first of all, who was henry vallard? he writes several times about his offense, taking offense at the nature of president lincoln's crude jokes. >> one of president's obama's observations about the photograph is it compels you to see past the icon to the man and to recognize lincoln essential humanity, the strain the war had taken. there was a real flesh and blood person behind this. what i think what we both love about that vallard piece is he gives you the man in full. he covered the lincoln/douglas debate. so he got to know link object on the stump when lincoln was an unknown, one-term congressman from illinois who had come back to run for senate and compete with douglas. and he sounds every bit the hard bitten, jaded political reporter. you hear one lincoln/douglas debate and you've heard them all. his attitude toward lincoln he said he called him embarrassment, he was so uncoasrse and uncouth. you could never pin him down on succession. but lincoln was arguing for the preservation of the union. but if you really pus