Extensive reading of the extant records of the 1858 debates between Sen. Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, who was campaigning for Douglas's seat in the Senate, shows several things about Lincoln's position in the debates:
Lincoln
- Defended the institution of slavery where it existed
- Opposed only its extension to the Territories and to the Free States
- Refused to admit that Negroes were the social, intellectual, and political equals of European-Americans
- Referred several times to Negroes as "niggers" in a patronizing way (howbeit this was a figure of rhetoric -- a tactic)
- Stated several times that he would not want to marry a Negro woman or see intermarriage and miscegenation between the two (inferentially distinct) societies.
Compare that compendium of debating points with what Lincoln did later. Do they outline his vision? Do they fairly forecast what his political program would look like if/when he were elected either Senator or President?
Now apply that logic to Steele's campaign rhetoric uttered in the middle of a hot round of "MSM Gotcha!" with Tim Russert on Meet the Press, with a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in a Democrat year.
I guess I don’t share the belief that Michael Steele is the second coming of Abraham Lincoln.