Obama is inspired by Lincoln's writings: "'For Lincoln, words mattered immensely."

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Obama is inspired by Lincoln's writings
Carolyn Kellogg

During his first news conference as president-elect, Barack Obama answered many important questions -- about filling Cabinet positions, about jobs and the economy, about tax cuts. And about books. The Chicago Sun Times' Lynn Sweet asked a four-part question, ending with a query for "what books you might be reading?" Obama's answer: "I have reread some of Lincoln's writings, who's always an extraordinary inspiration."

Lincoln was "the most successful of all presidential scribblers," Jack Lynch writes in his review of "Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer" by Fred Kaplan (online now, it'll appear in Sunday's paper). This new biography focuses on the literary aspects of Lincoln's life.

Honest Abe also found reading to be an inspiration. What inspired the inspirer? The Bible, "Pilgrim's Progress" and the poets Thomas Gray, Alexander Pope, Robert Burns and Lord Byron. Edgar Allan Poe was a favorite. So was Shakespeare. Lincoln also turned to the histories of the founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin's "Autobiography" and Mason Weems' "Life of Washington." He read Hugh Blair, David Hume, Edward Gibbon, Samuel Johnson and Laurence Sterne.

In the review, Lynch writes:

"Kaplan's page-one summary captures the spirit of the book as a whole: 'For Lincoln, words mattered immensely. His increasing skill in their use during his lifetime, and his high valuation of their power, mark him as the one president who was both a national leader and a genius with language at a time when its power and integrity mattered more than it does today.'"

No matter what happens during the next four years, it's clear that Obama has begun his reading list in the right place.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2008/11/lincoln-always.html

[greenman3610]

1. Language matters as much today as ever

it's just that progressives forgot that -
and Karl Rove didn't.

It's powerful that we have someone in office that
understands how words shape reality.

[lib_wit_it]

2. Yes, but how can progressive intellectuals be expected

to use deceptive language as a weapon, as the Bushies did, while still respecting its complexity and integrity? If we don't respect those aspects of language, we can use it just as effectively as they can, but is there another way?

[gblady]

3. I remember awhile back......

reading a list of what DU'ers considered the best books written about Lincoln....
does anyone have that list...
or suggestions???