Political Opposites: Lincoln to Obama

On April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford's Theater after. Booth's original plan was to kidnap Lincoln but after a compelling speech by the President on black voting rights, Booth's plan changed. Fast forward 143 years. America has just elected the first black president, Barack Obama. On the long and stressful path to the White House, the Obama campaign (including the mainstream media) perpetuated a great myth that Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln were one in the same. In reality, there are very few political traits to compare the two on.

There is an obvious historical relationship between Lincoln and Obama, as the election of a black president would not have been possible without the abolishing of slavery by Abraham Lincoln. While it may be an interesting piece of history, it does not accurately represent the political similarities between Obama and Lincoln. Both men spent much of their adult lives in the state of Illinois, but once again, this is nothing more than an item for the next edition of the "Trivial Pursuit" board game.

President Obama is sworn in using the Lincoln family Bible. He insisted on doing so, straying from the normal procedure of using the George Washington bible that has been used to swear in every other president in American history. Obama even traced the train route Lincoln took to his own inauguration.

The reason there is no evidence of similar political policies is simply that there are no political similarities between the two. The Obama loving Chris Matthews (click here to see) once tried to argue that they are similar in that both Lincoln and Obama are on a mission to unite the people of America. The obvious flaw with this argument is that Lincoln literally united a country that was divided. While the Confederacy fought to secede from America and own the lives of other human beings, the Union army fought to free all men and keep the nation intact. Lincoln was uniting a nation on the verge of splitting in two. The only divided entities that Obama is trying to unite are the Marxists who want to leach off of the hard work of others and then the actual hard workers who want to enjoy the fruits of their own labor. Obama's quest of unity is none more than a figurative way to get reelected in 2012 and keep the country under democratic control for as long as possible despite the nosedive our country has taken on all fronts from the democratic "leadership".

Beyond the subtle differences between President Lincoln and President Obama, there is one fatal flaw in comparing the two. This flaw is how the two view the American dream of being able to live in a nation of Liberty.

In 1864, Lincoln said:

We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name- liberty. And it follows that each of these things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names- liberty and tyranny.

The context of Lincoln's speech shows that his conservative principles identify his interpretation of liberty as one man's ability to enjoy his successes as an effect of his hard work. How does this conservative principle align with Barack Obama's interpretation of liberty?

In this video, "Joe the Plumber," as made famous by Obama's campaign, confronts the president to be with a question on how he will be taxed more for owning a successful business. Obama outlines his "take from the rich" mentality and in the final seconds of the video expresses his true desire of redistributing the wealth.

Both Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln will long be remembered in history for different things, but they should not be remembered for their similarities to one another. President Lincoln was a true conservative who stood for the hardworking man and his ability to take enjoyment in the successes of his work. Obama on the other hand, will continue to increase taxes on the rich and "redistribute the wealth," as he puts it. President Obama's political philosophy represents the principles of Karl Marx as his actions mirror the communist credo, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."