a great Lincoln moment

There are many great Abraham Lincoln moments. But this one is both great and hilarious at the same time. Lincoln fires Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac, and wants to replace him with “Fighting Joe” Hooker. The only problem is the rumor that Hooker believes the United States needs a military dictatorship. How to handle both issues at once? Lincoln knows how to write a great letter:

“General, I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which I am not satisfied with you… I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the army and the government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain success can be dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.”