There is a difference between hating the policies implemented by a President, or Governor, or even PP Mod and acknowledging their basic human decency.

There were, at least as I have read, a lot of Southerners who hated Lincoln, and still may. But many also recognized that his assassination was a disaster for the South.

Took me a long time to learn to separate the person from the policy. There were more than a few good things that Nixon did. (My fingers just shriveled from typing that).