I wrote last week about the incredible hardships President Lincoln faced when he assumed office. A rebellious army was drilling only miles from Washington DC. Rebellious armies were drilling all over the South, but Lincoln faced a very large, powerful army only miles away. In addition, for the previous ten years the South had been preparing for war. Lincoln’s predecessors had done little if anything to stop them or to prepare the North. To complicate matters, Lincoln was not a popularly elected president. It’s ironic that our greatest and most revered president was not elected by a majority of the voters. He only won election because three men were running for the office.
To further complicate matters, the people of the North weren’t entirely sure they wanted to fight a civil war. Many would have just as soon let the South go its way. And President Lincoln was not a respected man. He was practically unknown outside of Illinois. Most of his cabinet came to Washington, thinking they were smarter than him. Secretary Seward believed he was clearly superior to Lincoln and that within a month of taking office he’d be running the government. A month passed and one night over the supper table he told his wife, ”When the cabinet meets, the President is the best man in the room.”
President Obama receives the same type respect from his cabinet. To a person, his election team said he was the most intelligent person they had ever known. HIs cabinet officers serve with a loyalty and fervor the United States hasn’t seen in years, and there is a sense of team spirit that was woefully lacking in the previous administration.
I wonder how Mit would fare as President? Would he order our fleets to ring the South like he’s threatened Iran? You might point out that Lincoln did such a thing, but he did so after exploring every possibility for peace there was. Lincoln was a shrewd, intelligent politician, and he knew well that if he had to fight, he had to have popular support to win the war. He carefully manuvered the South into a position to where it had to strike the first blow. Even as it did, Lincoln was still extending peace initiatives. I don’t think Mit would be that smart. I know President Obama is.
He has worked continually to improve relations with the Muslim world. Slowly but surely, he’s making inroads with North Korea. Our relations with China are looking up too. There’s been significant progress on trade and monetary reform, and he is working with the Chinese to make North Korea a more civilized nation. I must add that he hasn’t drug us into a bloody civil war in Syria. Make no mistake about it, George Bush Jr. was warned by his advisers that there was no exit strategy from Iraq. What exit strategy we had was formulated by Barrack Obama, just as he’s now doing in Afghanistan. There is no exit strategy from Syria. As terrible as the bloodshed is, and I do truly abhor it, once in, we’d have a hard time getting out. Then the Muslim world will hate us that much more.
I’m pretty satisfied with Barrack Obama. I think if he had a congress that supported him, he’d be that much more successful. How Mit would work with Congress is questionable. It’s questionable if he’d use gunboat diplomacy or that the awesome responsibilities of his office would mature him. What I’m sure of is that if war did come, he’d take care to protect his sons. He wouldn’t be nearly so protective of your sons and daughters. By the way, President Lincoln’s eldest son served during the Civil War, and Lincoln could have easily paid to have someone serve in his place.
