Regarding C-Span's year-long honoring of Lincoln...

[Cassandra]

I have to wonder how much this is about honoring one of our greatest presidents and how much is meant as a reminder, in an election year, that the GOP still thinks of itself as the party of Lincoln. Not to be churlish but I have trouble imagining Brian Lamb doing a year-long celebration of FDR, particularly with links to his speeches on their website. When Thom Hartmann plays bits of FDR's speeches on his show occasionally, I always think how shocking it would be to hear someone saying that now (I'm thinking of the economic royalists comments).

[meegbear]

1. Does C-SPAN say why they are doing this?

I figured maybe it was marking the year of his birth, but he was born in 1809.

[babylonsister]

3. Presidents' Day, Lincoln's Birthday? It's the month to honor presidents.nt

[meegbear]

7. Then why not Washington? Taft? Hoover?

There's a nest of presidents to choose from.

[babylonsister]

8. Good point, but I'm fully convinced the media in general is lazy.

They're probably recycling stories they already have.

[Cassandra]

4. That is the reason.

They are starting a year early and will culminate it on his birthday, 2009.

[meegbear]

6. Gotcha, thanks.

:hi:

[KharmaTrain]

2. Brian Lamb's Baby...

He's a self-avowed "historian"...especially about Lincoln. I do think there's some merit to what you say. Lamb's a GOOPer who can't get him enough Raygun love and uses his Book-TV to give airtime to some of the biggest right wing hacks around.

I live in Illinois and little is being done here this year...they man was born in 1809 and he didn't move here until the 1820s. BTW...2008 is the centennial of the birth of Lyndon Johnson. Ya think C-SPAN will do a feature on that?

Cheers...

[EFerrari]

5. Brian is going at exploiting opportunities.

I'm enjoying the Lincoln programs but I'm sure you are right, too.

Lamb uses CSPAN to air hours of unfiltered government propaganda. I wonder if he'll continue to do that once there's a democrat in the White House. :)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. well, in Illinois at least

the Democratic Party has said for years that if Lincoln were alive today, he'd be a Democrat. The GOP left many of Lincoln's ideals behind shortly after the Civil War, when Thad Stevens and the Radical Republicans took over.

[moondust]

10. "the party of Lincoln"

I think would naturally tend to be the party to which African Americans gravitate because it offers them the most freedom, equality, and opportunity. That may have been the Republican party in Lincoln's day but certainly not in modern times.