Lincoln wasn't as great of a president as everyone thinks

Appreciate the debate; for someone on his or her first debate you are doing very well. I also appreciate fast response time, and I apologize for my delay. So let me say, I really like Pro. As someone that takes the time to footnote every source I quote during debate, I appreciate any debater that actually takes the time to verify the information—it can be it can be burdensome and virtually no one does it, not even the best debaters on here. This round is actually not going to involve much in the way of countering arguments. So I am going to make one quick point about last round: As you pointed out, my use of statistics was not to prove definitively Lincoln was the best president, because as you also mention all statistical models are flawed. I was going to add that very point, as a caveat, during the last round, but due to personal laziness didn’t. But the basic point stands that Lincoln is generally considered by reputable historians to be a good president. All I wanted to do was undermine you’re contention, that Lincoln’s legacy should not receive the weight it has. Below I have provided a how-to-navigate DDO commentary meant for Pro [Voters can disregard this section]. It is a friendly aid to Pro since it is his first debate and seems to have a real talent for debate. So, for those of you kind enough to read the debate, I want to save you some time since what follows is a comment to Pro. So basically, our debate boils down to the following—and I wish I would have known this when I first joined the site. But it is standard not only on this website but in formal debating that Pro’s obligations is defend the generally proposition and provide reasons and evidence for it. You will see this in acronym form as BOP or Burden of Proof. All I have to do is counter your claims and evidence and explain, and provide a reasons and evidence for why they are inadequate. This is one reasons I lost my first debate; I was caught up in countering claims rather than advancing and substantiating my own proposition. Anyway, I hope this does not come off as condescending, that isn’t my intention. You seem to have a good knack for debate, but on here a lot of people will take advantage of a new better by adding, BOP is on [insert name of debater] and then in the voting section you find that line repeated. For instance in the next round, you best strategy is to find a way to rebut me briefly, and then provide reasons and evidence that supports the proposition: “Lincoln wasn't as great of a president as everyone thinks.” While I’m not going to do this, it will happen the next time you debate: semantic or definition based attacks. For instance, you set a high bar for yourself—don’t worry; I did the same on my first debate. For example, I could try to counter the proposition by asking you to define: wasn’t as great I could then ask you to define the standard of great, relative to whom, and then whatever answer you provided would likely give me more ammunition. Second, someone could have attacked your position by question “as everyone thinks” because the definition is not self-evident, nor universally agreed upon, etc., etc. Anyway, next time, you might want to try the following tips when creating a new debate. Have the debate resolution be: Lincoln and then specific that BOP is split 50/50. This trick will significantly improve your chances of winning and will prevent most of the conventional traps other debates will use.] Reason for unconventional round, if not apparent: I did want to swamp Pro with information that would require a rebuttal. Second, Pro hasn’t actually make an argument yet. So, in a good-faith effort, I will let Pro do that in the next round. However, for those who might be suspicious, this is not a trick to attack Pro in the third round, thereby creating a series of new arguments, he can’t rebut or address. To telegraph what I will do in the last round is counter all arguments put forward by Pro. Then I will make a case for Lincoln’s stellar reputation as a US president [footnoted] even though Con’s obligation does not require that. Anyway, hope this helps. Good Luck.