…for the two Bozos running for President of the United States…
From Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861…
We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bond of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they wll be, by the better angels of our nature.
From a message to Congress, December 1, 1862…
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
And this one, from a letter to General Joseph Hooker, January 26, 1863…
The Government will support you to the utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army of criticizing their commander and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army while such a spirit pervades in it. And now beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward, and give us victories.
That last one is most appropriate for this election, and the constant, but misplaced campaign against an incumbent who is not on the ballot. It’s most appropriate for candidates – both of them – who appear to masters of the blame game, but who are short on positive, inspiring vision.
We’ll end up with the “leaders” (and I use that term very loosely, because both of the major candidates appear nothing more than political hacks!) that we deserve. And God help the one who gets elected by inciting distrust and disunity among our nation, for what goes around will surely come around.
Just some thoughts post-debate tonight. Of course, your mileage may vary…