[rockrr]

Lincoln did not have to send troops down the road to Richmond, which killed several hundreds of men on both sides.

Yes he did - after the south declared war against the United States. The debate, the friction, and the war were the inspiration of the southron slavers and Lincoln merely responded to their actions. If anyone is to blame for the misery it is the slavocracy.

[Jay Redhawk]

It was clear the Confederacy had no intention of invading the North, so what you have is the usual bogus argument that the apologists of Lincoln always fall back on. Lincoln was betting that the South was bluffing, and that if fighting did occur it would quickly bring about a reconciliation. Lincoln was wrong and he ignored the advice of his military advisors who told him he was making a mistake.

Ft. Sumter was not Pearl Harbor, but as you probably know Lincoln goaded Davis into firing on the fort so that Lincoln could claim the South started the war. So actually Lincoln is responsible for that declaration of war.
If Lincoln were around today he would be the biggest rino in the Republican party. I suspect that currently the fans of Lincoln are/were fans of McCain and Romney.