Obama, meet Schwartz

Barack Obama, a man whom Joe Biden described as "the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," is running for President, officially. Here's one thing that I frankly found amusing.

"We can build a more hopeful America. And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America," Obama said. His voice rose to a shout as he spoke over the cheers from thousands who braved temperatures in the teens.

Obama evokes the image of Lincoln, but how much does he wish this metaphor to extend? Lincoln, in all honesty was not a President beloved in his time, and did little to genuinely unite. His rhetoric, though, is very well preserved, and that is what is recalled by political figures of either party, really. Kind of a classic example of this, perhaps?