The Obama/Lincoln Express.......HE is arriving. THE ONE is near.......

PHILADELPHIA — President -elect Barack Obama called for "a new declaration of independence" before pulling out of the 30th Street Station here on Saturday morning, embarking on a mini-version of the train trip to the nation's capital that his political hero Abraham Lincoln made before his own inauguration 148 years ago.

"What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation but in our own lives, from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry," Obama said. Alluding to Lincoln's first inaugural address, he called for "an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels."

Obama's planned one-day route, from Philly to Wilmington, Del. , to Baltimore and finally Washington , is far shorter than the one that took Lincoln a dozen days to traverse in February 1861 , from Springfield, Ill. , to the nation's capital. Lincoln's trip was plagued by assassination threats, which required him to reroute his trip at one point and sneak through Baltimore unannounced and incognito.

Security on Obama's trip was extremely tight, but his events were marked by a sense of ease and congeniality. Obama will be taking office with a mandate for change, unlike Lincoln, and without the level of division that preceded the Civil War.

Z: How do you guys like his coming in on the train like Lincoln, with the Lincoln Bible used for his swearing in? Better yet, how do you feel about his call for a "NEW Declaration of Independence"? Is he kidding? And, "without the level of division that preceded the Civil War!"? I see a pretty deep division. But, I guess when you control the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch, and it's only a few months before he'll probably control the Judicial....."No division!", right? My heart's breaking for America. NOBODY wants division, but there is only "no division" when the left gets their way on everything. Simple! No division.

This is enormous. I heard a Lefty say, straight facedly on TV the other day, that "Obama won by 80%" Well, that's how he's acting. As if the 46% who did vote for McCain don't exist. This is breath taking.

Imagine if a Republican president-elect had done any of what Obama's doing? We'd have seen how many millions of ways our media could have said "who does he think he IS?" And "hip hoppers at an Inaugural?" and "WHO is PAYING FOR THIS?" and "He's got millions left over in his campaign fund, why doesn't he pay for it that way?" and "Man, a Democrat would never EVER do this in these times of economic trouble: TYPICAL REPUBLICANS" What else.......there are hundreds. But, the media's too excited.

Earlier this week, I said I take very little pleasure in criticizing America's president elect, and I don't. I wonder if you believe that. Do you feel this dichotomy, too? Have you ever felt it this strongly?

Will you be watching on Tuesday?

z