To Candidate Howard Dean:

I watched your discussion today in Iowa, and I noticed that you commented on your opposition to the war in Iraq. I have great respect for your position and am in complete agreement with you. However, I wanted to note that you should be aware that Abraham Lincoln ALSO publicly opposed a US war--the "Mexican War" fought at the instigation of President Polk in the 1840s. Lincoln publicly expressed his opposition during the final month of the war, and was roundly attacked by others for his position. Indeed, he lost his position in the House of Representatives largely as a result of the anti-war position he took--against a war whose beginnings he saw as rooted in the political interests of Polk. In other words, when anyone suggests you're unpatriotic, just tell them, "If I'm unpatriotic, then Honest Abe was too, because he was honest with the people and TOLD them the truth when he saw a bad war. This was a bad war." For a discussion of this issue, see the classic work by Harvard Professor David Herbert Donald, "Lincoln" (pp. 122-124) which was a NY Times Bestseller (Donald is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner).
Professor Brian Ruppert | Email | Homepage | 05.18.03 - 3:38 pm | #