He’d never get elected today! 12

If truth be told, we Americans have been known to elect to public office tawdry, media-construct leaders who, because they are not all that comfortable living inside their own skin, end up choosing people in their immediate circle who are inclined to agree with him/her more than, perhaps, is good for the country.

Not so Lincoln.

An old friend of Lincoln advised him not to take Salmon Chase into his cabinet “because Chase thinks he’s a great deal bigger than you are.” “Well,” asked Lincoln, “do you know of any other men who think they are bigger than I am?” “I don’t know that I do,” the man replied, “but why do you ask?” “Because,” answered Lincoln, “I want to put them all in my Cabinet.”

Glib of tongue though our current politicians may be, they are left speechless in the presence of the master.