President Obama channels Abraham Lincoln

Last night I finally watched the movie Lincoln (great timing, huh). What struck me was not only the gravity of the moment he faced. He also had to battle the racists on his right and the purity demands of those on his left in order to help the country take the one insufficient and yet important step forward of getting the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution passed.

In hindsight it was so inadequate...having to disavow the franchise of African Americans in order to end slavery. Painful to watch - especially knowing all the suffering that inadequacy foretold.

We'll never know if we would have gotten to where we are today if President Lincoln hadn't been willing to help us take that one step forward. It meant having faith in future generations to take the next steps.

That's exactly what President Obama said today.

We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.