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.
https://sites.google.com/view/macsploitexe
https://sites.google.com/view/appleware
https://sites.google.com/view/opiumwareexecutor
https://sites.google.com/view/hydrogenmac
https://sites.google.com/view/potassiumexec
https://sites.google.com/view/screamsploit-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/jjsploit-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/fluxusz
https://sites.google.com/view/zorara-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/madiumexe
https://sites.google.com/view/illusion-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/macsploit-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/incognito-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/synapsez
https://sites.google.com/view/tngexecutor
https://sites.google.com/view/driftexecutor
https://sites.google.com/view/swiftexe
https://sites.google.com/view/calamari-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/lx63-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/synapse-x-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/rc7-exe
https://sites.google.com/view/bunni-exe
https://sites.google.com/view/argon-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/chaos-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/macsploitexe
https://sites.google.com/view/appleware
https://sites.google.com/view/opiumwareexecutor
https://sites.google.com/view/hydrogenmac
https://sites.google.com/view/potassiumexec
https://sites.google.com/view/screamsploit-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/jjsploit-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/fluxusz
https://sites.google.com/view/zorara-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/madiumexe
https://sites.google.com/view/illusion-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/macsploit-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/incognito-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/synapsez
https://sites.google.com/view/tngexecutor
https://sites.google.com/view/driftexecutor
https://sites.google.com/view/swiftexe
https://sites.google.com/view/calamari-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/lx63-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/synapse-x-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/rc7-exe
https://sites.google.com/view/bunni-exe
https://sites.google.com/view/argon-executor
https://sites.google.com/view/chaos-executor
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibcapsulesnetherlands/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibcapsules.nl/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1677672920130516/
https://www.readawrite.com/a/ee689df829c1397739bd850e8ad576a8
https://www.readawrite.com/a/a2455f1d701d7a2da049a6f74a612451
https://www.readawrite.com/a/c68a379a24257ebee975d5c1278f080a
https://testolibkapseln.blogspot.com/2026/07/testolib-capsules-netherlands-werken-ze.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapselitfinland/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapselit.fin/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1803011697338006/
https://www.readawrite.com/a/187310305488cd6803b9068b520f343f
https://www.readawrite.com/a/69f69331f856f73f5a93a93e87aae9ff
https://www.readawrite.com/a/ce295be21d7e3a74ce8b953bb5851c43
https://testolibkapseln.blogspot.com/2026/07/testolib-kapselit-finland.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapslerdenmark/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapsler.dnk/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1658362225270818
https://www.readawrite.com/a/f6ba08e009bae4aec3caaab5855892e2
https://www.readawrite.com/a/d9d317b5d01abe96d4b705f1656ccd7d
https://www.readawrite.com/a/d102a1eca8d05555f759662d4854a32f
https://testolibkapseln.blogspot.com/2026/07/testolib-kapsler-denmark-dk-officiel.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibcapsulesbelgium/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibcapsules.bel/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1695345738424420/
https://www.readawrite.com/a/fc5181753894c2817aeecc66171f0f33
https://www.readawrite.com/a/422f3b5892cb263d6ce3ced5d3808af7
https://www.readawrite.com/a/54a95a9efa5aa88a28f0bad9ac3c0717
https://testolibkapseln.blogspot.com/2026/07/testolib-capsules-belgium-officiele.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibglules.fr/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibglulesfrance/
https://www.facebook.com/events/793923703809298/
https://www.readawrite.com/a/c44b6babd7aca0533c7545ac87f851c1
https://www.readawrite.com/a/56ca85ba8abb534ca81dd393150380ae
