Finger Lincoln Good.

Mr Smith has a genuine interest in all things American, especially when they relate to Scotland. He was therefore interested to read of the latest academic study which attributes the motivation of US President Abraham Lincoln to Scottish poet Robert Burns.

"HE IS Scotland's national bard, whose timeless verse is venerated around the globe. But now it has been claimed that the stirring words of Robert Burns exerted such influence that they played a key role in helping Abraham Lincoln win the American civil war and abolish slavery.New research has revealed that the egalitarian political views and rousing oratory of the iconic US president stemmed from his lifelong love of the ploughman poet.A leading American academic has claimed that Lincoln could recite Burns' work by heart and yearned to visit his Ayrshire birthplace – and that the Scot's passion for social justice fuelled the US leader's crusade to emancipate African-Americans."

All very interesting, but Mr Smith thinks if it hadn't been for the imminent American Presidential election this story would never have seen the light of day.