Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a history of Abraham Lincoln coming to power in Washington. This is a book that Barack Obama is reading..Obama Reading Poster
And after the handshake tonight with Hillary, we might want to read it too. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln .
Obama started his presidential campaign at the old Illinois State Capitol building where Lincoln delivered his famous "house divided" speech.
Barack's favorite books:
Song of Solomon (Toni Morrison), Moby Dick, Shakespeare's Tragedies, Parting the Waters, Gilead (Robinson), Self-Reliance (Emerson), The Bible, Lincoln's Collected Writings
Something makes me think that Hillary Clinton and John Edwards may soon be finding work inside the White House
From author Doris Kearns Goodwin's website
As the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.
That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by life experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires.
It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war.
Obama was not out to destroy Hillary tonight. He was making room for her to join him. This remarkable man is going to rewrite the political rules and he's got Team of Rivals in his back pocket.