Lincoln could not be elected president today

[bigdarryl]

He is considered on of the most famous presidents in history but todays standards with his experience he had before he ran which is almost identical to Senator Obama's experience there is no way in hell he could even be looked at as a candidate. the man wore a beard which is not a tradition today.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Lincoln wasn't the "loser" as commonly thought.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/lincoln.htm

[SaveElmer]

2. He didn't have the beard when he ran...

Small historical correction there...

Not that it made a difference when 99% of the electorate never saw him

[Captain Hilts]

3. Nor FDR, or Churchill as PM. nt

[FrenchieCat]

4. did Lincoln run for Prez during Wartime?

I can't remember.

[SaveElmer]

5. For reelection...

In 1864...

War clouds were gathering in 1860 however

[Virginia Dare]

9. They literally pulled the soldiers off the battlefields to vote...

many thought that this would go against Lincoln, as conventional wisdom at the time was that McClellan was heavily favored by the soldiers in the field.

[SaveElmer]

11. Sherman's victory at Atlanta...

Plus the support of the Army sealed it for Lincoln

[Benhurst]

6. No, it'd be too hard for him to campaign from his tomb.

[Virginia Dare]

7. Thomas Jefferson couldn't be elected dog catcher...

especially not in Virginia. He was a secular humanist.

Where have all the great men gone? :cry:

[Katherine Brengle]

8. Why not? Obama is a contender with

his level of experience and on top of that he's black - surely getting elected would be easier for a white man, f*ed up as that is.

[ElizabethDC]

10. As a friend of mine pointed out to me earlier today

things were obviously vastly different in Lincoln's day - the federal government was much, much smaller and the responsibilites of the presidency were quite different.

[Benhurst]

14. More to the point,

people would listen for hours on end to Lincoln and Douglas debating.

Now they only have time for the NFL, American Idol and other circuses.

[paulk]

12. actually, he had a pretty hard time of it back in 1860

he only got 40% of the vote.

If it hadn't been for a split in the Democratic Party (and a third party), I doubt he would have won at all.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. Bush never would have beaten Gore in 2000

were it not for the gift of TV.
Between the debates and the ads and the TV heads spinning Gore to death- it would not have been close.