Abraham Lincoln is often thought of as one of the United States' better presidents. However, there is some controversy as to how good a president he actually was in retrospect. Was he as notable as he is made out to be? Abraham Lincoln was a great president. He was no doubt one of the most honest presidents that the United States had. He was not perfect, and he was not always truthful, but his few departures from the straight and narrow path of rectitude came during a war in which the nation's very existence as a united nation was at stake. And, "on those occasions he had to rise above both principle and the Constitution in pursuing what he regarded as the nation's interest