The Face of Our World

The story is told that an advisor to President Lincoln once suggested a certain candidate as a nominee for the President’s cabinet. Lincoln refused saying, “I don’t like the man’s face.” “But, sir, he can’t be responsible for his face,” insisted the president’s advisor. “Every man over forty is responsible for his face,” replied Lincoln.

In Lincoln’s case, historians have noted how dramatically his face changed while he was in office, as the weight of the job and the horrors of the Civil War weighed heavily on him. Noah Brooks, a journalist of the era wrote that “few persons would recognize the hearty, blithesome, genial, and wiry Abraham Lincoln of earlier days” if they were to meet him again during his presidency.

I suppose it’s true. In our own lifetimes, we have seen how the demands of the office have quickly aged our modern-day presidents. Indeed, as the face of the world changes, so too do the faces of our leaders change.

Elizabeth Barrett…