Don’t Ditch Winston
Ted Bromund /
The London Telegraph reports that Barack Obama has returned a bust of Sir Winston Churchill to the British government. The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein would be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, if it were sold on the open market. It was loaned by the British Government to President Bush after the 9/11 attacks as a gesture of solidarity. Obama turned down a British offer to continue the loan. A bust of Abraham Lincoln now occupies pride of place in the Oval Office.
Obama’s affection for Lincoln – the founder of the Republican Party – is not unworthy, though it is curious. After all, the 16th President combined a limited view of the powers of central government with an expansive view of the wartime powers of the Presidency, which was how he ultimately justified issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. (more…)