A Lincoln to the Past

I recently read a very interesting series of articles on Abraham Lincoln in Time magazine. The purpose was to dispel some of the mythology surrounding the man and paint a more complex, human picture of the former president but it was still very apparent that Lincoln was unlike any politician in my lifetime.
His willingness to admit fault, to cover for his subordinates by taking blame himself, to empathize with his enemies, to defer glory, was simply amazing. He lived a balanced life with plenty of time for recreation - probably a defence learned during his bouts with depression - even at the height of the civil war and he was one of the most maganimous leaders I have ever read about. His first act as president was to place his three election race opponents in key positions within his cabinet! Not because he was weak, as was thought then, but because he was strong enough to work with those who disagreed with him.
Lincoln, who is the great emancipator, actually had very difficult views on race and the place of Afro-Americans in society. In fact, he told a delagation of black men, early in his presidency that it would be best for them to move to South America since Whites and Blacks were so intrinsically different.

If Lincoln lived today he would be flambasted in the same way that all those in power everywhere perpetually are - despite the fact that he has been claimed and honored by almost every cause and ideology in the world. I thought, as I was reading, how wonderful it would be to have a politician like Lincoln in power - what a breath of fresh air in all the posing and finger pointing and dirt dredging - but then I remembered that Lincoln was in power once and the world is still rotting. Politicking and governments will never save the human race - no matter who is at the helm.