Tim Russert: Do you know a man by the name of Frederick Douglass?
Abraham Lincoln: I do believe I've met him on one occasion.
Russert: Mr. Douglass has indicated that he feels positively about your candidacy. Are you aware that between 1845 and 1847 Mr. Douglass traveled through England and Scotland where he regularly denounced the United States on foreign soil?
Lincoln: Well, I do not follow Mr. Douglass' every move, but I believe his complaints were regarding the enslavement of his peo---
Russert: Yes, but many Americans feel that denouncing our nation on foreign soil is an unpatriotic act.
Lincoln: Well, I don't quite---
Russert: Next question: you opposed the recent Mexico war?
Lincoln: Yes, I felt that the President did not provide a convincing justification---
Russert: Yet, you have stated your willingness to use force to maintain national unity if the South were to secede. Can you explain this contradiction?