I also have been following the Lincoln thread. Lincoln's quotations, alleged and confirmed, have been quoted from his Springfield days right up to his assassination and conclusions offered based on some of these posted quotes.

The question I have is this. People, politicians in particular, change their position on any given subject as they mature politically and, in particular, as the political winds shift direction.

Lincoln, being the consummate politician would not miss the opportunity to change his position if it were to his political advantage to do so and he did it with subtle shifts in emphasis and phraseology in many cases. Hence, one would expect to see shades of inconsistency in his position over time.

Therefore, of what value is it to extract one of his quotes from any time period and draw conclusions on the basis of what he said or wrote in that quote?