Much of Abraham Lincoln’s prose reads like poetry.

Lincoln taught himself, mostly. He learned to write by reading. He spent a lot of time with Shakespeare and the Bible.

Several years ago, I read a two-volume collection of Lincoln’s letters and speeches. What impressed me more than his rhetorical flourishes and biblical cadences was the clarity of his thinking.

At a time when politicians of all stripes thumped the Bible in support of their pet projects, Lincoln was unusual. He didn’t lean much on Received Wisdom. He had a strong moral sense, which was remarkably consistent throughout his public life. But he was a courthouse lawyer: he built his arguments on facts, which could be tested by rules of evidence, and on step-by-step reasoning which could be tested by rules of logic.

Nowadays, presidential candidates of all stripes have teams of political advisors who read the polls and deliver the party line for every issue, and teams of speech writers to deliver polished sound bites that aim for the gut and scrupulously avoid the mind.

Lincoln made up his own mind, and wrote his own speeches. One of the most important speeches of his career was delivered at Cooper Union in New York City in February 1860.

Tonight the actor Sam Waterston will deliver the speech in that same hall. C-SPAN2 will broadcast a tape of the event at 6 PM on May 23.

I got out my book and re-read the speech. It’s a good one. Some references may be a little confusing. For example, southern Democrats derided the young anti-slavery Republican Party by constantly referring to them as “Black Republicans.”

You can read the full text of the speech here or here. Come May 23, you can watch Waterston’s reading on C-SPAN2. It may make you dissatisfied with today’s sound bite speechifying. That’s not a bad thing.

Michael Moore is a documentarian in about the same way that Rush Limbaugh is a journalist.

They’re comedians. Just like documentarians and journalists, they work with facts. But Moore and Limbaugh each have a target market. Facts are something to be carefully selected, pruned, clipped, twisted and distorted, if necessary, to make that target audience laugh, clap, cheer, and feel good about themselves and their prejudices. Neither is interested in getting to the bottom of things. Neither wants to dig out the real truth. It’s just not their job.

Still, I’m sorry to see the Walt Disney Co. blocking the release of Moore’s new film, Fahrenheit 9/11. Coming right on the heels of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s blackout of ABC News’ Nightline program last week, I’m starting to worry about giant corporations playing nanny, and deciding which facts or ideas we’re permitted to hear.

It worries me. Even if Michael Moore is a clown.