Abraham Lincoln Quotes
I have really got it into my head to try to be United States Senator, and, if I could have your support, my chances would be reasonably good. But I know, and acknowledge, that you have as just claims to the place as I have; and therefore I cannot ask you to yield to me, if you are thinking of becoming a candidate, yourself. If, however, you are not, then I should like to be remembered affectionately by you; and also to have you make a mark for me with the Anti-Nebraska members down your way.
Lincoln, Abraham. "To Joseph Gillespie." 1 Dec. 1854. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler, vol. 2, Rutgers University Press, 1953, p. 290.
He was a liberal Republican in an era where the Republican paty was controlled by arch conservatives, the Tea Party extremists, and evangelical Protestants while Gullani was divorced, a Catholic, and lived openly with a woman to whom he was not married. He supported a woman’s right to abortion and gay rights.
Republican Party primary elections had become very contentious. The radical right and the Tea Party, though a minority of the party, had the power to destroy almost any Republican candidate’s chances. So those Republican political candidates were forced to pander to the extreme right and then try and backtrack to the center for the general election. As a result, few people believed the statements of Republican office seekers as no one knew what they really believed including members of their own party, Bush, no longer running for any political position, found himself with much more credibility and influence in the party than those who were running for office. The problem of appealing to party extremes was not unique to the Republicans at that time, but the degree and extent was unprecedented accounting for the distrust.
Theodore Roosevelt had pledged to serve only two terms and everyone was looking to see whom he supported to succeed him in 1908. He had absolutely decided it should be William Howard Taft, his Secretary of War, and old colleague. But he didn’t want to offend the party leaders by precluding their ability to appear to have a say in the choice of nominee. So he made no public statement. But most journalists in Washington realized what the reality was and the Kansas City Times simply published this little ditty.
Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.
