Why Lincoln Matters

Why Lincoln Matters: Now More Than Ever, by Mario M. Cuomo (2004)

"Conservatives and liberals alike should always resist the impulse to make Lincoln over in their own image," writes the former governor of New York, "but it would be even worse not to use him as he might be used." Cuomo makes a passionate case that the words and deeds of the nation's 16^th president are as relevant today as they were some 140 years ago.

The author uses quotes from Lincoln's speeches and letters to make his point, which is often to show that the former president would not approve of the current administration's policies. Pointing to Lincoln's income tax on the wealthy, Cuomo argues that Lincoln would not have cut taxes for the richest Americans in a time of war. The governor makes the case that Lincoln envisioned a progressive role in creating and expanding opportunity for all Americans.

Cuomo's point is harder to make when it comes to matters such as civil liberties in a time of national emergency and the nation's courts. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in 1862 and 1863 and while he implemented a number of reforms in the federal court system, Lincoln often clashed with the nation's highest court. Cuomo writes that Lincoln "did not think of the Supreme Court as the separate and independent branch of the government that it was supposed to be," rather he tried to make it "an extension of the presidency."

It is in the final pages that Cuomo uses Lincoln's words to construct an "address to Congress" for the year 2004. In it, Lincoln shows his disapproval for the war in Iraq. The former president also states that the current terrorist threat is not as a great as that which faced the nation during the Civil War.

Points such as the last make this a provocative read in places. While Cuomo clearly aligns Lincoln with modern liberals, people of all political stripes will get something out of this concise but cogent book.