First, since it is still February, let me say that the first few pages of John Barleycorn were great. With such a short book, I should have been able to make it through the whole thing, but the previous posts with regards to the book persuaded me that it wasn't necessary. However, I enjoyed the first few anecdotes, and it led to a couple of fun games I like to play.
The "At Least I'm Not" Game is always good to try when you're having a bad day. Whatever other faults I may have, it's nice to read something like Barleycorn and say, "Well, at least I'm not a drunk." And believe me, if I hadn't been born a Mormon, I'm quite sure I'd be a binge drinker. This leads me to other hypothetical, what-if games where I try to imagine what kind of drunk I would be, the angry drunk, the happy, outgoing drunk, etc. Some days I think I know all about what it's like to be drunk, like I know what it's like to be pregnant, but other days I realize that no matter how many books I read, I'll never have a clue about either one. Thank goodness.
So in all that time I wasn't reading John Barleycorn, I was listening to Team of Rivals. If you haven't heard it about yet, it's the recent book about Lincoln's political savvy, which has been not so sublty pushed to be an analogy for what President Obama is trying to do. Because of the desired connections between Lincoln and Obama, I am hoping to stir up some conversation on this blog about the two and about our President's first few days in office. Regardless of your views on Obama, the book is enjoyable, and I left with an increased admiration and gratitude for Mr. Abraham.
I've always had a perception of Lincoln as a good and wise President. This book only confirmed that. The angle of Team of Rivals was that Lincoln was also a political genius, very smart in the way he handled people with big egos without offending them, yet always leading and not letting these powerful men take control. In regards to his political savvy, I believe Obama is every bit as savvy as Lincoln was. Of course, Obama's political machinations (at least the ones that I am privy to) are often through the media, whereas the moves made by Lincoln were more personal, but still, I think those comparisons are reasonable.
The big difference was that Lincoln was a humble, honest, thoroughly good person that also happened to be quite politically savvy. Obama may or may not possess all of these great human characteristics, but they are not the ones that are the most outwardly visible or that first come to mind. Maybe in 200 years a historian will have insight into how honest and humble he was. Personally, I see Obama much like I see a lot of the 'popular' people I've known, very likeable but a bit condescending.
As for Obama's cabinet, he has certainly tried to put together a "Team of Rivals", with varying degrees of success. It should be noted that even Lincoln made some shortsighted appointments that he had to change in his first term.
Both presidents have/had big problems to deal with, which had been brewing for a long time but that came to a head as soon as they were in office. Lincoln did not have a lot of personal war experience, though that was the main charge that was thrown upon him as president. He had a better innate sense of war strategy than many of his generals, but he didn't do a particularly good job of choosing generals at the beginning of the war. Obama doesn't have a lot of economic experience, and I worry that he may be listening to the wrong economic advisors. I just hope we don't have to suffer through Civil War level losses before Obama finds his Ulysses S. Grant. And I hope Obama's goal really is to preserve the Union, not just to use a good crisis to push his agenda. We'll see.
The "At Least I'm Not" Game is always good to try when you're having a bad day. Whatever other faults I may have, it's nice to read something like Barleycorn and say, "Well, at least I'm not a drunk." And believe me, if I hadn't been born a Mormon, I'm quite sure I'd be a binge drinker. This leads me to other hypothetical, what-if games where I try to imagine what kind of drunk I would be, the angry drunk, the happy, outgoing drunk, etc. Some days I think I know all about what it's like to be drunk, like I know what it's like to be pregnant, but other days I realize that no matter how many books I read, I'll never have a clue about either one. Thank goodness.
So in all that time I wasn't reading John Barleycorn, I was listening to Team of Rivals. If you haven't heard it about yet, it's the recent book about Lincoln's political savvy, which has been not so sublty pushed to be an analogy for what President Obama is trying to do. Because of the desired connections between Lincoln and Obama, I am hoping to stir up some conversation on this blog about the two and about our President's first few days in office. Regardless of your views on Obama, the book is enjoyable, and I left with an increased admiration and gratitude for Mr. Abraham.
I've always had a perception of Lincoln as a good and wise President. This book only confirmed that. The angle of Team of Rivals was that Lincoln was also a political genius, very smart in the way he handled people with big egos without offending them, yet always leading and not letting these powerful men take control. In regards to his political savvy, I believe Obama is every bit as savvy as Lincoln was. Of course, Obama's political machinations (at least the ones that I am privy to) are often through the media, whereas the moves made by Lincoln were more personal, but still, I think those comparisons are reasonable.
The big difference was that Lincoln was a humble, honest, thoroughly good person that also happened to be quite politically savvy. Obama may or may not possess all of these great human characteristics, but they are not the ones that are the most outwardly visible or that first come to mind. Maybe in 200 years a historian will have insight into how honest and humble he was. Personally, I see Obama much like I see a lot of the 'popular' people I've known, very likeable but a bit condescending.
As for Obama's cabinet, he has certainly tried to put together a "Team of Rivals", with varying degrees of success. It should be noted that even Lincoln made some shortsighted appointments that he had to change in his first term.
Both presidents have/had big problems to deal with, which had been brewing for a long time but that came to a head as soon as they were in office. Lincoln did not have a lot of personal war experience, though that was the main charge that was thrown upon him as president. He had a better innate sense of war strategy than many of his generals, but he didn't do a particularly good job of choosing generals at the beginning of the war. Obama doesn't have a lot of economic experience, and I worry that he may be listening to the wrong economic advisors. I just hope we don't have to suffer through Civil War level losses before Obama finds his Ulysses S. Grant. And I hope Obama's goal really is to preserve the Union, not just to use a good crisis to push his agenda. We'll see.
