Barack Obama is seeking to stitch together a “broad coalitional government,” which would include former opponents such as Hillary Clinton and John McCain and others from the Republican party.

The idea stems from a romanticized notion of what Abraham Lincoln did following his election to the presidency: that people of all ideological stripes could come together to manage the country in crisis.

On paper, it sounds great.  In practice, it’s more like a recipe for disaster.

First, the reason people were rivals is precisely BECAUSE they disagree on fundamental issues.  Setting aside core beliefs and policy approaches is never easy, and it’s particularly difficult for established politicians who thought—and still think—they can do the top job better.  They will come to an Obama administration chock-full of their own ideas, ways of doing things, and agendas, both political and personal.

Which brings us to the second harbinger of doom.  They may be willing to join the “team of rivals,” but they’re still subject to human nature.  Envy, arrogance, and still-alive-and-well presidential ambitions will run rampant.  The result will be backstabbing, undermining, and freelancing.

There’s a reason why voters elect a president of one party: because they believe they are electing a governing philosophy and a government populated by those who share that philosophy.  A crazy quilt government of opposing views will likely lead to internal gridlock and the constant dousing of ego-inflamed fires.

Obama would do well to recall:  Lincoln appointed one of his former rivals, Salmon Chase, to be Secretary of the Treasury (such a hot job!).  Chase, still smarting over losing the Republican nomination to Lincoln in 1860, threw fits at Treasury and constantly threatened to resign.  He also plotted behind Lincoln’s back to get the nomination from him in 1864.  Lincoln won that volley too, and Chase resigned.  Lincoln accepted the resignation, and then, in an extraordinary act of political forgiveness, nominated Chase to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Nice ending.  But Obama should beware the sharks, and the sharks should beware that their conspiracies may not end up as favorably as Chase’s.

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