For the greater part of his presidency, Abraham Lincoln was widely regarded as a weak leader, a mere figurehead controlled by more powerful men in his cabinet. He was generally granted, except by the bitterest foes of Union, to be well intentioned and honest – a welcome change after a Democratic administration tainted by corruption – but much more was needed at a desperate hour. It seemed to observers that Lincoln lacked the caliber of a statesman, that he “did nothing – neither harm nor good.” Eventually there would be doubt whether he was an advance even on his despised predecessor, James Buchanan, whose failure of nerve in the political storm over Kansas in 1857–58 had practically guaranteed secession and war, causing him to be reviled in the North as a traitor. Twelve months into Lincoln's first term, a British journalist was predicting that when Mr. Lincoln left office “he will be no more regretted, though more respected, than Mr. Buchanan.”