【单选题】

On November 19, 1863,Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National SoldiersCemetery. TheCivil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to beEdwardEverett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day.Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.

It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, be again worked briefly on the speech. The next dayEverett spoke fast. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes.At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked, "I have failed again". On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed".
Some newspapers at first criticized the speech, but little by little as people redid the speech they began to understand better. (76) They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which onlyAbraham Lincoln could have made.
Today, everyAmerican school child learns Lincoln’ s GettysburgAddress by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given inAmerican history.
Lincoln was invited to speak at the National SoldiersCemetery because he was ______.
A、a famous speaker
B．a very handsome man
C．President of the country
D．a popular statesman