A typical case involved an enlisted man who pestered Lincoln with a matter that the president thought should be handled by the soldier’s superior officer. When his advice was ignored, Lincoln peremptorily barked, “Now, my man, go away! I cannot attend to all these details. I could as easily bail out the Potomac with a spoon.” Similarly, when a sutler asked Lincoln to grant him permission to peddle ale to the troops, he said sharply: “Look here! What do you take me for, anyhow? Do you think I keep a beer shop?” A woman who aspired to be a physician called repeatedly, asking Lincoln to approve her application for a license to practice medicine. Because the medical faculty of the District of Columbia would not give her one, she demanded that the president do so.
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