Alright guys and gals. Sorry for the delay. In the
Political Leader Category, I'm proud to select the 16th President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln is easily one of Americas top five presidents. And was along with Forrest the other genius of the War Between The States according to Shelby Foote. Anything that I can write in this brief post wouldn't do the man (Lincoln) justice. Simply put, Lincoln was probably one of the most pragmatic and most intelligent men to hold the office. Especially when you consider the "Dough faces" that occupied the office in the 1850s. Lincoln surrounded himself with the best people possible, as opposed to say Jefferson Davis of the CSA who allowed rivalry to get in the way of good judgment. Lincoln appointed former Presidential Rival William Seward as Secretary of State as the best example of this.
Lincoln was also arguably on of the first Presidents to successfully use the "Bully Pulpit" of the Office of the Presidency. Through his strong oratory skills etc, Lincolns leadership was a godsend to bitterly divided country. And any leader that can suspend habeas corpus and still be one of the nations greatest leaders is okay in my books.
While considered a great orator, it wasn't because of his booming voice. By most accounts Lincoln's voice was rather shrill. But combine the eloquence of his words and his common touch Lincoln was unstoppable. It is also interesting to note that I strongly feel that if Lincoln hadn't be assinated and allowed to futher his "Let em up easy" agenda for the South following the war Reconstruction might now have been the failure it became.
Wiki link for further reading. As most of you know, I've barely scratched the surface on one of America's greatest leaders.
The Gettysburg Address as read by Jeff Daniels.