WHO WOULD WE VOTE FOR PRESIDENT?

Carson Park Ranger says:

"Charisma seems to be the most salient quality which we require from our political candidates. Ronald Reagan had it. Michael Dukakis didn't. Lincoln wouldn't stand a chance of being elected now-a-days."

I hate to think that a man that could stir people so deeply with just a few short sentences could not be elected today. But certainly, it caused me to think about it. What else did Lincoln have going for him that made him so popular in his day?

Of course we all think of him as the man that freed the slaves. Eric Kirk has of theories of him as the man that saved the Union. I won't expound on Eric's theories, because I can't do them justice.

The thing that I most remember about him is the stories of his delivery of the Gettysburg Address. Everyone was expecting a long and tedious speech. When he got up to the podium and made his short speech, less than three minutes, the crowd was left in dead silence. He was able to move the crowd so deeply that they were silent in awe of Lincoln's great communicating skills. Lincoln was disappointed by the lack of on ovation and thought that his speech had failed, until he later found out that it was regarded as one of the greatest speeches in U.S. history.

I am fortunate to have Kim Sallaway as a friend, and he travels around the country, and the world, as a professional photographer. He is very observant of human nature, as I believe you need to be if you are going to capture a persons soul on a photograph. He sent me the following photograph and description of Danny Glover, and it stuck me with the parallels to Abe Lincoln. I'm not sure which words were Kims and which were Danny Glover's but this is what I received from him:

"We need to rethink the way we impact the planet! We need to consider what we can do to improve the hopes of the billions of people on this planet who live on less than $1000. a year. We need to look to sustainability and conservation. We need to walk more, drive less, care more about others we don't know, and won't ever know. Then we are making a visible difference. A little impact made by a lot of people makes a big impact.
Danny Glover is a powerful orator. At the Harmony Festival he gave a short meaningful talk to the audience as they waited to hear Damian Marley. I was impressed by his lack of extra verbiage and his strong passionate way of sharing his opinions.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Be fun."
Kimba

I told Kim that I wanted to "Steal" his words and his photograph, and why. He said go for it!

It is probably one of the few times that I've asked for permission to do the things that I do, but I do make small exceptions in dealing with someone of Kims talent. The reason that I wanted to use his words is that it stuck me that; here was a black man, that in Lincolns day was thought of as less than human. One-hundred and forty-five years later, a black man, who is a member of the race of people that Lincoln helped to save, was using much of the same kind of oratory that Lincoln used, and saying some of the same things.

We need to join in the cause of America.

"that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Abraham Lincoln