ABRAHAM LINCOLN

BOOK: Why Lincoln Matter: Today More Than Ever

AUTHOR: Mario M Cuomo
WRITTEN: 2004
PAGES: 183

When reading books about political figures, written by politicians, you always run the risk of being duped by partisan rhetoric. Such was the case as I read this book. Mario Cuomo, a gifted politician that I have admired for his work in New York, wrote this book as John Kerry was running again George Bush for President. Using the guise of Lincoln, he goes after Republican programs and George Bush repeatedly.

Cuomo does present some interesting observations about how politicians today use Lincoln as the bell weather of doing the right thing. It makes no difference whether they are Republican or Democrat, the "spirit of Lincoln" is conjured up to meet the latest bill or idea a politician may have. As soon as I read that chapter, I was watching Meet the Press and hear came a quote from Lincoln! It was uncanny.

Ironically, when Cuomo talks about Bush's lack of fiscal responsibility, I couldn't help but think that if we took the name "Bush" and replaced it with "Obama" that the words would ring just as true. Lincoln was the first "tax and spender". He instituted the first federal tax during the Civil War but actually spent relatively prudently.

In the best part of the book, Cuomo examines Lincoln's use of executive privilege in suppressing civil liberties during the Civil War and compares it to the Patriot Act of today. The debate was well thought out and even though the ultimate conclusion was predictable, Lincoln was right, Bush was wrong) it was still an interesting and thought provoking.

RECOMMENDATION

This was my first Presidential book that looked at a President outside of the traditional convention of Presidential books. This book focused on the philosophy of a President as opposed to a snapshot of a President's life. The premise was great but the application was extremely disappointing. This book could have been written by Ann Coulter or Al Franken and it would have taken the same bent of manipulating a great American figure for the partisan rancor that most Americans abhor.

SOURCE: Half Price Book Store, Dallas, TX courtesy of Trula Skaggs

UP NEXT: IMPEACHED: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy by David O Stewart