Honest Abe and dishonest historians

Due to computer problems, I missed the chance to mark the bicentennial of Abe Lincoln's birth.

Nevertheless, two pieces I commend to you on the topic of Lincoln and contemporary controversies concerning his place in history- both legit and phoney- can be found here and here.

Lincoln- our greatest president, and exemplar of all that is best in our national character- does not, of course, deserve the Christlike role of "redeemer-president" our civil religion has assigned him; nobody does, and the reverence paid to him at times borders on the blasphemous. But he does deserve the same role in our culture Charlemagne plays in Europe's, and the mythical Arthur plays in Britain's. He deserves to be regarded as our national hero- and more.

Lincoln was all that is finest in America and in Americans, all rolled up in one remarkable life lived at precisely the moment we needed nothing less than a Lincoln to guide us through our greatest crisis.

And no- he wasn't gay.

HT: Real Clear Politics