582598960702481811
https://bandori.party/user/333536/BAnditokotulu/
https://guyanahub.com/post/3494
https://cinderella.pro/user/227174/BAnditokotuluLa
https://files.fm/imdbsugan4/info
https://www.passes.com/qintolbandit
https://tooter.in/lterang558/posts/115270748265366485
https://multy.me/aZP1K
https://multy.me/nc4mw
https://www.twosapp.com/68d6923f4ad485b0c7464a36
https://forum.ripper.store/user/banquonto
https://forum.potok.digital/user/bakeko
https://glot.io/snippets/hbh4h7wul3
https://truckymods.io/user/406744
https://www.facebook.com/Support.Labs.Male.Performance.Gummies
https://www.facebook.com/groups/supportlabsmaleperformancegummies
https://www.facebook.com/groups/support.labs.male.performance.gummies.usa
https://www.facebook.com/groups/support.labs.male.performance.gummies.official
https://www.facebook.com/groups/support.labs.male.performance.gummies.us
https://www.facebook.com/events/24730885646548566
https://supportlabs.alboompro.com/support-labs-male-performance-gummies
https://supportlabs.alboompro.com/
https://supportlabs.alboompro.com/post/support-labs-male-performance-gummies-reviews-and-complaints-2025
https://supportlabs.alboompro.com/post/support-labs-male-performance-gummies-we-tried-it-45-days-my-honest-reviews-and-complaints
https://supportlabs.alboompro.com/post/support-labs-male-performance-gummies-my-honest-reviews-does-it-really-work-or-is-it-just-hype
https://supportlabs.alboompro.com/post/support-labs-male-performance-gummies-reviews-side-effects-benefits-ingredients
https://www.facebook.com/BioZenetics.CBD.Gummies.Online/
https://www.facebook.com/TrionmaxMaleEnhancementUS
https://www.facebook.com/Trionmax.Official/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trionmaxreviews/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trionmax.male.enhancement.us/
https://www.facebook.com/events/749789741231181
https://www.facebook.com/events/1477058340176644
https://www.facebook.com/events/1871231690164726
https://trionmax.alboompro.com/
https://trionmax-male.alboompro.com/
https://trionmax-male-enhancement.alboompro.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trionmax.male.enhancement.usa
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trionmax.male.enhancement.online
https://www.facebook.com/groups/get.trion.max.male.enhancement
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trionmax.male.enhancement.group
https://www.facebook.com/events/1108600554674815
https://www.facebook.com/Peach.Honey.CBD.Gummies.US
https://www.facebook.com/groups/peach.honey.cbd.gummies.us
https://www.facebook.com/groups/peach.honey.cbd.gummies.official
https://www.facebook.com/groups/peach.honey.cbd.gummies.usa
https://www.facebook.com/groups/peach.honey.cbd.gummies.online
https://www.facebook.com/events/1483982149325581
https://www.facebook.com/LifeSupportLabsFullSpectrumCBDGummiesUS
https://www.facebook.com/groups/life.support.labs.full.spectrum.cbd.gummies.us
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lifesupportlabs.full.spectrumc.bd.gummies.official
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lifesupportlabsfullspectrumcbdgummiesusa
https://www.facebook.com/groups/getlifesupportlabsfullspectrumcbdgummies
https://www.facebook.com/events/1431855881251885
https://www.facebook.com/Booster.Brew.Reviews.2025/
https://www.facebook.com/BoosterBrewMaleEnhancement
https://www.facebook.com/groups/boosterbrewreview
https://www.facebook.com/groups/booster.brew.us
https://www.facebook.com/groups/boosterbrewmaleenhancement
https://www.facebook.com/groups/boosterbrewperformancebooster
https://www.facebook.com/events/2224222371389704
https://www.facebook.com/Glucavit.Germany.Austria.Switzerland.Bewertungen
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitgermanyofficial
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitaustriaofficial
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitswitzerlandofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitgermanyaustriaswitzerland/
https://www.facebook.com/events/696602903453702
https://glucavit-offiziell.alboompro.com/glucavit-germany-austria-switzerland
https://glucavit-offiziell.alboompro.com/
https://glucavit-offiziell.alboompro.com/post/glucavit-germany-austria-switzerland-100-sichere-oder-naturliche-inhaltsstoffe-preis-kauf
https://glucavit-offiziell.alboompro.com/post/glucavit-germany-austria-switzerland-rezension-ist-es-den-hype-wirklich-wert
https://glucavit-offiziell.alboompro.com/post/glucavit-germany-austria-switzerland-bewertungen-und-vorteile-aufdecken
https://glucavit-offiziell.alboompro.com/post/glucavit-germany-austria-switzerland-offizielle-website-klinisch-zertifiziert-100-naturlich
https://www.facebook.com/Glucavit.In.France
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitfranceavis2025
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitfranceofficielle
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitfranceavis
https://www.facebook.com/groups/getglucavitfrance
https://www.facebook.com/events/1494181065042279
https://www.facebook.com/GlucavitGermanyOffiziell
https://www.facebook.com/GlucavitOffiziell
https://www.facebook.com/Glucavit.Pillen
https://www.facebook.com/Glucavit.Bewertungen
https://www.facebook.com/Glucavit.France.Officielle
https://www.facebook.com/GlucavitOfficielFrance/
