I’ve mentioned before what a great read “The Presidents Club,” by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, is. Coincidentally, there’s a reference to the most recent member, Barack Obama, that is all too ironically relevant right now. And if you’ve been fortunate enough to have seen the movie “Lincoln,” you’re well prepped.
President Obama tells the authors that compromise need not be interpreted as selling out one’s convictions. He then cited President Lincoln as a prime example. And The Emancipation Proclamation, which hangs prominently in this president’s Oval Office, is Exhibit A. President Obama makes the point that it did not emancipate everybody.
There were provisions and exceptions, and it obviously couldn’t be enforced by Lincoln in areas under Confederate control. But it was a rallying point, and it was a critical step in paving the way for the ratification of the 13th Amendment, the one that actually abolished slavery.
“Now think about that,” underscored the president. “The ‘Great Emancipator’ was making a compromise in the Emancipation Proclamation because he thought it was necessary … in preserving the Union and winning the war.
“So you know what? If Abraham Lincoln could make some compromises as part of governance, then surely we can make some compromises when it comes to handling our budget.”
You would think.