"Herndon was born mediocre"

[L Verge]

I just finished Wilson's chapter on Herndon and Mary Lincoln in The Mary Lincoln Enigma, and I still come away with the feeling that he overstepped his bounds in reporting the rough spots in Lincoln's and Mary's relationships. Some things are better left unreported, IMO, especially in such a short period after the assassination and in the era in which they lived, when politeness carried more weight.

I also think that Mrs. Lincoln should not have carried on the feud for the exact same reasons. My one question has always been (without a great knowledge of the life and marriage of Lincoln): Did his/her imperfect marriage have a detrimental effect on his politics and the history of America? Or, are we still addicted to analyzing it because many of us still have that National Inquirer desire to get to the dirt of the matter?