Lincoln's 200th birthday

Some of my favorite Lincoln quotations:

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
...
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
...
When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.
...
Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.
...
Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
...
I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.

He was not a saint, although some have tried to make him so. Nor was he a villain - although some have considered him to be one. Yes, he made some racist remarks along the way as many recently have pointed out; he was, after all, a man of his times. But he also said this (and it speaks to his integrity as much as anything he ever said): "I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back."