EverySaturdayafternoontheMarineBandgaveanopen-airconcertinthegroundsoftheWhiteHouse。OneafternoonLincolnappearedupontheportico。Therewasinstantapplauseandcriesforaspeech。“Bowinghisthanksandexcusinghimself，hesteppedbackintotheretirementofthecircularparlor，remarkingtoCarpenterwithadisappointedair，ashereclinedonasofa，’Iwishtheywouldletmesittherequietlyandenjoythemusic。’Hiskindnesstootherswasunfailing。itwasthisharassedstatesmanwho“cameintothestudioonedayandfoundCarpenter’slittleboyoftwosummersplayingonthefloor。AmemberoftheCabinetwaswithhim；butlayingasideallrestraint，hetookthelittlefellowinhisarmsandtheyweresoononthebestofterms。“Whilehisyoungerson“Tad“waswithhismotheronajourney，Lincolntelegraphed：
“TellTad，fatherandthegoatsarewell，especiallythegoats。“[14]HefoundtimeonebrightmorninginMaytoreviewtheSunday-schoolchildrenofWashingtonwhofiledpast“cheeringasiftheirverylivesdependeduponit，“whileLincolnstoodatawindow“enjoyingthescene……makingpleasantremarksaboutafacethatnowandthenstruckhim。“[15]CarpentertoldhimthatnootherpresidentexceptWashingtonhadplacedhimselfsosecurelyintheheartsofthepeople。“Homely，honest，ungainlyLincoln，“saidAsaGray，inalettertoDarwin，“istherepresentativemanofthecountry。“
However，twogroupsofmeninhisownpartyweresullenlyopposedtohim——therelentlessVindictivesandcertainirresponsiblefreelanceswhonamedthemselvesthe“RadicalDemocracy。“Inthelattergroup，Fremontwasthehero；WendellPhillips，thegreatestadvocate。Theywereextremistsinallthings；manyofthemAgnostics。FuriousagainstLincoln，butunwillingtogoalongwiththewaitingpolicyoftheVindictives，thesevisionariesheldaconventionatCleveland；
voteddownaresolutionthatrecognizedGodasanally；andnominatedFremontforthePresidency。Awittycommentonthemovement——onethatgreatlyamusedLincoln——wasthecitationofaverseinfirstSamuel：“Andeveryonethatwasindistress，andeveryonethatwasindebt，andeveryonethatwasdiscontented，gatheredthemselvesuntohim；andhebecameacaptainoverthem；andtherewerewithhimaboutfourhundredmen。“
IfanythingwasneededtokeepthedissatisfiedSenatorsinthepartyranks，itwasthisrash“bolt。“ThoughFremonthadbeentheirmaninthepast，hehadthrownthefatinthefirebysettingupanindependentticket。Silently，thewiseopportunistsoftheSenateandalltheirhenchmen，stoodasideatthe“Unionconvention“——whichtheycalledtheRepublicanConvention——Juneseventh，andtooktheirmedicine。