“If you wish to win a man over to your ideas, first make him your friend.” Today is Lincoln’s birthday, formerly a holiday all on its own. Here’s the first of two photos taken of Fido, his beloved dog. This is one of the earliest photos of a member of the nation within. Fido – a mix of the kind called yaller back then – did not make the trip to Washington, but was still in Springfield when they brought the body home and he attended the funeral. For anyone interested in Lincoln as a writer – and there’s not much question that he was our best presidential writer, with a remarkable rhythmic touch and of course a thorough knowledge of Shakespeare and the Bible, lurking in sentence after sentence – a book called Lincoln’s Sword is very good.