A gratuitous remark

From the New York Times Book Review, in a review of two books about Lincoln>

Yet by the end, while still a religious skeptic, Lincoln, too, seemed to equate the preservation of the Union and the freeing of the slaves with some higher, mystical purpose.

This is the spooky Lincoln, the politician who can send a small chill up the spine. Considering the repulsiveness of the cause he opposed (no, it wasn't "states' rights") and the universal hope offered by American democracy in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is easy to understand such feelings. But one feels a good deal queasier contemplating a president less thoughtful and tempered than Lincoln, who enjoys a special relationship with our armed forces, is willing to play fast and loose with the Constitution and justifies his policies as part of God's great plan.

Question: who is this less thoughtful president? And what the hell does he have to do with Lincoln, or a book about Lincoln?

Bush is the King Charles' head of liberals.*

*A character in David Copperfield could not stop thinking about King Charles' head when he got confused.