I saw it too, David; PBS' "Looking For Lincoln," directed by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates,_Jr.)of Harvard. I came away from having seen the show thinking he had done a very good job of describing Lincoln, warts (some) and all even to the point of correcting some of the contemporary Lincoln mythology, e.g., "Lincoln Freed the Slaves." I found his interpretation of the EP in the mind of Blacks (and, in my view, many whites today) interesting - (I paraphrase) "It meant whatever the reader or listener of those times wanted it to mean." That makes some sense to me if only for the reason that with the exception of those on this board and other like-minded people, few will take the time to actually read and try to understand what the EP really says.

Everything considered, I thought it was a "fair and balanced" two hours - actually bringing out many of the same views, pro and con, of Lincoln that have been thoroughly discussed on this board over the past five years or so.

Dr. Gates actually did some very thorough genealogical work on Oprah Winfrey about three years ago. I found his treatment of Oprqh's genealogy very professional and informative as to technique and information sources used. Since Oprah was from Attala County, MS, and as you know many of my own people settled there in the 1830s, I have actually interviewed several Black families about their own genealogy. In my case, their ancestors actually knew and played with my own 1850s ancestors. Face-to-face Black genealogical research is a challenge for a white guy to pull off (Gates, for those who did not see the PBS show is Black) when seated in the midst of several generations of a Black family; so I contacted Dr. Gates about a year ago and the the two of us exchanged emails on his Winfrey work.

Occupying a distinguished Chair at Harvard and being a nationally known figure, I found him quite accessible. His interviewing style on the PBS show was extraordinarily good as he drew much information out of others (most being Lincoln "experts" we all have our own opinions on) without revealing in the least his own viewpoint on Lincoln - truly the dispassionate, objective interviewer.

Were the PBS show to air again, I would watch it again, David.

What was your reaction to the show?