Man of Principle

In 'Becoming a Person of Influence', authors John Maxwell and Jim Dornan cite a passage from 'Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times' by Donald Phillips.  I thought I'd share it with you.

"Abraham Lincoln was slandered, libeled and hated perhaps more intensely than any man ever to run for the nation's highest office...He was publicly called just about every name imaginable by the press of the day, including a grotesque baboon, a third-rate country lawyer who once split rails and now splits the Union, a coarse vulgar joker, a dictator, an ape, a buffoon, and others. The Illinois State Register labeled him "the craftiest and most dishonest politician that ever disgraced an office in America..." Severe and unjust criticism did not subside after Lincoln took the oath of office, nor dd it come only from Southern sympathizers. It came from within the Union itself, from Congress, from some factions within the Republican party, and initially, from within his own cabinet. As president, Lincoln learned that, no matter what he did, there were going to be people who would not be pleased."



Sounds familiar?