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Home › Politics

Question of the Day | 02/15/2009 11:00 pm

Has Lincoln's model of the 'Team of Rivals' been fulfilled in the Obama Cabinet?

Your Stokie Public Library/Flickr
Mary Wells

Mary Wells | 02/15/2009 11:00 pm

Mary Wells Bets Obama Is Tired of Lincoln

I don’t know about Lincoln’s model of the Team of Rivals, but I bet Obama is as tired of having Lincoln hanging over his head as I am.
comments4 Comments
Joan Ganz Cooney

Joan Ganz Cooney | 02/15/2009 11:00 pm

Joan Ganz Cooney: Will 'Team of Rivals' Work for Obama?

Obama seems to be following the Lincoln model, but it’s way too early to tell whether it will work or not.

comments1 Comment
Marlo Thomas

Marlo Thomas | 02/15/2009 11:00 pm

Marlo Thomas: Let Lincoln RIP

I think we should give Obama a chance to be Obama and let Lincoln rest in peace.

comments7 Comments
Joan Juliet Buck

Joan Juliet Buck | 02/15/2009 11:00 pm

Joan Juliet Buck Isn't Second-Guessing

I refuse to make myself anxious by trying to second guess what any of the Obamen and Obawomen are doing. Good luck to them all.

comments4 Comments
Liz Smith

Liz Smith | 02/15/2009 11:00 pm

Liz Smith on Obama's Cabinet: Too Early to Judge

Well, I loved and admired Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Team of Rivals, and I put it right on the shelf with all my history books. But I think it’s too early to judge and compare the Obama Cabinet and I think all these allusions to Lincoln are a bit overworked. 

Click here on this text to read my New York Post column.

comments0 Comments
Read more about: Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday, Barack Obama, Cabinet, Obama Administration, Politics, Team of Rivals

75 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Marina B.
It’s too early to tell anything other than (a) Obama is not afraid to put strong (very strong!) people on his team; and (2) based on the experience with Gregg, today’s Republicans appear to be less willing to work with a rival than the Democrats of Lincoln’s time were.
By Marina B. on 02/16/2009 12:15 am
Diana T
I would be interested in reading what Doris Kearns Goodwin has to say about it. Would she write something for wow? After all, she is a woman of our time who made it long ago in a man’s world, and she is so easy to understand…
By Diana T on 02/16/2009 12:26 am
Lee Harrison
Great idea Diana! I hope the powers at Wow follow up on your suggestion and invite her to contribute.
By Lee Harrison on 02/16/2009 8:52 am
Tee Zee
Excellent suggestion, I would also like to hear from Doris Kearns Goodwin.
By Tee Zee on 02/16/2009 2:13 pm
Diana T
Hey, she wrote the book on it, right?
By Diana T on 02/16/2009 2:58 pm
Tee Zee
Not only that, she’s an intelligent, articulate speaker that could hold her own in any debate!
By Tee Zee on 02/16/2009 5:19 pm
georgia fatwood
Hey Bluegrass….Today on a c-span thing about Lincoln someone said that Stephen Spielberg has the rights to “Team….”
By georgia fatwood on 02/16/2009 5:39 pm
Frannie Em
I think it is early. He has attempted, but so much has happened so quickly that it seems like he has already determined the course without input from rivals.
By Frannie Em on 02/16/2009 1:16 am
Bonnie Oliver
I have to agree with the founders’ remarks that all the comparisons of President Obama to Abraham Lincoln are way too premature. As for the question about “team of rivals”, Hillary is certainly one. Vice President Biden wanted the top office. Is there anyone else in the cabinet who ran for President? I don’t think so and, therefore, I think the term “team of rivals” is not appropriate. Most Presidents do choose as VP one of the other presidential candidates. As for Hillary, well yes, but she is just one person so….. Anyway, I was more surprised that Hillary accepted the State Department post than that President Obama offered it to her. It is, however, a good choice. I cannot think of another politically active Democrat who could be more qualified.
By Bonnie Oliver on 02/16/2009 1:18 am
Marina B.
Bonnie, I think you may be forgetting that, at the time the term started being used, Richardson was also a nominee. Also, is it true that most Presidents chose another presidential candidate as VP? From a quick mental check, it seems to me that fewer than half have done so in my lifetime.
By Marina B. on 02/16/2009 1:40 am
Marina B.
Actually, having counted on my fingers rather than just in my head, I come up with two Presidents in my lifetime who chose other presidential candidates as their VP’s (Kennedy and Obama), versus seven who did not (Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II).
By Marina B. on 02/16/2009 1:57 am
Marina B.
Ha! My finger counting is not so good either. Make that EIGHT who did not.
By Marina B. on 02/16/2009 1:59 am
Wow Trop de classe
Marina, You are right with Richardson and Biden…although I didn’t really count them or others as true ‘rivals’ because they seemed more genial and less in the throes of battle as Obama and Hillary, who are both politically astute enough to know once the ‘war’ is over, new borders and territories are drawn. By comparison, Obama really outdid Lincoln if include all of those that to me don’t really seem much like rivals; I guess want to see a real gulf as with LBJ who was used by JFK for his ‘southern strategy.’ Three of Lincoln’s Cabinet members ran against him in the 1860: Edward Bates [A.G.], Salmon Chase [Treasury], and William H. Seward [DoS]. Obama’s ‘rivals’ would be Biden, HRC and Tom Vilsack [Agriculture]. Judd Gregg [as a strong Republican] and Bill Richardson both who withdrew as Commerce Secretary.
By Wow Trop de classe on 02/16/2009 3:02 am
Marina B.
I completely forgot that Vilsack ranm so he probably isn’t much of a rival. LOL! I do agree the “Team of Rivals” and the comparison to Lincoln are both overdone. The media does seem to fix on “sound bites”, and emphasize the superficial over the substantive. I have more and more difficulty stomaching any of the “news” on TV.
By Marina B. on 02/16/2009 4:00 am
Bonnie Oliver
Marina - President Johnson chose Humbert Humphrey, “the Happy warrior” who indeed was a presidential hopeful. Gerald Ford chose Nelson Rockefeller who ran for President in 1964 and lost the nomination to Barry Goldwater. I do not remember if Senator Mondale was a candidate. Bill Clinton chose Al Gore who certainly was a contender. I think my assertion is more right than wrong. I guess I could research all the Presidents of the 19th and 18th Century but I think my point has been made.
By Bonnie Oliver on 02/16/2009 5:47 am
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