This is probably considered a treasonous thing to say here in Illinois, but we are fairly sure there are people out there thinking what has crossed our minds: Please go away, Abe Lincoln.
Oh, it's not Abe's fault. But the hype surrounding his 200th birthday anniversary this month is nearing the Obama zone on the absurdity meter.
I mean, the Lincoln Watermelon Monument was always enough for me. That kind of tops it off nicely, doesn't it?
But no. Apparently there are even more books (and poems) and TV shows and farflung events to produce about a guy whose nose hair is probably in a museum somewhere. (And to think, we already had 100 "essential" books about Lincoln . . .)
Wasn't it enough that Obama channeled a Lincoln narrative for the last two years and even had the pretension to get sworn in on a Lincoln bible ? Now we're advising that baseball commissioner Bud Selig should "should look to Lincoln to save baseball" too?
What's next, stovepipe hats at the Gap?
No. Just on the streets of downtown Springfield!
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Don't get me wrong, Lincoln was awesome.
But is this necessary? And look at what passes for Lincoln scholarship these days!
The Boston Globe says that Lincoln "remains the most elusive of presidents."
Really?
Then those 14,000-plus books already written about him must be really crappy.
