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Fareed Zackaria: Bush Should Remember that Even Lincoln Changed Strategies When They Weren't Working

Fareed Zackaria, in Newsweek (2-14-05):

President Bush has often said that he emulates Abraham Lincoln. In a recent letter to a Civil War historian, he wrote, "Lincoln set the goal and stayed the course. I will do the same." But what is remarkable about Lincoln is how willing he was to admit that his choices weren't working, and to insist on changes. He ran through seven generals in three years (George McClellan twice, the second time after one month) until he found the man who could do the job—Ulysses S. Grant. He was often pilloried for his constant shifts of personnel and policy.

Lincoln stayed the course on one issue: preserving the Union. Bush has been similarly steadfast in his embrace of an important and noble goal: democracy in Iraq. But he has also been steadfastly opposed to recognizing that several of his policies have made the achievement of this goal much more difficult. When observers pointed to problems that could have been fixed, he and his supporters accused them of defeatism and weakness.

The greatest president felt differently. When Grant captured Vicksburg, Lincoln—who had believed that Grant was making a tactical blunder—wrote him at once, saying, "I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you were right, and I was wrong." In fact, Lincoln's intellectual flexibility helped bring about his greatest legacy. In his first year in office, Lincoln had stubbornly rejected the idea of abolishing slavery. But by 1862 he recognized that the best path to preserving the Union was by freeing the slaves.

So, he wavered, reversed his position and changed course. Thank goodness.