His problem? You mean my problem with him? Only this: Lincoln was the classic Humanitarian with a Guillotine (as Isabel Paterson characterized the type). He loved humanity in the abstract but was murder--literally!--on the flesh-and-blood variety.

All of America's great leaders--Wilson, FDR, O-Bomb-A--have patterned themselves after him. They know terrorism transmogrifies into Benevolent Butchery when enlisted in the service of Uplift. An Overriding Public Interest (e.g., liberating Mohammedan women from their burqas) sanitizes the most mind-boggling atrocity (e.g., dropping 2,000-pound bombs on Afghani wedding parties).

Stated intentions, however disingenuous, mean everything. As Vonnegut might say, "And so it goes."