OK, OK, his birthday’s actually tomorrow. But if I can stretch a birthday celebration into a birthweek celebration, surely Lincoln deserves it too. I mean, check this out:
The mighty American star system has elevated and demoted thousands of people over the 236 years since the propagandistic arts were first torqued up in the Declaration of Independence. But the supreme champion of the American personality cult has been Abraham Lincoln. Given the hyperbole which frequently attaches to much-admired Americans, there is a temptation to assume that Lincoln could not possibly deserve the stratospheric elevation he has received. But he does.
Ignore the byline on this piece – Conrad Black is the anti-Lincoln, in so many ways – but read it if you don’t have time for Team of Rivals
via How Lincoln Emerged in the Stratosphere of Greatness – The New York Sun.