Nearing 4 p.m. Monday, C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb was standing behind a podium at the head of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library's large meeting room and looking a little anxious.

David Herbert Donald, the 84-year-old reigning "dean" of Lincoln scholars, was getting ready to take part in the wrap-up session of a two-day Lincoln conference. Lamb was moderating the discussion, featuring "three generations" of researchers: Donald, Harold Holzer, 56, and Matthew Pinsker, 36.

But Donald was swamped by autograph seekers all the way up to the start of the session. Lamb began as Donald was wrapping up a conversation.

Donald, though, helped set the tone for what followed: a breezy, hourlong conversation about what's next in Lincoln studies, why the field attracts so few African-Americans, and whether there are any living politicians who come close to emulating Lincoln.

None of the scholars could identify any living figure comparable to Lincoln, which probably rang true to former Gov. Jim Edgar, who sat in the middle of the audience. Gov. Rod Blagojevich also showed up at the library as the conference wound down.

Holzer said politicians today are warned against straying off the message, which prohibits them from creating the kind of passionate rhetoric Lincoln used. He said "Lincoln's extraordinary gifts of expression" helped explain why 80 percent of voters showed up at the polls back then.

Pinsker joked that, while he could not think of one contemporary Lincoln-like figure, he has noticed how many of them seem to compare themselves to Lincoln.

Donald said Adlai Stevenson probably was the most recent political leader worthy of comparison. He then mentioned former Presidents John Quincy Adams and Theodore Roosevelt, who at least had some qualities Lincoln shared.

"Where do you go from there?" Donald asked. "Alas, down."

There were few minorities at the conference of about 275 participants. And except for a bright 11-year-old Lincoln buff, Zack Rooker from Warsaw, Ind., the crowd was noticeably older.

Donald suggested that recent studies describing Lincoln as a racist and calling into question the impact of his Emancipation Proclamation might have discouraged interest in Lincoln among African-Americans.

Pinsker said he regretted how Frederick Douglass was marginalized after Lincoln's death. The two seemed to have been forming a friendship. Had Lincoln lived, Pinsker speculated, Douglass might have played a prominent role in racial reconciliation. Instead, Douglass eventually rejected Lincoln as the "black man's" candidate.

Pinsker wondered if a lack of interest in Lincoln among blacks can be partly traced back to Douglass's later pessimistic views.

The three scholars suggested many new directions for Lincoln research.

Holzer is interested in Lincoln's formation as a national candidate and how he was able to influence public opinion.

Pinsker said studies of Lincoln's intellectual life have only recently been undertaken. He'd like to see scholars work harder to go "behind the scenes" of Lincoln's political career.

Donald called for an exploration of Lincoln's Springfield neighbors and the use of political theory to analyze Lincoln's life. He also said he would be interested to hear what trained geneticists and hereditary experts would have to say about Lincoln's relatives and ancestors.

When Lamb asked how many conference participants are working on a book about Lincoln, he stopped counting at 15. The three panelists referred to Lincoln sources that are becoming available on the Internet, giving the general public access to tools only historians once used.

"The best Lincoln research is yet to come," Donald predicted.

Pete Sherman can be reached at 788-1539 or pete.sherman@sj-r.com.