Some of Lincoln's friends once urged him to remove from office a certain member of his cabinet, who was quietly working to secure a nomination for the presidency, although knowing that Lincoln was to run for reelection. Lincoln refused their request.
"My brother and I," said he, "were once ploughing corn. The horse was lazy, but on one occasion he rushed across the field so that I, with my long legs, could scarcely keep pace with him. On reaching the end of the furrow, I found an enormous chin-fly fastened upon him, and knocked him off. My brother asked me what I did that for. I said I didn't want the old horse bitten in that way. 'Why,' said my brother, 'that's all that made him go.' Now if Mr ─ has a presidential chin-fly biting him, I'm not going to knock it off, if it will only make his department go."
林肯有些朋友勸他開除內閣一名成員，因為那閣員明知林肯將競選連任，卻悄悄求提名競逐總統職位。林肯不同意把他開除。
他說：「我和兄長曾經在玉米田上，驅馬耕犂。那匹馬懶洋洋，但有一次忽然奮力直前，我雖然腿長，也幾乎趕不上。跑到犂溝盡頭，我見有一大馬蠅叮着牠，就把馬蠅撥掉。兄長問我為什麼，我說不想老馬給叮得那麼慘，他說：『啊，不是有馬蠅，這匹馬怎會奮發。』現在，某君給總統競選之馬蠅叮着，我不會把馬蠅撥掉，只希望他那個部門能因此奮發。」