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Who's the President on Everyone's Lips? Abe. Honest.

For a curator, Clark Evans proved himself to be a shrewd political analyst as he dissected the election results yesterday in a lecture at the Library of Congress.

"That was an historic election," he said. "The country had had its fill," he continued, of a "failed president, and here's this man of the people, a much more democratic image being projected for a presidential candidate." The candidate was "very pragmatic" and, when necessary, "politically expedient." Inevitably, "the election was quite ugly."

Ultimately, there was no doubt about the outcome. "Lincoln very decisively wins that election," Evans said.

This nation is having a new birth of Lincoln. Encouraged by the Abe-obsessed 44th president, Washington is spending an extraordinary amount of time in the 1860s. This town has seen no fewer than 28 Lincoln commemorative events over two months, with more lectures, screenings, readings, exhibits and celebrations to come.
Read entire article at WaPo