Lincoln's Lessons for Barack Obama

Barack Obama assembled his team of rivals, and the players are settling in to their jobs. It's time to look at other lessons Barack Obama can glean from Abraham Lincoln, as portrayed in Doris Kearns Goodwin's famed biography Team of Rivals. The book received plenty of attention during the campaign and through the inauguration, where Lincoln was nearly as visible as Barack Obama.

The president has regularly cited the book, and it was clearly an inspiration for his choice of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Anyone wondering how he picked the State post need only read the "Team of Rivals" descriptions of New York's William Seward, He believed he was all but guaranteed the presidency before losing the nomination to Abraham Lincoln. Seward also assumed the State post, where he became a great friend and ally for Lincoln. (Of course, Bill Richardson was another rival in the planned Obama cabinet before his nomination was derailed in scandal).

But now that Barack Obama is in the White House, what else can we hope he picked up from "Team of Rivals?"

A sense of humor: Abraham Lincoln is famous for clocking out of his official duties and sharing stories and jokes through the evening. According to "Team of Rivals," the practice dates back to his days as a traveling Illinois attorney. A friend in Springfield said "When he first came among us, his wit and humor boiled over." In an extraordinarily stressful job, any president needs a way to unwind. Barack Obama has the basketball court, but he may also want a court jester.

Patience: Abraham Lincoln waited until the ideal and most opportune time to introduce his emancipation proclamation, and did so in a very calculated manner. Barack Obama is under intense pressure to quickly deal fix the economy, withdraw from Iraq and close Guantanamo. He would do well to recall Lincoln's far greater pressures during the Civil War, and take the time to make the right decisions.

Steadfastness and willingness to change, in equal measure: Abraham Lincoln was pushed in many directions in assembling his famous team of rivals cabinet. Other Republican leaders tried to lobby for their favorites, but Abraham Lincoln was convinced Seward and his other opponents were the right men (they were all men in his time) for the jobs. At the same time, Lincoln's positions on slavery and other issues subtly shifted over time as he learned new facts and understood new viewpoints. Barack Obama would certainly do well to emulate the delicate balance his predecessor consistently struck.

Forgiveness: Salmon Chase was a primary opponent of Abraham Lincoln. Though Chase was known to be a pious, stuffy, ill-humored man, Lincoln was rightly convinced he would skillfully run the Treasury Department. Even so, Chase continued to attack Lincoln and mounted an 1864 presidential campaign from within the Lincoln administration. However, understanding his value at Treasury, Lincoln forgave Chase and kept the secretary at his side for a while longer (though there are also suggestions he wanted to keep his friends close and his enemies closer, as the adage goes). Barack Obama will be slighted, insulted and even backstabbed from within the party. He needs to learn from Lincoln when to fight back and when to turn the other cheek.

Humility: Abraham Lincoln once reportedly called on George McClellan at his home only to wait as the general came home and promptly went to sleep. Though others were horrified by this treatment of the commander-in-chief, the president shrugged off the insult. Lincoln also often took time to meet with regular citizens calling on him at the White House, understanding he was their employee. Expectations are high for Barack Obama, but he needs to avoid letting such expectations get to his head. He needs to maintain a Lincolnesque humility.

- Doris Kearns Goodwin, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" Simon & Schuster 2005.