Abraham Lincoln Quotes
When a man hears himself somewhat misrepresented, it provokes him—at least, I find it so with myself; but when misrepresentation becomes very gross and palpable, it is more apt to amuse him.
This was the first of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The men were contesting for the U. S. Senate. Douglas won the election. Note that competing politicians were misrepresenting each other then as now. Note that Lincoln the more gross the attack and misrepresentation, the more Lincoln thought the effort funny. He had a very thick skin. For a gross example, see {627129}.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, 16th President of the United States (Republican, IL), First Debate with Stephen Douglas, Ottawa, Illinois, August 21, 1858
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This was the first of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The men were contesting for the U. S. Senate. Douglas won the election.
This famous quotation illustrates the perfect political reply to a personal attack. In one short sentence, Lincoln denied the charge, obtained the sympathy of the audience, demonstrated that he was not stuck-up, entertained the crowd, and gave everyone there a story to tell about him afterward—the perfect oratorical response.
When President Clinton left office, there was a huge fiscal surplus that Rubin had engineered, & President George W. Bush advocated a tax cut for the wealthy. Greenspan, who was very influential, did not oppose the tax cuts. He did urge that the tax cut be very carefully crafted so that the tax cuts would only be effective if the surplus continued. Rubin urged him not to take such a nuanced position as it would be perceived as support for the Bush tax cut which would not have the safety valves Greenspan advocated. Greenspan did not take Rubin’s advice. The tax cuts passed the Republican Congress with no safety valves with Greenspan’s statements being interpreted as support for the Bush plan just as Rubin had warned. The Bush Administration & the Republican Congress then increased spending enormously in almost all areas. With no safety valves rescinding the disastrous tax cuts, the surplus evaporated & became the largest deficit in history.
This is a very important historical quotation in that it shows the extensive degree of anti-Catholic prejudice that existed in America in the late 1930s. Most of the anti-Catholic feeling was based in the absurd but real belief of millions of Protestants that the Pope was trying to control America. Then there was the fear and that American Catholics would take political direction from the Vatican and the Catholic bishops. The perception of the Church was hundreds of years out of date. Most of the anti-Catholic bias reduced along with anti-Semitism in the remainder of the 20th century as Americans became much more religiously tolerant. By the 21st century, religious prejudice still existed but it was limited to a small group of Americans whose views were generally condemned by the American mainstream of thought and opinion.
- Born: February 12, 1809
- Died: April 15, 1865
- Nationality: American
- Profession: President
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.
