Esteemed Black Historian Deems Obama's Lincoln-Heavy Speech Ironic

Senator Barack Obama made his announcement at the Old State Capitol in Springfield Illinois...where Abraham Lincoln gave his "House Divided " speech in 1858.

Obama said:
"And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States..."

"As Lincoln organized the forces arrayed against slavery, he was heard to say: "Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought to battle through."
That is our purpose here today.
That's why I'm in this race."

But at the annual Covenant With Black America gathering in Virginia, historian Lerone Bennett called Obama's constant evocation of Lincoln ironic. Watch.