https://www.readawrite.com/a/c925d42239b6c13d0644311ba82605be
https://testolibkapseln.blogspot.com/2026/07/testolib-gelules-france-avis.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapslarsweden/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapslar.se/
https://www.facebook.com/events/898180323333719
https://www.readawrite.com/a/1f8f1c4e660997f4c1a36e5ad8cafb85
https://www.readawrite.com/a/59ae982acda85e5c1e34049028e22c7e
https://www.readawrite.com/a/14c41c59be9188928b718b9a8a410a5a
https://www.facebook.com/TestoLibMaleEnhancementUK/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibmaleenhancement.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolib.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/events/3628391950654974/
https://groups.google.com/g/testolib-male-enhancement-uk/c/nFhY-UUf3yM
https://sites.google.com/view/testolib-male-enhancement-uk/
https://testolibcapsules.blogspot.com/2026/07/testolib-male-enhancement-support.html
https://www.readawrite.com/a/8658102cecc6173b370ac05706d202c1
https://www.readawrite.com/a/bf490e7700f57cbbfb54844868853454
https://www.readawrite.com/a/9a34c26ecf4d4e9c73234e8a0661947e
https://www.readawrite.com/a/e91f051f8da876bd1a4a8e704a336bf5
https://www.facebook.com/TestoLibGermany.DE/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapselngermany/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolibkapseln.de/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1919293175356024/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/testolib.de.at.ch/
https://www.readawrite.com/a/8658102cecc6173b370ac05706d202c1
https://www.readawrite.com/a/bf490e7700f57cbbfb54844868853454
https://www.readawrite.com/a/9a34c26ecf4d4e9c73234e8a0661947e
https://www.readawrite.com/a/e91f051f8da876bd1a4a8e704a336bf5
https://reactos.org/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=204736
https://www.skypixel.com/users/djiuser-rybkmxkzm4wl
https://fortunetelleroracle.com/profile/world777official
https://roomstyler.com/users/world777online
https://app.talkshoe.com/user/world777online/about
https://doselect.com/cd196e6f5e2861667a7972082 https://kaamkaaziclub.com/world777bettingid https://topkif.nvinio.com/world777cricketid https://pledgeme.co.nz/profiles/348208 https://peatix.com/user/30006561/view https://bingebooks.com/profile/world777online https://phatwalletforums.com/user/world778login https://connect.garmin.com/app/profile/084078a3-62b4-4c78-93e4-392b4d40da69 https://diit.cz/profil/vszyb64qrc https://talkmarkets.com/profile/world777-online-260630-154440 https://manylink.co/world777login
https://www.quora.com/profile/World777online
https://app.readthedocs.org/profiles/world777online/
https://www.lingvolive.com/en-us/profile/e71b0c31-a348-4898-953f-1e2cc298e89d/translations
https://bandori.party/user/1318064/world777login/
https://portfolium.com/world777online
https://sfx.thelazy.net/users/u/world777/
https://stopgame.ru/user/world777account
https://kaeuchi.jp/forums/users/world777login/
https://motion-gallery.net/users/1007293
https://slackcommunity.com/u/mg6hcr/#/about
https://gametabs.net/profile/world777online
https://pumpyoursound.com/u/user/1639692
https://fanart.lionking.org/Artists/World777/
https://zzvibe.com/world777
https://www.gemtracks.com/profile/world777/
https://ncnews.co/profile/world777-1
https://www.noteflight.com/profile/ed220d381ee460b8df957347abd00b0620c15d9b
https://www.mangago.me/home/people/5443656/home/
https://downtownmiami.com/profile/world777-online/
https://sketchersunited.org/users/332757
https://pubhtml5.com/homepage/cgoxa/
https://www.eyalsflowers.com/profile/world777/profile
https://techplanet.today/member/world777online
https://www.fanart-central.net/user/world777login/profile
https://www.walkscore.com/people/132316041567/world777-online
https://codesandbox.io/u/world777online
https://www.skillshare.com/en/user/world777online
https://businesslistingplus.com/profile/apbook-login/
https://www.pexels.com/apbook-id-2162705895/ https://www.ted.com/profiles/51819254 https://leetcode.com/u/Apbookid/ https://stocktwits.com/Apbookid https://entre-vos-mains.alsace.eu/profiles/apbookid/activity https://participation.u-bordeaux.fr/profiles/apbooklogin/activity https://unsplash.com/apbookcricketbetting
https://www.blurb.com/user/apbookcricke?profile_preview=true
https://coub.com/apbooklogin
https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/profile/1978371
https://hanson.net/users/Apbookcricketbetting
https://app.hellothematic.com/creator/profile/1164022
https://replit.com/@apbookid
https://inkbunny.net/Apbookid?&success=Profile+settings+saved.
