"you are one of the men who most thoroughly understand and appreciate Lincoln"

   1865. Abraham Lincoln's funeral. Hundreds of people followed the President on his last journey. There is one photo taken in which 6-year-old Teddy Roosevelt is peeking out of their window to take a glance. In fact, his wife confirmed that the boys in the window are Teddy and his brother. 

  Roosevelt’s father was known to adore and respect Lincoln and what he had fought for, hence Teddy was educated in the same way, to preserve Lincoln’s legacy. He has managed to do it. Moreover, his attempt was illustrated on the Campaign Pin for 1904 with a portrait of Lincoln beside him. This was made for the Republican Party 50^th Anniversary. 

  When President Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1905, his Secretary of State, John Hay sent him “a ‘mourning ring’ that contains an oval glass over a strand of Lincoln's hair” as a present because President Theodore Roosevelt was said to be “one of the men who most thoroughly understand and appreciate Lincoln". 

  In Roosevelt Dedication Speech in 1903, he called for the votes of the people by comparing his political platform to Lincoln’s in some respect: “New methods for their solution must be devised but the spirit in which we must face them must be the same spirit that you showed when Abraham Lincoln called and you answered”. His speech is about his fight against tyranny, as Lincoln fought against it. (http://www.co.winnebago.il.us/Memorial_Hall/rooseveltsdedication.pdf )

  “The impact President Lincoln had on TR was profound.  On his desk at Sagamore Hill was an inkwell and pen stand surmounted by a bust of Lincoln.  On the wall near a portrait of his father hung an engraving of Lincoln, and down the hall in his North Room was another bust of Lincoln”. (http://www.theamericans.us/poparticle-lincoln-roosevelt%20connection.html )

Obama-Lincoln, 2008

Some people would say that in 2008 the Obama-Lincoln connection went to the extremes. Both their political and private lives were compared. Their lack of experience in foreign policy, and the issue of race relations they both had to face were enlarged to mirror the sameness of the two politicians. Of course, Obama was often compared to other presidents like JFK “but Lincoln, more than any of his other predecessors, has provided Obama with the greatest inspirational model of how to lead Americans and how to govern in a time of crisis”. I think the most obvious connection between Obama and Lincoln can be detected in their love of words. If we take a look at the greatest speeches in American history, one of the most significant pieces is the Gettysburg Address. The atmosphere he created by way he spoke, the words he used was not like the ones before. Obama recognized the importance and the power of words too. “Obama's aides have repeatedly referred to him [Lincoln] as his own best speechwriter”. He even used Lincoln’s exact words to create strong emotional atmosphere.

It was not an accident either that in 2007, Barack Obama announced his candidacy in Springfield, Illinois, where Lincoln had lived for more than two decades. "Abraham Lincoln...had his doubts. He had his defeats. He had his setbacks. But through his will and his words, he moved a nation and helped free a people. It is because of the millions who rallied to his cause that we are no longer divided, North and South, slave and free”. These sentences perfectly show how Obama used Lincoln’s legacy to legitimize his own position and achievements from the very beginnings.

Finally, here are some STRANGE Lincoln-Obama Coincidences:

-Abraham Lincoln had no middle name. You’re not allowed to say Barack Obama’s middle name.

-Lincoln was born in KENtucky, Obama was born in KENya – before both moved to Illinois.

-Andrew Johnson nearly lived to the age of 67. Joe Biden nearly had an IQ of 67.

-Lincoln and Obama were both more feminine than Hillary Clinton.

Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to comment!
Quotes from: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/11/20/the-comparisons-between-barack-obama-and-abraham-lincoln

Obama 2012 Presidential Campaign 'Linc'

At first, I wanted to start my research with 19th century references to Abe Lincoln in presidential campaigns. Then I found a video about an Obama event from 2012 July. So I decided to start my blog research with the most recent presidential campaign. 
Many books and articles have been written about the Obama-Lincoln connection, about the importance of their symbolic roles in US politics. These seemed to be depleted four years ago when caricatures, ads, quotes, and plenty of other illustrations flooded the media, all echoing the sameness of the two. For example in Newsweek, they wrote: “It is the season to compare Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln. Two thin men from rude beginnings, relatively new to Washington but wise to the world, bring the nation together to face a crisis. Both are superb rhetoricians, both geniuses at stagecraft and timing”. However, Obama and his supporters do not give up, and indeed, the source is inexhaustible.
In July, at an Obama event, an Abe Lincoln look-alike showed up cheering with the crowd, smiling at the present president. In response, Obama calls him his "homeboy from Illinois," and few hours later it is in the news. Obama’s campaign was successful in 2008 due to the fact that he dared to use innovative ideas and the Internet, and also thanks to the invocation of Lincoln in many contexts.
They do not want to throw away this great well of opportunities, so the 2012 campaign recycles the images of the previous one. The only problem is that the opponent, Mitt Romney also realized the richness of the allocations, so he too called for Lincoln’s aid in August, 2012. The very same guy dressed up as ‘Honest Abe’ cheering for the Republican candidate.

The two stories mentioned above prove the undeniable presence of Lincoln. Moreover, his invocation is considered to be an ultimate support that paves the road to the White House.

Intro

Hello!

I will dedicate this blog to my research on President Abraham Lincoln's invocation in several presidential campaigns. I am going to look into 19th, 20th, and 21st century campaigns as references to Lincoln became integral elements of the whole process of persuading the people of the country.
We can hardly find a successful campaing in which there were no allusions to 'Honest Abe'. This very fact also underpins the importance of the 16th US President in many respects.
I am going to demostrate how the invocation of Lincoln helped many to become the first person of the US.
I hope you will all enjoy my research and feel free to comment on my observations.