WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama plans to attend a private White House screening Thursday of "Lincoln," director Steven Spielberg's saga of the Great Emancipator Abraham Lincoln.

Obama will join members of the cast and crew of the critically praised film at the White House's movie theater to watch British actor Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Lincoln wrestling with the abolition of slavery near the end of the Civil War, according to the president's agenda.

Obama, who like Lincoln was elected to Congress from Illinois, has long expressed admiration for the 16th president, invoking his memory when he announced his candidacy for the White House February 10, 2007.