Lincoln

Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday so I thought I would write a review of the movie Lincoln.

I saw Lincoln over Thanksgiving weekend while in Wisconsin.  I highly recommend it to everyone.

Growing up I admired Lincoln a lot.  I visited his home in Springfield, his grave, his birthplace in Kentucky, and his home in New Salem IL.  Now that I'm a Democrat I admit a little luster has tarnished but he still commands my respect.

One thing I learned in Lincoln was that even though he was a great leader, he was a politician and was willing to circumvent the laws to get what he wanted, like bribing lame duck Congressmen to vote his way on the 13th amendment, and lying to Congress about a potential peace offering from the confederacy.

Lincoln was a smart man, he was a lawyer and new all the tricks..

One thing that I disagree with Lincoln on is his refusal to allow Robert to serve in the military.  Robert was a grown man for pete's sake!  I know Mary had mental issues and took Willie's death hard (they lost another son Eddie years before, where's the grief there?) but to not allow Robert to serve was a disservice.  During WW2 all four of Franklin D. Roosevelt's sons served willingly, was in some of the worst battles of the war (Casablanca, Makin, Okinawa).  If FDR's sons could do it so and he allowed, then Lincoln should have.

Lincoln was a funny man.  Watch the movie for his humor.

All in all a great president and worthy of being on the $5 bill.