Did Lincoln Regret Marrying Mary?

[L Verge]

I have to agree with Rob that Mary Todd was what Abe Lincoln needed to spur him on to greatness. I think she had the brains to keep up with him, the social training to be an asset (which I doubt the other prairie ladies had), the political connections to help him, and most of all the desire to be in the White House. Except for the brains, she had things at first that he did not have - and she knew how to develop those attributes in him.

As for her treatment of Tad upon the death of Willie, I can understand it to some degree. My grandparents lost a son at twenty-two-months. He died on July 6, 1902, and their second child was born on July 10, 1902. My grandmother had nothing to do with the new baby for weeks. My uncle was no replacement for the one she had lost. In the end, he became the apple of her eye, but not while her heart was broken from losing the first-born. From the little that I have read, Tad was of a different temperament from Willie also -- maybe a little more difficult to control when a mother is suffering?

As for the shopping addiction: I have mentioned the book Crowns of Thorns and Glory before - a comparison of Mary Lincoln and Varina Davis. It has been years since I read it, but one thing stuck in my mind. When she became First Lady, many of the merchants (especially in New York) sent items to her in order to gain favor and also publicity for their merchandise. She assumed they were gifts and used them. She found out later that bills had been sent separately. Whether this is true or not, I don't know; however, it bears a ring of truth to me. And, Donna McCreary has already given us a logical explanation for her purchase of so many gloves.