CHICAGO – President Obama wasted little time wading into the Illinois GOP primary debate on a visit here today, poking fun at rival candidates who remain in disarray and insisting they should all try to be more like Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president and Illinois-native.
“You might have noticed that we have some guests in Illinois this week,” Obama said of the Republican presidential candidates before a crowd of 600 donors at the Palmer House Hilton. “Apparently, things haven’t quite wrapped up on the other side so … there’s actually some interest in the primary that we have here on Tuesday.
“My message to the candidates is: Welcome to the land of Lincoln, because I’m thinking maybe some Lincoln will rub off on them while they are here,” Obama said.
Obama, who has previously upheld Lincoln as an exemplar of compromise, today portrayed him as an early advocate for an activist federal government that envisions grand infrastructure projects and legislative protections for citizens, suggesting that he and Lincoln have a lot in common.
“Lincoln, the first Republican president, knew that if we as a nation through our federal government didn’t act to facilitate these things, then they likely wouldn’t happen,” Obama said, adding that he hoped the candidates visiting his adopted hometown “reflect on this great man.” (He did not identify Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum by name.)
“That vision of Lincoln’s, the vision of a big, bold, generous, dynamic, active, inclusive America – that’s the vision that has driven this nation for more than 200 years. That’s the vision that helped create Chicago,” he said. “That’s the vision that drove our campaign in 2008.” Read More
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