https://www.facebook.com/GlucavitOfficielFrance
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitfranceofficiel
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitfrance.fr
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitavisfrance
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitofficielfrance
https://www.facebook.com/events/1295807178991189
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitgermanyoffiziell
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitgermanybewertungen
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitaustria
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitoffiziell
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitswitzerland
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitoffiziellswitzerland
https://www.facebook.com/Glucavit.Sweden.SE
https://www.facebook.com/GlucavitSwedenOfficiell
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glucavitsweden.se
https://glucavitsweden.alboompro.com/
https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/e/new-delhi-india-performing-visual-arts-jolly-llb-3-2025-hindi-movie/ef433333601f2f4be0621e02c6c55208
https://subscribepage.io/thandakaaranyam-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/baaghi-4-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/nishaanchi-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/they-call-him-og-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/raghu-dakat-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/kiss-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/balti-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/vala-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/jolly-llb-3-hindi-movie
https://subscribepage.io/una-batalla-tras-otra-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/una-batalla-tras-otra-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/camina-o-muere-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/camina-o-muere-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/batman-azteca-choque-de-imperios-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/batman-azteca-choque-de-imperios-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/los-extranos-capitulo-2-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/los-extranos-capitulo-2-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/dibujos-imaginarios-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/dibujos-imaginarios-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/el-conjuro-4-ultimos-ritos-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/el-conjuro-4-ultimos-ritos-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba-castillo-infinito-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba-castillo-infinito-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/ne-zha-2-el-renacer-del-alma-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/ne-zha-2-el-renacer-del-alma-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/cazadores-del-fin-del-mundo-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/cazadores-del-fin-del-mundo-completa-sub-espanol
https://subscribepage.io/el-gran-viaje-de-tu-vida-pelicula-en-espanol-y-latino
https://subscribepage.io/el-gran-viaje-de-tu-vida-completa-sub-espanol
https://taap.it/madharaasifulldownload
https://taap.it/baaghi4fulldownload
https://taap.it/jollyllb3fulldownload
https://taap.it/thandakaaranyamfulldownload
https://taap.it/baltifulldownload
https://taap.it/raghudakatfulldownload
https://taap.it/tranchiensautranchienvietsubhd
https://taap.it/chainsawmanchngrezevietsubhd
https://taap.it/tramdamtuthanvietsubhd
https://taap.it/amanhkinhhoangvietsubhd
https://taap.it/doihanhxacvietsubhd
https://taap.it/thanhguomdietquyvietsubhd
https://taap.it/muadovietsubhd
https://taap.it/standoffintheskyvietsub
https://taap.it/standoff-in-the-sky-phim
https://taap.it/muadovietsub
https://taap.it/exit-8-vietsub
https://taap.it/betting-with-ghost-2-vietsub
https://taap.it/demonslayer-kimetsunoyaiba-4k
https://taap.it/measureinlovevietsub
https://taap.it/love-barista-xemphim
https://taap.it/deathwhisperer3vietsub
https://taap.it/kadikoybogasiizle
https://taap.it/korkuseansi4izlehd
https://taap.it/demon-slayer-izlehd
https://taap.it/golgedekiyildizizle4k
https://taap.it/downtonabbeyizle
https://taap.it/invocacaodomal4dublado
https://taap.it/agrandeviagemdasuavidabr
https://taap.it/umabatalhaaposaoutradulado
https://taap.it/expedientewarrenelultimorito4k
https://taap.it/elcautivopelisplus
https://taap.it/guardianesdelanochepelis4k
https://taap.it/siguemivozverhd
https://taap.it/ungranviajeatrevidoymara4k
https://taap.it/unabatallatrasotraver
https://taap.it/afterburnpelisplus
https://taap.it/infinitycastlehindi
https://taap.it/miraifullhindi
https://taap.it/saiyaara2025hidifilmyzilla
https://taap.it/jolly-llb-3-hindi
https://taap.it/theycallhimoghindi
https://taap.it/lokahchapter1hindi
https://taap.it/madharaasihindi4k
https://taap.it/andha7naatkalhindi
https://muckrack.com/andha-7-naatkal-download-free/bio
https://hackmd.io/@ikin65sa/BkzxxFGhle
https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=26014634
https://profile.hatena.ne.jp/ikin65sa/profile
https://pastebin.com/P1jRYiiW
https://rextester.com/PPCX34007
https://notepad.pw/share/0Lg3fvBfzlPdArd874mt
https://www.wowace.com/paste/9106abe7
https://notes.io/wQ7fU