At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln said, "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we may take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion...."

Granted, Lincoln used loftier language, more emotional restraint, and fewer words than the speakers at Wellstone's memorial, but they were saying essentially the same thing.

Do you suppose Lincoln's detractors accused him of "politicizing" the dedication of a cemetery?