CBS Boosts Obama Adulation, Likens President to Lincoln
On Thursday's CBS This Morning, open Obama supporter Gayle
King and Norah O'Donnell repeatedly prompted liberal historian Doris
Kearns Goodwin to equate the newly-reelected President Obama to Abraham
Lincoln. O'Donnell wondered, "Is there a lesson for Obama now in his second term with Lincoln?" King hyped how Obama "sought out" the author and asked, "What did he want to know from you?"
Goodwin also bizarrely likened the sixteenth President of the United States to two popular liberal comedians: "I
think what shocked me - he could be with Stephen Colbert. He could be
with Jon Stewart - one-on-one. I would never have guessed that before."
The morning newscast brought on the historian to discuss her biography,
"Team of Rivals", which was used as source material for the upcoming
Steven Spielberg film about Lincoln. O'Donnell mentioned the title by
name as she set up her question about the current chief executive: "This
is about Lincoln and his 'team of rivals' - other people that he was a
rival with, and then, he brought into his Cabinet. Is there a lesson for
Obama now in his second term with that – with Lincoln?"
Goodwin answered spotlighting the supposed Lincoln-Obama parallels even in his first three years:
DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN: Oh, I think even in his first term, President Obama tried to bring in – I mean, Hillary [Clinton] was the big rival at the beginning. In fact, somebody asked him early on...would you really be willing to put into your Cabinet a rival, even if his or her spouse were an occasional pain in the butt - of course, referring to Hillary? He quoted Lincoln. He went right back and said, the country's in peril - the strongest people in the country - I want them by my side. He tried to bring Judd Gregg in, the Republican from New England; and he did bring in [Joe] Biden and [Tom] Vilsack. And I think he'll try it again, too.
The liberal writer then bemoaned that "the trouble with our country now: it's so divided that the other party might feel it's a traitorous act to join a Cabinet."
Actually, this language is overblown, as Obama kept Bush's defense
secretary, Robert Gates, at the beginning of his term, and turned to
Republican Ray LaHood to be transportation secretary. Neither drew
"traitorous" accusations for serving in the Democratic administration.
King followed up by asking about how the then-presidential candidate "sought out" Goodwin (which, according to a November 2008 interview,
took place "early in the primary process"). The guest recounted how
Obama "wanted to talk about Lincoln's emotional intelligence...he
couldn't believe that this man...was able to surround himself with
people who could argue with him."
Near the end of the segment, King read a viewer-submitted question
about "the most surprising or shocking thing about a historical event or
person" that the historian had found when she researched her book. This
is where she name-dropped Colbert and Stewart:
GOODWIN: I think, for me, because I always pictured him as a statesman, and suddenly, I saw that sense of humor. I mean, somebody says to him, at one point, 'Lincoln, you're two-faced.' And he immediately responds, 'If I'd have two faces, do you think I would be wearing this face?' (King laughs) So, I think what shocked me - he could be with Stephen Colbert. He could be with Jon Stewart - one-on-one. I would never have guessed that before I lived with him.
Apparently, Goodwin got so caught up into her research into Lincoln
that she thought that she was living in the 1860s - and in the same
residence as the first Republican president.
On Monday, MSNBC's Chris Jansing gushed over the apparent "parallels" between Lincoln and Obama that she found "fascinating". Also, correspondent Kevin Tibbles eagerly pointed out Saturday's NBC Nightly News that it was "no coincidence, perhaps, the [Lincoln] film opens
the week America's 21st century President won re-election in difficult
times fraught with partisan bickering. Times in which many ask, what
would Lincoln do?"
The transcript of the relevant portion of the Doris Kearns Goodwin interview from Thursday's CBS This Morning:
NORAH O'DONNELL: This [book] is about Lincoln and his 'team of rivals' -
other people that he was a rival with, and then, he brought into his
Cabinet. Is there a lesson for Obama now in his second term with that –
with Lincoln?
[CBS News Graphic: "Lincolin's Political Genius: Author Behind Spielberg's New Film"]
DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, AUTHOR, "TEAM OF RIVALS": Oh, I think even in his
first term, President Obama tried to bring in – I mean, Hillary
[Clinton] was the big rival at the beginning. In fact, somebody asked
him early on - right after he had won the nomination - would you really
be willing to put into your Cabinet a rival, even if his or her spouse
were an occasional pain in the butt - of course, referring to Hillary?
He quoted Lincoln. He went right back and said, the country's in peril -
the strongest people in the country - I want them by my side. He tried
to bring Judd Gregg in, the Republican from New England; and he did
bring in [Joe] Biden and [Tom] Vilsack. And I think he'll try it again,
too.
The trouble with our country now: it's so divided that the other party
might feel it's a traitorous act to join a Cabinet. And in – even in
FDR's time, he brought two top Republicans into his cabinet. He brought
businessmen to run his production agencies, because we had a war. We got
to figure that now. We are under a common problem to get this economy
going again, and I think he'll bring in who he can. The question is,
will they come?
GAYLE KING: Is it true that he sought you out, Doris, to talk about Lincoln? What did he want to know from you?
GOODWIN: Well, the interesting thing is, he was still running for the
nomination, and I had my cell phone, and I just picked it up one day,
and on the other end, it said, hello. This is Barack Obama-
KING: Yes-
GOODWIN: I just finished 'Team of Rivals', and we have to talk. He then
wanted to talk about Lincoln's emotional intelligence. He wasn't ready
to put people into his Cabinet, but he couldn't believe that this man
was able to forgive things that had happened in the past; that he was
able to surround himself with people who could argue with him.
KING: Doris, we have a viewer question for you because, you know, we've
selected your book. What was the most surprising or shocking thing
about a historical event or person that you discovered in your research,
if you would?
GOODWIN: I think, for me, because I always pictured him as a statesman,
and suddenly, I saw that sense of humor. I mean, somebody says to him,
at one point, 'Lincoln, you're two-faced.' And he immediately responds,
'If I'd have two faces, do you think I would be wearing this face?'
(King laughs) So, I think what shocked me - he could be with Stephen
Colbert. He could be with Jon Stewart - one-on-one. I would never have
guessed that before I lived with him.
