Post to the Host

Host Garrison Keillor answers your questions about life, love, writing, authors, and of course, A Prairie Home Companion.

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Garrison, Used to love the

February 22, 2005 |

Garrison,
Used to love the show, but the PC is a bit heavy. Was Lincoln a bi-sexual? Come on, Garrison...was it tongue in cheek or too much tongue? Lincoln was a God-fearing man, a person of integrity and honor. Is it necessary to cast mud in his direction in order to please a certain lobby or push an agenda?

You disappoint.

Arthur Turmel
Hertford, N.C.

Arthur, President Lincoln was a complicated man, melancholic, ambitious, a tower of strength, a smart politician, and a man whose gift of language has been ringing for a hundred and fifty years. What's so remarkable is how he continues to fascinate us, and if we're sufficiently curious to go back and read what he wrote and what others remembered about him, we may be surprised — by the vituperation directed at him, for one thing, including accusations of irreligiousness. Was he "God-fearing"? There are different opinions about that, both then and now. As for his sexual orientation, who knows? But there is a book out on the subject, as you undoubtedly know, so it's been in the news. I didn't realize that this was unmentionable. I will be careful not to refer to it in the future.

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