ABSTRACT
In its best variations, presidential rhetoric promotes a language of shared identity among the American people. This function is so basic as to be taken for granted, but doing so would be unwise. To fix politics, we need to listen to our presidents more carefully than we do at present, attending to individual variations, institutional constraints, and opportunities for inclusion. For example, we can ask whether political candidates are (1) “calling us together” or (2) appealing to our narrow self-interests and tribal divisions. In recent years, we have had presidents do both, but such an ad hoc model cannot be good for a nation distinguished by its size and bewildering diversity and also beset by its long-standing divisions. We must demand more from our political candidates and, especially, scrutinize how they negotiate this together/apart schema. Then we must vote accordingly.
