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Finding the Lincoln in Obama
Why the quiet confidence of Obama is a reminder of the intelligent greatness of Lincoln.
It is superficial to think that Barack Obama must be like Abraham Lincoln just because they are both from Illinois. We did not say that Everett Dirksen, a Republican, was some new Lincoln. Or that Paul Douglas, a more likely candidate though a Democrat, should be seen through a Lincoln lens.
In fact, neither Lincoln nor Obama entered the world in Illinois. They should be seen as outsiders in many ways. Lincoln was born in Kentucky, just seventeen years after it was admitted into the Union. Obama was born at a frontier more recent but more distant, in Hawaii two years after it became a state. Lincoln came to Illinois when he was twenty-one, Obama when he was twenty-four. Both were lawyers who made their way from the bottom up. Both came onto the national stage as an outsider, without the customary credentials and connections of national politics.
In most gatherings, Lincoln was the smartest man in the room. So is Obama. But both men proved too smart to show that.
Lincoln, unlike Obama, had little-to-no formal education. He was in some ways more easily dismissed than Obama. He had only two years in national office, in the lower House of Representatives, to four for Obama in the upper house, the Senate. Both were excoriated for lack of experience, but Lincoln more scathingly. In the eyes of his 1860 rivals, he was a hick, a bumpkin -- for some he was a baboon. Charles Francis Adams and his sons, Henry and Brooks, thought him unqualified for the presidency, as did many of their Eastern peers.
Each ratcheted up his presidential prospects with a significant speech—Lincoln at Cooper Union in New York, Obama at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Each took a challenge presented by a scandalous person – John Brown in Lincoln’s case, Jeremiah Wright in Obama’s – and refused to engage in tit-for-tat exchanges. Instead, they used the occasion to rise to a higher level of analysis, Lincoln engaging the problem of slavery, Obama discussing America’s perennial troubles over race.It was the quality of mind each showed that was important. And this brings us to the deepest resemblance between the two men.
In most gatherings, Lincoln was the smartest man in the room. So is Obama. But both men proved too smart to show that. This is not so much a matter of humility as the recognition that displaying superior intellect is foolish. Brains can be a disability, not only because they provoke envy and resentment, but because they can cut off needed help, correction, and the interaction of people that leads to success in politics.
During the primary season, when Obama was on a run of successes, he went into his Chicago headquarters to congratulate his young team of workers and urge them to even greater efforts. He told them that he recognized he was not a perfect candidate, though he would try to get better, but he needed them to carry him to success despite his imperfections. That was a very Lincolnian moment.
One apparent difference between the two is that Obama lacks the uses of humor that let Lincoln defuse tense situations with a funny story. Obama has a wry sense of the absurd, but he is not a master of the appropriate anecdote on a level with Lincoln. Nonetheless, he has the empathy that underlay Lincoln’s knowledge of what tale would fit the situation and the personality of the person he was dealing with.
Obama’s empathy comes out in a striking way in the audio recording he did of his own book, Dreams From My Father. I had read the book, but a friend told me that hearing him read it is a totally different experience. He was right. Obama has an extraordinary ear, and the sympathy he expresses for all the characters he describes in the book is conveyed in his adjustments of tone and timing.
He even takes on the accent of the people whose conversation he reports – the street talk of black gang members, the African accent of his father, the quite different African accent of his Kenyan sister. This is not parody, and he is not doing “impressions.” One feels he has truly got inside another person. Like Lincoln, he has not enclosed himself within himself.He is confident without arrogance.
Of course, I am not saying that he is as great as Lincoln was. No one is that.
Garry Wills is Professor of History Emeritus, Northwestern University. His books include Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, which won him a National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction, and Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America, which won him a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. His book Nixon Agonistes earned him a coveted place on Nixon’s list of political opponents.
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Garry Wills is professor of history emeritus at Northwestern University. His books include Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America. His book Nixon Agonistes earned him a coveted place on Nixon’s list of political opponents.
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Garry Wills is professor of history emeritus at Northwestern University. His books include Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America. His book Nixon Agonistes earned him a coveted place on Nixon’s list of political opponents.
He is not as great as Lincoln was...
yet.
