Lincoln as a Pain in the Neck

Lincoln, maybe like you and me, could be a real pain in the neck to deal with.

Suppose you were a member of his cabinet. Well, to reach that point in a snake-pit like Washington, D.C. all the following were true about you, although not necessarily in this order: you
•    were college educated;
•    were boundlessly ambitious;
•    were handsome;
•    knew the necessity of dressing stylishly and well;
•    had a sophisticated, urbane sense of humor;
•    knew how to work a room; and finally you
•    knew how to dodge time-bomb questions.

By contrast, Abraham Lincoln, your boss
•    had no more than a total aggregate 18 months of education at what were charitably called a “Blab Schools;”
•    looked like a 19th century male prototype for The Wicked Witch of the West;
•    capped off a 6’4” frame with a stove-pipe hat, as if this elongated bean-pole needed to add a little stature;
•    had an awe-shucks, corn-ball cracker-barrel sense of humor;
•    came from Podunk, Illinois.

Like I say, a real pain in the neck.