Election Odds: A lesson from history

US Politics / Robert Rouse / 15 February 2008 / 2 Comments

What are the odds of Obama winning the election? Robert Rouse gives us a brief snippet from the history books...

Once upon a time there was a tall, lanky one-term lawmaker from Illinois who was seeking his party's nomination to run for President of the United States.

Unfortunately, there was a popular - and - better known Senator from New York who was the presumptive candidate of the party.

Many thought the man from Illinois was too inexperienced to be president of the United States at such a troubled time. The United States was divided and most pundits felt the man wouldn't be as prepared to lead the country as the more experienced New York Senator.

Lucky for us, Abraham Lincoln ended up getting the nomination.

Comments (2)

1. Luke Powell | 06 March 2008

   Why was it lucky for anyone that Lincoln won that election. He led America into a long war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left large areas destroyed and in poverty for generations. Most of the black population faired little better after the war in the South or as wage slaves in the North. This was the beginning of the American military industrial complex, and when that war was done they turned a generation of men well trained in modern weapons and brutality on the tribes of the West, then on the Philippines. The legal precedents that Lincoln set, asserting presidential power to ignore the Constitution, were the basis of the Bush coup. People who idolize Lincoln and love his jargon deserve Bush.

2. Don't Patronise Me | 18 March 2008

   Luke... The ending of slavery is never worth it, obviously? Surely, above all else, what Lincoln should rightly be remembered for is this, no?