President Obama, History and Lincoln Part I

Barack Obama is now President of the United States, today we reflect on his first day as President. As the folks from the BBC report, We hear a lot about Mr Obama's fascination with America's 16th President Abraham Lincoln, that other man of Illinois who appeared at a moment of national crisis to win a civil war to abolish slavery. As the BBC notes, there just may be a fascination perhaps a message? Lincoln may have been on the side of the angels, but he was a tough pragmatist rather than a dreamer and he was prepared to do whatever it took to save the Union, win the war and, as most whites and some blacks belive, free the slaves. Will Mr Obama turn out to be a similar kind of figure - tough in pursuit of a few key policy goals and ready to do whatever it takes to deliver them? Let's talk today on Barack Obama, his election and Lincoln.