Historian: Today's politicians could learn a lot from Lincoln

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - As America prepares to elect a president, historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin said what the country needs is another Abraham Lincoln to lead it out of today's economic crisis.

A reflective Lincoln, who loved to surround himself with dissenting opinions to mold public policy consensus, is what's missing in today's national economic crisis, said Goodwin.

Lincoln welcomed and encouraged arguments among Cabinet members, Goodwin said, weighing them as a point-counterpoint before taking action on a variety of issues.

"It's a basic human quality to wish for in our friends and our politicians," said Goodwin, 65.

"The ability to share credit, the ability to shoulder blame when things go badly, acknowledge errors and take responsibility for them."

Goodwin is the author of "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." She also has researched and written books about a number of presidents, including Lyndon Johnson and Franklin Roosevelt.

How can Lincoln remain the gold standard for presidential leadership in such a different time?

"I'm not sure I thought about it directly at the time I was studying Lincoln, but his skills were a lot more universal than anyone realized at that time.

"His willingness to put people who disagreed with him in his inner circle, surround himself with strong people who questioned his authority, was unique.

"What Lincoln really understood, however, was that it could be paralyzing if you keep listening to those people. You have to make the decision and bring them along."

Any examples?

"For a month, Lincoln debated with his Cabinet what to do about emancipating the slaves. It was a fiery argument, with some arguing not to touch it, others arguing he needed to do it immediately and others more in the middle.

"When he made the decision, he walked into a meeting and told them, 'I've made up my mind. I no longer need your input, but I will continue to listen to you on implementation and timing.'"

Have either Barack Obama or John McCain bought into the notion that cultivating dissent is an essential leadership quality in our next president?

"Senator Obama has. He called me after he read it ('Team of Rivals'). He really seems to have absorbed the desire to bring in an inner circle if he's elected president like Lincoln did.

"And when he was interviewed by Katie Couric, she asked him what the one book would be that he'd bring to the White House besides the Bible.

"He said, 'Lincoln's Team of Rivals.'"

Any others?

"I got an e-mail not long ago from someone who saw Sarah Palin on (television) ... and she brought up Lincoln's leadership.

"It's been amazing to see when I've gone out to talk to various groups ... how Lincoln somehow is what everybody would wish for today. His ability to bridge partisan divides is what people have settled on as a leadership model that goes beyond anyone else's today."

You researched and wrote about Franklin Roosevelt's leadership during the Great Depression. Are there any lessons to glean from that for the current worldwide financial crisis?

"I think that on the one hand you get a certain solace knowing that there have been other periods of time when things have gotten rough. Somehow, the country has come through.

"When people worry about the tensions with Iraq and Iran and the other challenges we face, you can look at World War II and the Civil War and realize that in times of crisis, someone will rise to pull us through and lead our people."

Do you see any parallels between the current crisis and the challenges Roosevelt faced during the Great Depression?

"The scary thing is that you know people living in that time, when things began looking bad, they must have thought exactly like we did: 'Things can't get that bad. We'll be OK.'

"There are some other vague similarities one can see when you examine the struggles of the Depression: the destruction of income, the lack of consumer strength to sustain business, the unions demoralized after the 1919 strikes, people buying on margin beyond what they can afford."

Are there any lessons the next president can take from the Depression as he inherits this economic mess?

"Really, everything.

"There's no question the combination of the hard times people were feeling, and (President Herbert) Hoover seeming not to understand and act on them.

"Hoover believed government would hurt the problem if it got involved. He had empathy, but the failure to deal with the distress people were feeling _ and the fact Roosevelt already had as governor of New York _ changed that election."

Do you see any contrasts?

"The one big difference is that Roosevelt was able to project a sense of optimism to the public. You know: 'Happy Days Are Here Again.'

"Neither of the candidates is doing that now: That sense of belief in the candidate so much that you feel buoyant and optimistic, that with them in office, things really are going to get better.

"Both of them are talking about what's wrong, but I'm not sure they've been able to conjure up in people any kind of buoyant sense to feel excited about change.

They are waiting for you. Will you answer?

"In the beginning, Obama did. That was the engine behind his enormous popularity. But then the primary wore everybody down. The sense of excitement was diminished by the back and forth in the primary campaign."

Explain the affection you clearly have for the subjects you've written about, like Lincoln, Johnson and Roosevelt.

"I don't think I could ever write about a subject I didn't respect.

"If you spent the time I spend writing these books, you have to feel and understand the person. You have to try to understand where the weaknesses of the person come from to feel good about the person you're writing about."

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© 2008, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).