Abraham Lincoln Quotes
What would you do in my position? Would you drop the war where it is? Or would you prosecute it in the future with elder-stalk squirts charged with rose water? Would you deal lighter blows rather than heavier ones?.... I shall do all I can to save the government, which is my sworn duty as well as my personal inclination.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, 16th President of the United States (Republican, IL), Letter to Cuthbert Bullitt, July 28, 1862
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Ironically, Lieberman was using this quotation to campaign against Bush’s son, George W. Bush.
See a similar sentiment by Tallyrand
For various historical reasons the United States and Iran at that time had no diplomatic relations and there was no easy way for the countries to negotiate their differences. The United States public policy was that Iran would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon which was backed up by severe economic sanctions and the threat of military force. Kucinich wanted face to face negotiations and discussions before we resorted to military action.
In this case, he was referring to the situation with the Barbary Pirates who had an incredible extortion racket going in the Mediterranean. If nations would pay them an annual sum each year, they would not attack and seize merchant ships of that country and sell the ships and goods while holding the sailors for ransom. Jefferson favored and authorized war—a naval attack which for many reasons the European nations had not done (they just paid the tribute). Then a peace treaty was finally signed—the first American Treaty.
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.
