"Think of all the boys who will die if you don't make peace, " admonishes Preston Blair, the elder Republican operator (whose "Blair House" home is now the official state guest house) played by Hal Holbrook, exuding wisdom and aplomb.

CNN: What Obama can learn from Lincoln

The cast, uniformly superb, includes Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, Hal Holbrook as Lincoln adviser Preston Blair, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln, David Strathairn as William Seward and James Spader as political operative W.N.

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