Obama campaign dares to make most of parallels (to Lincoln)

[jefferson_dem]

Obama campaign dares to make most of parallels

February 9, 2007
BY JENNIFER HUNTER

SPRINGFIELD -- The building where Barack Obama will announce his presidential intentions Saturday is a sturdy dolomite structure with thick Doric columns and a facade as plain as the man who spent most of his political career there, Abraham Lincoln.

It was here in the Old State Capitol, in the governor's corner offices, where Lincoln sat with his supporters, plotting his 1860 U.S. presidential campaign. Gov. John Wood wisely vacated his offices, leaving behind his rocking chair and desk and moving home to Quincy to avoid the crowds.

Lincoln's legacy endures, not only because he saved the Union and was seen as a brilliant pragmatist, but because he was able to express what Americans think is the best about ourselves, that we are "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." That idealism is being evoked by Obama's handlers as they build a dais outside the Old State Capitol where Obama will speak.

Forget audacity. Or hope. It takes serious chutzpah to mine connections between Obama and Lincoln. (Obama has already been slapped down for comparing himself to Lincoln in a Time magazine essay two years ago.)

But Obama's advisers feel that bravado is needed for a presidential campaign already crowded with worthy opponents. Shrewdness is a necessary quality for a potential presidential nominee.

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/250350,CST-NWS-obama09.article

[originalpckelly]

1. Oh come on, I thought Newton Gingrich compared him...

of course, Newt stole if from me (and I can prove it too!) :P

[illinoisprogressive]

2. I will let you know if he grows a beard tomorrow while I am there at the announcement

If he does and goes top hat I may have to rethink things..lol.
Looking forward to standing in the freezing cold to watch this live.

[madame defarge]

4. LOL!

What a hoot that would be if he did that! I'd love it! Enjoy tomorrow, wave for us, & stay warm.

[madame defarge]

3. Bring it on!

And the current mistake of a president doesn't use bravado?

At least Obama has a brain and knows how to use it. I'm most definitely keeping my eye on him & will do what I can to help him win. I only wish I could be in Springfield tomorrow for his historic announcement.

[wisteria]

5. I don't care for the comparison either. Obama may be a great guy

but he is no Abraham Lincoln- not even close.

[SaveElmer]

7. How do you know...

Lincoln wasn't really "LINCOLN" until he was President....

Before that he was a relatively obscure politician, who was gaining a reputation as a good public speaker...not unlike Obama...

[mtnsnake]

10. Not yet he isn't, but just give him a little time

Once President Obama heals this country the comparisons will begin in earnest.

[Hawkowl]

11. You're misreading history

Lincoln didn't heal the country. But he did forcibly prevent it from being torn apart. I think politicians who try to reinforce comparisions between themselves and assinated leaders may have a martyr complex. I think it is a mistake and that Obama comes across as the unstoppable, ever expanding ego.

[SaveElmer]

6. I think it is a good idea...and the connection is apt...

Lincoln and Obama had relatively little experience before running for President...

Lincoln responsible for freeing the slaves... seems somehow appropriate the the first african american to really have a shot at becoming President would come from Illinois...

It's a good strategy if you ask me...and not inapproprite...

Just avoid the tendency to go overboard!

[DeepModem Mom]

8. A great piece -- thanks for posting! nt

[Radical Activist]

9. Its a perfect backdrop.

Obama isn't the first one to use it for such. Hillary spoke at the Old State Capitol years ago.

[sandnsea]

12. Good for him

Hopefully he'll add some substance to the hype, eventually, but I think he's doing a great job right now. America has been buried in abusive and hateful rhetoric for years, it's going to take something really gigantic to shake people out of that kneejerkism. If it takes holding up Abraham Lincoln to remind people what we're supposed to aspire to, then good for him for doing it.

[flpoljunkie]

13. "Riveting Oratory, then and now..."

Riveting oratory, then and now

It was after Lincoln and Obama spoke before a national audience that they began to garner public attention. According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals, Lincoln's 1858 Senate race against Stephen Douglas was brilliant and "attracted national attention." Lincoln lost, but his ability to rouse an audience led to him being invited to speak before a seminar series in New York, as Obama, 144 years later, was invited to speak before his party's national convention.

It was his riveting oratory earlier that year at the Cooper Union that brought Lincoln to Republican prominence, just as it was Obama's speech that made Democrats in Boston perk up. Obama declared, "There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America, there's the United States of America."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/250350,CST-NWS-obama09.article