But the alacrity with which he delivered his "... mutts like me..." line would mitigate for patience. This era has not even begun.
interesting piece on Obama and Lincoln what strikes me about Obama is his clear intellect. You would think all presidents would have this clear intellect that all can see unfortunately, that has not been the case in this country. Its odd how the south the region that is the least educated and enlighten in our society has dominated our political stage for so long. This is the first time since Kennedy that we will have a president that comes from a major city and understands the problems of major cities.
The Comparison to Lincoln really is a disgrace and Lincoln's legacy deserves far better. I would say that Obama has a lot of potential but that is about it(he hasn't done anything yet, remember?). Yes, he seems to be extremely intelligent and very cool headed but his accomplishments are akin to absolutely nothing when compared to honest Abe's. Every single example of the similarities between the two men that are made in this article are completely superficial and of virtually no substance. And to compare Lincoln's cooper union address to a speech where Obama said he couldn't distance himself from a racist pastor and that those who don't understand that kind of pastor are in essence racist themselves is something that should embarrass this author. And to compare Obama's law career to Lincoln's is another disgrace. Lincoln tried several cases of extreme moral and legal importance of the likes Obama has only taught about. I have faith in Obama and hope and believe he will do good things. And maybe one day his name can be uttered in the same breathe as Lincoln's. But since Lincoln actually is a huge personal hero of mine, I find it offensive to compare someone who accomplished so little in public service to the tremendous resume that is Lincoln's. And the crisis facing the nation today is no where near the crisis' some previous Presidents have faced. Especially Lincoln. Lincoln was probably our greatest and most thoughtful president and to compare a man who hasn't even served a day to him is sad. And to make this comparison proves the blinders and lack of objectivity some people walk around with.
Garry Wiill is surely right about President-elect Obama being the smartest man in the room but smart enough not to show it. But for me the high intelligence could not be concealed in Dreams from My Father (1995) Its best seller status is attributed to the story of his origins and the extraordinary sequel, but the real genius of the book is the brilliant matching of words to thoughts and perceptions. If you can't find the right word you can't express the thought, but perhaps you can't even have the idea without the words. Garry Wills' analysis of Lincoln's Gettysburg speech is the proof. Let us hope no test of character comparable to the Civil War lies ahead.
As much as I admire Wills as an intellect and as deeply as I believe that Lincoln was our greatest president (to date), the fullness of Lincoln's gifts only became evident as he led the country through what was our greatest crisis. Obama faces great challenges of his own, and, much like Lincoln (and FDR), the nation is using him as a vessel of hope in this interregnum between election and inauguration. The tests are still to come, and until they do, we can't know whether Obama will approach Lincoln's greatness. But the tools and temperment seem to be there. And we can hope.
"Of course, I am not saying that he is as great as Lincoln was."
Of course not, but who says you won't, eight years from now?
i agree southpaw, Lincoln was far superior.. but we don't know Obama yet, maybe he'll be able to come close to the accomplishments of Lincoln.
Old gary doesn't allow comments that point out the absurdity of this comparison.
do you believe me now chloe?
I
The first thing I noticed about Obama was his physical resemblance to Lincoln. The idea was nothing more than something to tuck under my hat. He also reminds me of the actor Jimmy Stewart. Both are the kind of American men that I thought just didn't exist anymore!
Reading this excellent piece brings me back to my father's study where a lineup of Lincoln books had pride of place. I NEVER read them. What a shame. My father would try to talk to my sister and me about Lincoln, but the discussions never got very far. My only recollection was that Lincoln was the best and that reading all about him was imperative to understanding the United States and good principles for advancing in my life.
By the time I was old enough to have a real opinion about our President, I was always disappointed somehow. It started with Johnson, then Nixon.....etc...Kennedy turned into a myth so fast I don't think I ever had the time to realize who he was while he was still alive.
Reading this piece, I can see that there is, after all, a bit more to the resemblance between Obama and Lincoln. It's furhter proof that life is always stranger and more wonderful than fiction.
And this is the first time in my lifetime that we have the chance to have as President someone who is at least worthy of the job. But I'm still wondering if even he can pull it off.
Thank you.
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