Honest (Gay) Abe?

I'm a geek about history (Ed would say I'm a geek in a lot of ways), and I have a special place in my heart for some of the great presidents we've had. They're all just fascinating to me since they are very much larger than life and they played a huge part in forming the world we live in today. I've got a list of favorites that I'll have to post about sometime, but suffice it to say, my all-time favorite is good ol' Honest Abe Lincoln. It's impossible to say what kind of world we'd be living in today had he not been the leader he was. The challenges he faced were enough to make mere mortals crawl up in a fetal position and whimper.

Now, there's a new book out claiming that Honest Abe was really Gay Abe. I haven't read the book, so I can't make any judgments, but this article in Time explains the guy's theory pretty well. I admit that the fact that Abe slept with men is a pretty convincing reason to think he might've played for both teams, but I just don't know. I just can't see the man who led the country through the worst war in our history spending much time pettin' someone else's puppy, so to speak. But then again, with the wife that he had, who could blame him if he did?

Comments

[Scott-O-Rama]

Yeah... I've heard this whole Gay Abe debate before. Interesting. Not sure what to think other than Abe must have led a tortured life.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on Bill Clinton in comparison to the other presidents. I have to admit, his personal scandals aside, I really liked him. I know he has a lot of detractors though. Where do you stand?

[Todd]

I like Bill. He didn't lead the country through anything like a civil war or a world war or a depression, so I wouldn't rank him among the greatest. If it hadn't been for his indiscretions involving cigars and interns, though, I think he would rank near the top of the second tier of presidents. He's a brilliant man and politician and could stand up like few can to his personal enemies. The tragedy was that he gave his enemies the bullet they needed. Now if his wife would just run!

[homer]

I think the evidence is pretty convincing that Abe was a homo, back before the term was defined. He slept with a guy for four years, wrote torrid letters, and when he was in the White House he slept with a guy when Mary wasn't around. Whether he would have thought of himself as gay, I don't know, the concept wasn't clear at the time.