Barack Obama

President Barack Obama has bowed out of attending the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Sally Jewell.

John Usher.

Ring any bells?

Didn't think so.

They're both nobodies - well, actually, they're both Secretaries of the Interior.

The difference is when Usher travelled to Gettysburg, he went with his President.

When Jewell goes this November, she'll be the headliner - her President is taking a pass.

Obama will be a no-show at the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

For a president who has so demonstrably associated himself with Lincoln - the heir of Lincoln's policies who announced his candidacy from the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield and used the Lincoln Bible (twice) at his inauguration - this is nothing less than a profile in cowardice.

In the end, Barack Obama simply didn't have the stones.

It's sad.

And telling.

History will note that Lincoln's legacy did not live up to the challenge.