Perhaps at some point you will rouse yourself to comment substantively on the manufacturing of evidence by DiLorenzo.
Nobody ever said that Lincoln was not a Whig in the matters of principle interest in Illinois politics in the 30's and 40's. And nobody ever said Lincoln was a great man when he was 24 years old.
His point about usury was obviously that law, being universal, cannot fit every particular circumstance, and that when people desparately need money, and are willing to pay high interest, they shouldn't be prevented by a law. He is calling for a law that will regulate interest rates in normal business, but which will not effectively constrain desparate borrowers. He puts it badly, and the whole issue has completely obscure context, as various biographers have said. No one knows why he even raised the issue.
Why don't you try using your powers of attention on the texts DiLorenzo offers as evidence, and see if we can reach a conclusion on those. If you want more reflection by Lincoln on rule of law, try the address to the Young Men's Lyceum, 1838.
DiLorenzo didn't manufacture any evidence. You Jaffa sycophants just have to get it through your heads. Lincoln was one of the worst Presidents in our nations history. Even the National Review couldn't get anyone to really defend the bum.
As for Lincoln, he did consider himself the heir to Henry Clay's American system. Lincoln eulogized in 1852 as "the beau ideal of a statesman" and the great parent of Whig Principles. "During my whole political life," Lincoln stated, I have loved and revered [Clay] as a teacher and leader.
Read Robert W. Johannsen biography of Lincoln.
What did you expect him to say about slavery in a race for the Illinois legislature, at age 24, given that Illinois was a free state? That's like looking for comments on our relationship with China in a campaign speech for the city council.
...my point was that I didn't understand why the internal search on that website even pulled that speech as a result given the parameters I had set. Now do you understand?