Ed Hornick of CNN recently interviewed me in connection with a story comparing President-Elect Obama and President Lincoln. Here's an excerpt:
...Historians and political pundits have pointed out that both Lincoln and Obama share the gift of eloquence, speechwriting and oration.
Lincoln historian and author Ronald White said that both had a "tremendous trust in words and the power of language."
"And I think today, we come with a real kind of cynicism. ... It's only words. And yet I think underneath the words are the public's perception of looking for someone with integrity and authenticity and not someone simply playing a role," White said.
White, author of the upcoming book "A. Lincoln: A Biography," has lectured on Lincoln at the White House and the Library of Congress.
"Both of them rose, in a sense, beyond their inexperience and in spite of their relative youth, the wings of their ability to use public language," he added. [continued...]
Click (here) for the complete article on CNN.com.
