Time to clean the coffee off my monitor.
Crooks and Liars:
You know, I think I really learned a lot from this
Here are the dissimilarities between Bush and Lincoln:
Lincoln was born poor. Bush was born rich.
Lincoln received less than one year of schooling Bush graduated from Phillips Academy (also known as Andover), Yale University, and Harvard Business School.
Lincoln had no executive experience prior to becoming President. Bush was Governor of Texas prior to becoming President.
Lincoln was an avid reader. Bush is not
Lincoln was intellectually curious, and fascinated by science and technology. He is the only American President to hold a patent. Bush is not regarded as intellectually curious. David Frum, one of Bush’s former speechwriters, and a professed fan of Bush, has written: “He (Bush) is…often uncurious and as a result ill informed.”
Lincoln never held grudges. Bush has a reputation for never forgetting a slight.
Lincoln, like all Republicans of his day, was regarded as a liberal. No one calls Bush a liberal.
Lincoln firmly believed in a strong federal government. Bush champions states rights and regularly denigrates the role of government, especially the federal government (i.e. "Washington")
Lincoln supported tariffs in order to protect American industry and American jobs. Bush believes in free markets even if it means the loss of American jobs.
Lincoln raised taxes in order to pay for the war effort.
Bush is the only President in American history who has lowered taxes while prosecuting a major war.
Lincoln, when he served in Congress, opposed pre-emptive attacks by the American government against Mexico When President, he waited until Fort Sumter was fired upon before responding militarily.
Bush believes in pre-emptive attacks; in fact this view is the basis of "the Bush Doctrine" (which is a radical departure from previous U.S. foreign policy).
Lincoln loved words, was a fine extemporaneous speaker, and was widely regarded as "the best stump speaker of the West." Bush is not regarded as eloquent, although some of his speechwriters are.
Lincoln, never demonized his enemies. Here are his words from the Second Inaugural Address: “With malice toward none, with charity for all”
Bush demonizes his enemies.
Bush seems to believe that evil can be eradicated: “Our responsibility to history is already clear: To answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.”
Lincoln: “The true rule in determining to embrace or reject any thing, is not whether it has any evil in it, but whether it has more of evil than of good. There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost ever thing…is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.”
Lincoln refused to let his generals to make political decisions. He told General U.S. Grant, his top general: “You are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions.”
Bush says his generals--the most recent being General David Petraeus--make crucial decisions about when, where, how many, and how long American forces will fight.
http://www.presidentlincolnlibrary.com/index.htm
5 comments:
If a person knows nothing about Abe but his speech and freeing the slaves you'll know he and Bush aren't alike at all. Abe could read Bush can't. Abe believed in equal rights and Bush doesn't. Just close your eyes and see how Abe comforted his soldiers black/white and then look at how Bush treated the minorities in the Katrina Storm enough said.
hell, george burns was closer to lincoln than bushdick.
Absolutely ridiculous.
An interesting fact:
Abe Lincoln was not always for emancipation. It wasn't until the Union began to fall apart that Lincoln realized the need for blacks to be fully engaged in the war in order to secure the Union. Without them the Union could not have won the war. In order to get them to fight Lincoln compromised and found the only thing he could offer them in return for their loyalty was their freedom. Slavery was not the initial reason for the Civil War as everyone is taught to this day- but it became the crux of it in the end, and what changed our country forever. In fact, prior to the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 Lincoln declaired this:
"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races; I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people."
He continued:
"I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."
Lincoln was noted as later in life sympathizing with slaves who were mistreated by their slave-owners. But initially while serving as a lawyer in the state of Illinois he, on a few occasions, represented slave-holders in court, as well as marrying Mary Todd whose family owned slaves.
It just goes to show History is not what they teach you in schools, and that people (no matter what they do in life) can change for the better, and more importantly change other people's lives for the better.
I'm afraid George Bush would not be like Lincoln in this aspect either. He does not understand moral reform or need for change for the betterment of society.
"hell, george burns was closer to lincoln than bushdick."
A 2 year old is closer to Lincoln than the Gerbil.
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