I am glad to see you standing with Lincoln, Slag, who wrote that a house divided against itself may not stand, and that we may not allow the bonds of our friendship to be broken.
The Republic Party when it was formed was built from the combined remnants of the then Whig and Democratic parties, and their support of a man who was largely viewed as inexperienced, underqualified, and risky (by his detractors of course) was curiously parallel to some of the flak the current President elect has had to deal with from the under-informed or under-discerning.
Lincoln, too, inherited a country that hat been split by hatred and class divisiveness. He too had to learn the art of bridging and reunification, indeed in a much more extreme hour of need than the present one, because his war was on our soil.
I think you will find that the first-generation Republican party stood very close to what Barack Obama represents.