It seems there's a literary trouble brewing in this thread. I don't get it. I like to think my reading comprehension is good. The starter said "our historical evaluation" not "the historical evaluation," which is more rigid and authoritative. Since the "historical evaluation" mentioned is democratized, it just follows that everything goes. A gay sympathizer can evaluate Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d" as queer and a naturalist can see influences of Quacker farms and gardens. As for me, it is an elegy to the assassinated president the author politically loved--unless a proof comes up that says they physically shared love, although Lincoln also slept with men.