A True Leader
Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES
Someone once said that good leaders take a little more than their share of the blame and a little less than their share of the credit.
That's clear in this Civil War story about Abraham Lincoln.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee and his Confederate forces were withdrawing to Virginia, and Lincoln felt that they were vulnerable. Eager to get the agony of the war over with, President Lincoln sent word to General George Meade to attack.
With his message, Lincoln also sent a personal note. "The order I enclose is not on record," said the note. "If you succeed, you need not publish it. Then, if you succeed, you will have all the credit of the movement. If not, I'll take the responsibility."