(CNN) -- Critics are already gushing over Steven Spielberg's new "Lincoln" as a potential Oscar contender. Much of the praise centers on how the film makes the larger-than-life president at once heroic and human. By all accounts, it deftly explores both his personal and political wisdom through scenes like the one in which Daniel Day Lewis, who plays Honest Abe, cites ancient mathematical theory in an assessment of humanity: "It's a self-evident truth that things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each other." But even as moviegoers line up for tickets, some in Washington may well wonder what one special fan of Lincoln might take away from a screening.
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New "Lincoln" film offers opportunities, advice for Barack Obama
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Obama is avid admirer of the 16th president
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A professor offers three lessons for Obama from Lincoln
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