I've noticed, particularly when watching C-SPAN, that some people are already starting to play up the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday, despite the fact that we are nearly a year away from the event.

Not to diminish Lincoln--who is almost universally regarded as one of America's greatest leaders--but I've never understood the fascination some people have with the 16th president. It's one thing to have a healthy historical curiosity about the man. It's another to collect memorabilia and attend annual conferences and acquire shelves full of books. That smacks more of deification.

There are a number of great figures in American history. Yet none of the other ones seem to have the obsessed following that Lincoln commands. I've never quite figured out why.