Defenders of Lincoln, such as authors Dirck and Cashin, retorted that he was not as bad as most politicians of his day and that he was a "moral visionary" who deftly advanced the abolitionist cause, as fast as politically possible.
dᵻfˈɛndɚz ʌv lˈɪŋkən, sˈʌtʃ ɐz ˈɔːθɚz dˈɜːk ænd kˈæʃɪn, ɹᵻtˈɔːɹɾᵻd ðæt hiː wʌz nˌɑːt æz bˈæd æz mˈoʊst pˌɑːlɪtˈɪʃənz ʌv hɪz dˈeɪ ænd ðˈæt hiː wʌzɐ "mˈɔːɹəl vˈɪʒənˌɛɹi" hˌuː dˈɛftli ɐdvˈænst ðɪ ˌæbəlˈɪʃənˌɪst kˈɔːz, æz fˈæst æz pəlˈɪɾɪkli pˈɑːsᵻbəl.