Outsider Status

One of the biggest differences between Abe Lincoln and Bush 43 was Lincoln's campaign and presidency as an outsider. Political survial required that Lincoln not only make compromises but also bring in rival factions to stay in power. The Bush 41 presidency supplied the "insiders", money, and political ties (and Supreme Court!) to help Bush 43 will the 2000 election. It is difficult to unseat an encumbent president during time of war. Parallels here can be with the election of 1864 and 2004. Another striking difference was Lincoln's ability to emphathize with human pain; Bush wouldn't even speak with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas. Perhaps the dire situation in Iraq can eased with diplomacy.....even Lincoln was reluctant to go this route unless all his conditions were met.

Lincoln as a Humanitarian

It is interesting to note Lincoln's gentleness, kindness and consideration in dealing with the various feuding individuals in his cabinet and administration. When difficult questions arose regarding interpretation of events, Lincoln consistently referred to the constitution, thus avoiding inflammatory opinion.
I found him to be presented by Goodwin as a unique, objective leader who held the highest ethics, an inspiration to his cabinet.
Keta McCarthy

Obama as Lincoln

I found much of Obama in Lincoln. Beyond the obvious-- underdog from Illinois, comes to power when nation is divided, lawyer, great stump speaker--I hope we get a chance to mention other similarities.

on the team...

We certainly can see in both Lincoln's and Bush's cases the effects of team loyalty. While it's certainly a trait to be valued, at what point does the team leader become myopic in his quest for uniformity, or is it conformity, of opinion?

How Lincoln Brought Out the Best in His Cabinet

One aspect of Lincoln's leadership that I'd like to discuss is the way in which he was able to get past his own feelings about some of his cabinet members and accentuate their best qualities. He used his cabinet for their strengths, even defending them when he knew they hadn't been loyal (Chase, for example). This is an aspect of leadership that seems rare to me. How was he able to do this?

I'd also be interested in comparing what Lincoln did with his cabinet with our present situation. What's Bush doing that is similar and what's he doing that's different?