https://artvee.com/members/apbookid/profile/
https://offcourse.co/users/profile/apbooklogin
https://www.intensedebate.com/people/Apbookappdown
https://forum.epicbrowser.com/profile.php?section=essentials&id=168000
https://hackaday.io/apbookid
https://protospielsouth.com/user/147402
https://forums.alliedmods.net/member.php?u=487260
https://www.notebook.ai/users/1391094#tab-about-me
https://rotorbuilds.com/profile/223125/
https://lifeinsys.com/user/apbookid
https://www.invelos.com/UserProfile.aspx?Alias=apbookonlineid
https://account.windy.com/personal-info
https://substack.com/apbooklogin https://www.indiegogo.com/en/profile/apbookonlineid#/overview https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/202393736-apbookonlineid https://www.ameba.jp/profile/general/apbookonlineid/ https://longbets.org/user/Apbookonlineid/ https://www.cake.me/me/apbookcricketbetting https://aprenderfotografia.online/usuarios/apbookonlineid/profile/ https://albemarle.granicusideas.com/profile/6a4b8868f395e729490025ac/info https://news.bangboxonline.com/profile/apbookid https://vrcmods.com/user/Apbookid https://fun4friends.com/profile-3914073 http://www.in-almelo.com/users/apbookcricketbetting https://www.designspiration.com/apbookid/saves/ http://dtan.thaiembassy.de/wp-admin/profile/apbooklogin https://pinshape.com/users/9002672-apbook?tab=designs https://app.samsungfood.com/u/apbookid https://500px.com/p/apbookonlineid?view=photos https://profile.hatena.ne.jp/Apbookid/profile https://brojure.com/apbookid/ https://praca.uxlabs.pl/author/apbookid/ https://kuula.co/profile/apbook https://pin.it/6KWTRo8Et https://community.claris.com/en/s/profile/005Vy00000VKL4r https://www.growkudos.com/profile/apbook_login https://opencollective.com/apbooklogin https://connect.gt/user/apbooklogin https://app.riipen.com/users/rV0EkpAO https://rumble.com/user/Apbookid/about https://www.imo.net/members/imo_user/profile/?user_id=24712 https://community.progress.com/s/profile/005Pb000019HQej https://luvly.co/users/apbookid https://gifyu.com/apbookonlineid https://latinverge.com/profile/47181?tab=541 https://slo-tech.com/profili/146865/?mesto=0 https://re-volta.pl/profil/154848/ https://fmcreators.com/index.php?members/apbooklogin.55320/#about https://cars.yclas.com/user/apbooklogin-2 https://mail.altcourt.org/profile/78933 https://christianjobsearch.net/company/apbook-one/ https://www.scoop.it/u/apbooklogin/followed-scoops https://ko-fi.com/apbookid https://www.band.us/band/103441442/intro https://medium.com/dollyfury90/about
https://social.y-gallery.net/apbook https://eternagame.org/players/630057 https://www.poetry.com/user/471300/apbooklogin https://forum.rexygen.com/user/apbookid https://www.symbaloo.com/profile/apbookonlineid https://forum.thirdeyegen.com/user/apbookid https://www.monasticeye.com/apbookid?page=about
https://socialbusinesscreation.com/members/apbooklogin/
https://buyandsellhair.com/author/apbookid/
https://www.democracylab.org/user/52266
https://www.learningfornature.org/en//members/apbookid/
https://www.robotmarketplace.com/22597
http://www.vendirex.com/profile/apbook-login/
https://www.dutchsportsagency.com/apbooklogin
https://www.twosapp.com/@apbookonlineid
https://www.awwwards.com/apbookonlineid/
https://greenwaveproject.eu/wp-admin/profile.php
https://www.themoviedb.org/u/apbookid
https://hub.docker.com/u/apbookonlineid
https://files.fm/apbooklogin/info
https://www.murfreesborovoice.com/users/apbookid
https://gitlab.vuhdo.io/apbookid
https://issuu.com/apbookid
https://wptavern.com/author/apbook
https://estar.jp/users/2076842060
https://roomstyler.com/users/apbookonlineid