Lincoln Discussion Symposium

Even at the age of 203, Abraham Lincoln still takes the time to come to the convention.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/abe-l...15668.html

Without getting into anything political, I'm often asked what party Lincoln would belong to today. For a long time, I really had no answer (I would say that there's no way to answer that question) but Don Fehrenbacher gave me a better reply (not that I knew him, but I read about it).

Once, after a speech, Fehrenbacher was taking questions, and a person asked "What would Lincoln say about busing?" Without missing a beat, Fehrenbacher replied "The first thing he would say is 'what's a bus?'"

Best
Rob

(08-30-2012 10:38 AM)Rob Wick Wrote: [ -> ]Without getting into anything political, I'm often asked what party Lincoln would belong to today. For a long time, I really had no answer (I would say that there's no way to answer that question) but Don Fehrenbacher gave me a better reply (not that I knew him, but I read about it).

Once, after a speech, Fehrenbacher was taking questions, and a person asked "What would Lincoln say about busing?" Without missing a beat, Fehrenbacher replied "The first thing he would say is 'what's a bus?'"

Best
Rob

Great answer! Although he would probably know the word "Omnibus" - utilized in 1829 - as a horse drawn trolly - or as I've seen it referred to by Powell in his disposition to Smith, "the cars" i.e. the horse cars.

Lincoln is everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he appeared with President Obama somewhere. It has long been sort of an unwritten maxim that a politician running for office needs to "get right" with Lincoln.

From what I can see the Republican Party and the Democratic Party of 1865 do not even resemble the same parties that go by those names today. Lincoln would probably look at both of them and simply shrug and tell everyone that he was a Whig!

Craig

Craig: agree totally. Yet each party wants to "own" Lincoln in some way.

It was Sen Everett McKinley Dirksen who coined the phrase "Getting Right with Lincoln." American communists had Lincoln-Lenin Day dinners. Alternate history writer Harry Turtledove had a post Civil War Lincoln become a Marxist agitator. Of all the minor political parties who claimed Lincoln as their own, I suppose the Prohibition Party was the least outlandish. Lincoln was for temperance but I have seen no evidence he supported outright prohibition..
Tom