Drudge thinks Obama is taking a swipe at Lincoln with this:
Still, as I look at his picture, it is the man and not the icon that speaks to me. I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. As a law professor and civil rights lawyer and as an African American, I am fully aware of his limited views on race. Anyone who actually reads the Emancipation Proclamation knows it was more a military document than a clarion call for justice. Scholars tell us too that Lincoln wasn’t immune from political considerations and that his temperament could be indecisive and morose.
But it is precisely those imperfections–and the painful self-awareness of those failings etched in every crease of his face and reflected in those haunted eyes–that make him so compelling. For when the time came to confront the greatest moral challenge this nation has ever faced, this all too human man did not pass the challenge on to future generations. He neither demonized the fathers and sons who did battle on the other side nor sought to diminish the terrible costs of his war. In the midst of slavery’s dark storm and the complexities of governing a house divided, he somehow kept his moral compass pointed firm and true.
What I marvel at, what gives me such hope, is that this man could overcome depression, self-doubt and the constraints of biography and not only act decisively but retain his humanity. Like a figure from the Old Testament, he wandered the earth, making mistakes, loving his family but causing them pain, despairing over the course of events, trying to divine God’s will. He did not know how things would turn out, but he did his best.
I think it’s a swipe at anti-intellectual twits who think that the top box office gross is important as a war and that corniness is personality
Drudge isn’t the only one distorting this. Some of the sane, grounded folks at Il Leader and FreeRepublic have taken Drudge’s lead, and are posting very well-reasoned, lucid and respectful criticisms of Senator Obama.
I’m not even sure these are criticisms of Lincoln. To me Obama is elevating Lincoln that much more by being honest about L’s humanity. As much I don’t see the harm in myth-building- myths can inspire and instruct us- but being honest about the humanity of our heroes helps us hold them up that much more.
I love the part describing Lincoln as being like an Old Testament figure- it shows so much understanding both of Lincoln and of Obama’s own faith that he can say that.
Let’s not forget to give thanks to the Leader folks who brought us such great moments as Pat O’Malley and Alan Keyes.