WISHFUL THINKING

It is a planet on which the president chooses as his advisers, not a coterie of yes men; instead he daringly chooses those who had hoped to have his job, a cabinet of opponents. “I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the strongest men,” Lincoln said later. “I had no right to deprive the country of their services.”

That was extaordinary leadership. What would it be like to have a public figure brave enough to spell out a competing national agenda, an alternate universe, just because it was right and not because each pronouncement was a calculated paving stone on the road to the presidency? Instead we have political leaders who parse every word as assiduously as any grammarian.

Too many Americans wait, in vain, for someone to echo their concerns and fears.

HARVEY’S COMMENT: In the presidential election, hopefully, a person will emerge (either Republican or Democrat) in the mold of an Abe Lincoln who will lead us in peace and prosperity, but I won’t hold my breath.
Lincoln’s death was the first assassination of a U.S. president and sent the northern parts of the country into mourning. Lincoln has been consistently ranked by scholars and the public as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents.