Surely, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln stands proudly beside Barack Obama. Maybe the spirit of the bearded past-president helped to steer Obama to victory in the recent marathon U.S. presidential-election campaign.

Although Lincoln and Obama share much, what a giant leap it is from one to the other! Separated by a century and a half of often-troubled history, the newly elected Obama, America’s 44th president, and Lincoln, its 16th president (1861-65), may appear together in future history books.

Lincoln battled the blight of slavery. Obama made history as the first African-American elected to lead the United States.

Like Lincoln, Obama hails from Illinois. They each honed impressive speaking and other political skills in state politics before reaching the national stage. Both charismatic, even electrifying, they defied critics who accused them of lacking experience. Each won a crucial election at troubled times. Lincoln grappled with secessionist states and a civil war. Obama faces a crushing economic crisis and must end military misadventures in the Middle East.

Let’s hope the similarities don’t go too far. On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a crazed opponent of Lincoln’s policies, killed him with a gunshot fired from close behind. Amid lingering racism, the U.S. Secret Service must stay vigilant to protect Obama at all times.

Judging by his campaign performance, 47-year-old Obama should excel in the Oval Office, a place where brilliance has been in short supply lately. Earlier, he wrote and published two books: The Audacity of Hope and Dreams From My Father. At a Democratic Party convention in 2004, he grabbed the limelight with an impressive speech urging dogged determination and “the audacity of hope”.

Born in Hawaii in 1961, Obama saw his Kenyan-rooted father and his mother, from Kansas, separate when he was a toddler. After his mother remarried, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia.

Later, Obama graduated from Columbia University and the Harvard Law School. Once trained as a lawyer, he devoted several years to community work in Chicago’s poor neighborhoods. He and wife Michelle have two daughters.

For eight years, Obama served in the Illinois Senate. From 1992-2004, he taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. In 2004, he entered the U.S. Senate.

As Obama prepares to settle into the White House starting on January 20, people of all nationalities on every continent suddenly have rediscovered much of their optimism and many hopes misplaced for eight years. Global expectations have soared, maybe to unrealistic heights.

Anyone with “special” powers may notice Lincoln’s ghost. Presumably, he’s always there, stroking his beard and beaming in pride, constantly watching the new national leader.


Watch for Lincoln sitting
in at Obama's meetings.

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