Lincoln was far from a saint....in fact, he was a consistent violator of the Constitution and the laws.  He could probably lay claim to the title of our first real Tyrant!!  He firmly believed in the end justified the means, & that put him closer to what we would call today "liberals" than "conservative."  And as far as RFK goes...he, like the rest of his family considered themselves as "elite", (I think they actually BELIEVED in that Camelot BS!)  I wonder if his anti-Vietnam stance was due more to his hatred of lbj (no secret) or if it really was politics.