What makes a great politician?

[AussieMick]

Its an interesting point to raise, Kate (and David), 'healthy ego'. Mental health experts might do well to explore this issue with regard to Lincoln.
It seems accepted that he suffered from bouts of clinical depression. Certainly his family life (from boyhood onwards) was hugely impacted by horrific events.
How then did he cope and have a "healthy ego" (and I agree he did have one, in my definition of those words) ?

How on earth did he manage to identify his objectives and strategise his aims? How did he work with others (some of them corrupt and/or stupid) without losing his temper more often. How did he balance his ideals and principles with what he knew was achievable? How did he manage to converse with and persuade all manner of people that it was he had the ability to lead the country through the complexity facing it? How did he manage the huge workload? How did he cope with the knowledge that some of his decisions resulted in the deaths of many many sons and husbands? In the deaths of his own friends? Did he ever doubt himself? If he did, then how did he deal with it? How did he deal with his own mistakes?

His 'healthy ego' must have been something that could cope with the real defects of his mental health whilst also exercising and improving itself and working very very effectively. Perhaps its an example to us all that those with mental health problems can perform at a very high level. Stephen Hawking and the film A Beautiful Mind are examples. Maybe Lincoln's mental illness problems were not of the same extent but he certainly had a healthy ego. And his achievements are evidence of that.