Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever

by Mario Cuomo and Harold Holzer

Abraham Lincoln, long the most resonant voice of American political values, was a founding member of the Republican Party. In today's charged political climate, he would be hard-pressed to recognize the issues in the contemporary GOP, argues Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York and a gifted political philosopher. Challenged by slavery, secession, and war, Lincoln was able to forcefully articulate the values and ideals that have sustained our country...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151009996
• ISBN13: 9780151009992
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 183 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Heartfelt and Honest

Having read this book with the single-volume edition of Carl Sandburg's classic series on Lincoln, I believe Cuomo's book rings true. It's heatfelt and honest. Cuomo is simply telling it like it is from the liberal point of view, which is legal in New York and many other states. I would say that Lincoln was liberal, too. He was much more like TR, Wilson, FDR and Clinton than McKinley, Coolidge, Reagan and Dubya. More so, I think this is a no-brainer. When we think about what "liberal" and "conservative" mean, we need to begin with the root meaninings of those two words --- generosity and frugality. The rest of it flows from there. Some would say it's New Testament v. Old Testament. I think it's more like idealism v. pragmatism. Liberalism comes out of the Enlightenment and that movement's devotion to the scientific method. You know, deductive and inductive reasoning. Conservatism on the other hand is ends-justified reasoning for the most part. This book shows us that Lincoln, FDR, Cuomo, and others come from a thoughtful, honest, and optimistic tradition. Cuomo's prose is nearly a graceful as Lincoln's. Some readers might also enjoy "May God Bless America: George W. Bush and Biblical Morality" by Joseph J. Martos.

Lincoln From a (Very) Liberal Viewpoint

Mario Cuomo, three time governor of New York is also a long-time Lincoln scholar. Here he writes a very interesting book on how he thinks Lincoln would have handled the situations facing George W. Bush.The simularities are striking, not only a war, but deep divisions within the country on the basic conservative/liberal viewpoints.During the civil war Lincoln silenced some of his enemies by simply arresting them and holding them without trial or due process. In 1866 the Supreme Court ruled this illegal. Now the US is holding some 158 accused Taliban and al Qaeda members. Just this week the Supreme Court said 'no-no.'Throughout the book Mr. Cuomo uses selected quotations from Lincoln to illustrate how he thinks Lincoln would have handled the current situations. As Mr. Cuomo is an unabashed liberal, and Mr. Bush is an unabashed conservative, I wonder if Mr. Bush might have picked a different set of quotations to prove that he is handling the situation just like Lincoln would have done. This is a very different approach to using history to illustrate our current problems. One small section of the book is devoted to how Lincoln might have addressed Congress, a Lincoln's State of the Union Message if you will. Mr. Cuomo uses this 'speach' to decry budget deficits (strange how the Democrats and Republicans have switched sides on this issue), but spend more on education, give more money to the states, etc.

Amazing Synthesis

Gov. Cuomo has done a tremendous job weaving together his own commentary on our nation's present predicament with Lincoln's wisdom. When I read Donald's biography of Lincoln, I found Lincoln's humility in the face of his challengers to be the most enduring lesson. In part, I think it grew out of his considerable depression and what was clearly a sense of being alone in the world. Ironically, it became his greatest asset. In a strange way, by contrast, George W is too well-adjusted for our nation's good. The thread that runs through his prosecution of this war, his cynical treatment of the environment, his tax policies, and many other policies is a complete absence of self-doubt. The beauty of this book is that Gov. Cuomo has captured both Lincoln's essence and Bush's in a nuanced contrast. I found three areas particularly fascinating. First, the discussion of civil liberties and Lincoln's approach to the Supreme Court appointments. I had not thought about the relevance of Lincoln's actions in the Civil War to the current Court's consideration of "enemy combatant" status for U.S. citizens. Second, Lincoln's religion fascinates me in part b/c Jefferson's does as well. I wish it were better appreciated that two of our nation's most foundational thinkers and leaders had deep concerns about the role of organized religion in issues of state and worked hard to preserve the separation without denying the value of religious beliefs and practice. Third, and most important, the State of the State chapter was a terrific idea and beautifully executed. I only wish that it were being issued by the White House today rather than just being published by Harcourt Brace.

Democratic Republican or Republican Democrat?

In today's political climate, the rhetoric and the pressure to be either Democrat or Republican often ignores the fact that the issues are so closely interwoven that it's difficult to tell the difference in some cases. In fact, logic requires that when persons like Reagan or Clinton grow up in Democratic households as Reagan did, or Republican households as Clinton did, (I think), and as many others have, it may be impossible to typecast the person as all Democrat or all Republican, based upon the kinds of issues defined by Lincoln and others who founded the parties. Unfortunately, the political labels of today with respect to conservative or liberal don't really convey much anymore, and the lables of Democratic Republican or Republican Democrat may serve to identify the political hybrids of today which are flocking into the elections as candidates, Hillary included who once, was Republican possibly until the McGovern campaign as volunteer. As America grows more mature, Cuomo may have the perspectives to allow America to evaluate its political momentum more effectively through the number of political crises that reveal more than has been currently discussed with regard to political centers. These rifts have yet to be debated successfully, and may cause the bulk of the derision seen on many current political talk shows.

A Clear Voice For America's Most Important Values

Governor Cuomo, one of the nation's foremost experts on Abraham Lincoln's life and writings, has examined the ways in which Lincoln dealt with the crises facing the nation during his presidency, deconstructed them to find Lincoln's core values, and brilliantly applied them to the key issues facing us today: war, civil liberties, the role of government, economic opportunity, globailization, religion, the Supreme Court, and race. While both Republicans and Democrats have claimed Lincoln as their own, Cuomo's book shows us that Lincoln's legacy transcends party lines, and that Lincoln's views on these issues, his values and his vision of America are as important and relevant today as they were then. Whether you agree or disagree with Mario Cuomo's politics, this is a readable, thought-provoking book by a great intellect, communicator and historian about another great intellect and communicator that reminds us why America became and still is such a great country. I particularly enjoyed "Abraham Lincoln's 2004 Address to Congress" -- Cuomo's take on what Lincoln would say to us today, and how he would say it.