What did Mr. Lincoln enjoy doing?

[L Verge]

Just a note on Mr. Bennett: I am a member of the board of advisers for The Lincoln Forum and also served as such for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. A number of years ago, Lerone Bennett was invited to be a presenter at the annual conference of The Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg. There had been some undercurrents from members of the Forum as to why he had been invited to speak, but it was felt that all sides of public thought on Lincoln deserved to be aired.

While I am not a proponent of Mr. Bennett, I will say that he was a dynamic (and often convincing) speaker and delivered his thoughts carefully for maximum effect. It was obvious that he had done his homework and could cite reasons for his statements. He had also anticipated audience reactions and questions that were likely to come up. He was prepared.

I doubt that he changed any opinions of Lincoln among the 300+ members of the audience, but he certainly did not come across as someone venting his spleen about being hoodwinked about Lincoln in his childhood.