But he was by nature an orator; and by long practice a debater.

He could lead a crowd almost irresistibly to his own conclusions.

He could, if he wished, incite a mob to desperate deeds.

He was, in short, an able, audacious, almost unconquerable opponent in public discussion.
LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS AS DEBATERS.
It would have been impossible to find any man of the same type able to meet him before the people of Illinois.

Whoever attempted it would probably have been destroyed in the first encounter.