politicalbull

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Obama may be admiring Lincoln for much more than his stance on slavery. 

According to msnbc, Obama is imitating Lincoln’s approach to feuding factions of the two major parties—an approach roughly akin to, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” (My thanks goes to ancient Chinese General Sun-tzu for this quote.)

Nobody did that better than did Lincoln, whose move to the White House was accompanied by a LOT of enemies, not the least of which was the South.  As soon as Lincoln was elected President, in fact, the South started to secede from the union in earnest, so afraid were they of Lincoln’s intentions towards slavery and other economic issues.

This threat of secession caused bitter divisions both within, and without, Lincoln’s own Republican Party. 

How did Lincoln handle it?  Why, that great, wise man (can you tell that Lincoln is just a half step below God, in my book?) not only overlooked his enemies, he embraced them.  Most of his cabinet, in fact, was composed of former opponents of his.  Lincoln’s reasoning for this, again according to msnbc, was “we need the strongest men.  These were the very strongest men.  I had no right to deprive the country of their services.” 

Today, Obama, who has literally read the book on this subject—Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals,” about how Lincoln engaged his enemies in his presidency—is signaling his intention to do the same thing.  To date, he has made Joe Biden, his Vice President and is considering Hilary Clinton as his Secretary of State, despite the fact that both (particularly Clinton) were bitter rivals of his for the Democratic nomination.  There is also a great deal of talk about Obama appointing members of BOTH parties to his cabinet. 

CAN he do it and, even if he could, is it a GOOD idea to do so?    Well, certainly, I believe that Obama can do it but, whether or not it would be a good thing depends on one, very big IF…

IF the two parties, and Obama’s other opponents, can hammer out agreements, for the good of their country, in spite of their differences, only THEN will this be a good idea.

That’s a very big IF.

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