On a mailing list at my church, I got an email from a conservative (but pleasant) fellow with the following:
Who Am I?
I am under 45 years old,
I love the outdoors,
I hunt,
I am a Republican reformer,
I have taken on the Republican Party establishment,
I have many children,
I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president with less than two years in the governor’s office.
The answer, of course, is Teddy Roosevelt in 1900.
That was followed, a few minutes later, by this from someone else:
Who am I?
I’m tall.
I am a lawyer from Illinois
I have a reputation for giving great speeches.
I ran for President of the US after just a few years in the Illinois Legislature and some time in Congress.
Years before I was in Congress I opposed a foreign war that started out popular.
When I ran in the presidential primary for my party’s nomination, I ran against much more famous party leaders and was presumed to not have much chance.
The answer being, of course, Abe Lincoln in 1860.
I think Obama’s a much better analog to Abe than Palin for Teddy (um, Governor New York is a biiiit more qualification than Alaska, especially in the 19th Century — not to mention Teddy having served in as Assistant Secty of the Navy and other federal posts, being a Harvard grad, a noted scholar, and a prominent political figure already … but I digress), regardless it was amusing to see the exchange.