Honest Abe and Forceful Barack

WASHINGTON — Nothing like a trip to the nation's capital. My last visit included a nighttime visit to the Lincoln Memorial, a taxi driver waiting as my son and I jogged up the stairs for a closer inspection of the 99-foot tall marble likeness of our 16th president.

Lincoln sits at the west end of the famed National Mall, looking out over a reflecting pool that, on the night we were there, shimmered in the moonlight with a majestic, almost otherworldly aura.

This time, my visit was wrapped in postelection analysis but, again, Lincoln loomed large.

President-elect Barack Obama's affinity for Lincoln is no secret. The former launched his presidential campaign in Springfield, Ill., at the Old State Capitol building, the site where the latter delivered his famous "House Divided" speech in 1858.

Interviewed on CBS's "60 Minutes" Sunday night, Obama named one author when asked what he was currently reading: Lincoln.

It makes sense. Our 44th president is on the cutting edge; that other president was elected as our country teetered on a different abyss.

Lincoln had to hold together the union, waging war to do so. Obama has to corral an unpredictable Congress. His pick of a consigliere, Rahm Emanuel, sends a message that a little strong-arming won't be a problem.

Both men faced dangerous times: the Civil War for Lincoln; two wars and a struggling economy for Obama.

They are also connected by intellect, integrity and judgment, but Lincoln and Obama are of different times. It took days for Lincoln's words to filter across the nation. Make that seconds for Obama, who simply e-mails his millions of supporters on MyBarack.com.

Obama clearly wants to emulate Lincoln. He has said that if left on a deserted island, he'd want to have a copy of Doris Kearns Goodwin's book on Lincoln, "Team Of Rivals." While he's waiting for rescue, he should go to the pages where Goodwin writes about Lincoln bringing some of his most bitter opponents into his Cabinet in order to maintain national and party unity at a time of crisis.

No coincidence that Obama is considering Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of state. She has the experience and worldly gravitas to be a great secretary, and the political ambition to be a thorn in Obama's side.

The president-elect also had a recent sit-down with John McCain, saying publicly that he and the Republican senator plan to work together. At least one Republican will be included in Obama's Cabinet. How about more than one?

Shades of Lincoln or the universal counsel to keep one's friends close; one's enemies closer.

Edna Green, Howard University professor and Lincoln expert, sees lessons for Obama in this anecdote. Lincoln let Congress lead on some key issues but when he was pressured to rescind the Emancipation Proclamation, he held firm, saying a promise made must be kept. Likewise, few other than our president-elect and the congressional delegation from Michigan currently support the proposed $25 billion bailout of the auto industry. Yet, our incoming president should stay on point. One in 10 jobs are at stake.

Obama is too measured and polite to say so, so I'll say it for him. Come mid-January, Republicans and Democrats ought to follow the president's lead or simply get out of his way.

"Conciliation can only go so far," says professor Green. "The crises we're facing are so extraordinary they require bold action."

Election Day voting breakouts showed four southern states where Obama eroded Democratic support rather than increased it. Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee are the new confederacy. In those states, Obama got a smaller core of the white vote than John Kerry.

"White southern conservatives have been isolated by this election," explains David Bositis, senior researcher at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Activities in D.C.

Lincoln, too, faced an unconvinced electorate. About the problem of his day he said: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided."

Until it is, just lead. If people have any sense, they will follow.

Lynne K. Varner's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is lvarner@seattletimes.com; for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to www.seattletimes.com/edcetera