Carol M. of Springfield, Illinois has been working at her "dream job" for the past couple years.
As a child, Carol would frequent the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln with her mother, who Carol says was a "huge Lincoln buff." Soon, Carol became a serious Lincoln enthusiast herself. "I think the biggest thing she told me about Lincoln was how self-made he was," Carol remembers. "He educated himself. She spoke about his honesty, his integrity, and how he tried to preserve the union. She emphasized that he was a local person, a real mid-westerner, but that his interest was in keeping the nation together."
Decades later, after her daughter graduated from college, Carol decided to go back to school and pursue her lifelong passion: history. As Carol was finishing up her masters degree, her mother became quite ill. Carol moved in to take care of her.
Her mother's condition continued to worsen. One day, Carol came across a job listing for a position of as an educator for high school students at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. "I called and called and called, and finally, I got the job," she says. "It was a dream come true."
A few days later, Carol's mother passed away.
"She was really happy I got the job," says Carol. "It was a comfort to me when I first started because she knew I was going to be in a job I loved, and she knew I'd be with Lincoln. Sometimes when I walk into the museum it's almost as though I can hear him saying 'It's gonna be alright' to me."
When Barack announced that he was going to run for president, Carol showed up at the Capitol in Springfield-- the very spot where Lincoln had once delivered his great "A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand" address. "It was around seven degrees out," she says, "but you could just feel the energy and hope. It was palpable."
Carol says there are some real similarities between Senator Obama and Lincoln. "Lincoln didn't have things handed to him on a silver platter and he knew what it was like to not completely fit in, and he wrote about it," says Carol. "He moved to a new place, Salem, by himself and he tried to make it on his own. He succeeded, but the road was jagged, it wasn't always easy. But those experiences, each step along the way, each thoughtful choice he made-- this is what helped guide him to become the man he was."
"Like the country was under Lincoln, we are so divided right now," says Carol. "The division between Democrats and Republicans is so hateful. If you're not for the war you're not patriotic-- that whole mindset. And what appeals to me about senator Obama is that he wants to bring us back together. He wants a dialog. He's emphasizing that, and not the hate, and thats what gives me hope."
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