Note to the president-elect:political healing starts here

The Soapbox // Gedalia Guttentag

Dear President-Elect Biden,

First of all, allow me to offer congratulations on your election victory. Given the looming transition, I assume that you have less time on your hands this holiday season than most in Washington to take stock of 2020. But having declared post-election that “this is the time to heal America,” here are some ideas for doing so.

Just to make it easier for you to scan while interviewing cabinet picks, I’ll keep this to a few pointers.

Be Modest

Let’s face it: You’re not the first politician to call for unity. These declarations are standard victory-speech boilerplate, but they don’t normally mean much.

I hope that’s not so in your case. Because whereas some of your predecessors, such as President Obama, were elected with a clear mandate to deliver change, your victory over President Trump was no such thing. True, you got a record 81 million votes. But despite a pandemic, economic catastrophe, and a titanic media effort to unseat him, your opponent broke records as well, with 74 million votes — actually increasing his tally by 12 million compared to 2016. More than any time in living memory, the country you take over is the Divided States.

So here’s a practical suggestion: Be modest. If you really want to heal the country, only advance those policies that are broadly acceptable to both sides of the aisle. With a pandemic raging, that shouldn’t be hard. Most people will settle for stimulus checks and a speedy vaccine rollout. Oh, and it wouldn’t harm if you credited President Trump with that success.

No Progress

Allow me to flesh out the above in terms of domestic policy. Over the last decade, the Democratic Party has embraced progressivism on everything from climate change to alternative lifestyles, gun control to police reform. In parallel, the GOP has moved further right — and the culture wars have hit fever pitch.

But here’s the thing: the Democrats can lower the flames, because in a way, they are responsible for turning them up. Simply put, on social issues, Republicans have mostly stayed the same; Democrats have done the changing. Hillary Clinton’s infamous “basket of deplorables” canard was wrong, because millions of Trump supporters are simply ordinary Americans who resent being told that their social views are antiquated, and their conservative morality bigoted. Stop trying to socially engineer American morals by bureaucratic diktat, and many conservatives will be prepared to hear the sensible policies you propose on any other subject.

Taking office at 78, Mr. President-Elect, you’ve learned the art of patience. So may I suggest that in the name of national healing, you take the same attitude to domestic policy and put progressivism on ice for four years?

Love the Leverage

That brings me to foreign policy, which — if you don’t win the Senate runoffs in Georgia next week — will be your main focus over the next years.

Here, too, you’ll have to restrain the passions of many Democrats to erase President Trump’s legacy. But curbing those impulses will be worth it. Because from China to Iran and Europe, the outgoing administration leaves you a precious inheritance: unparalleled leverage.

With a mix of economic and military power (think tariffs, sanctions, and Soleimani), President Trump has dialed up the pressure on a host of bad actors, and demanded that allies pay for America’s military umbrella.

So as you seek to re-invigorate America’s alliances (a good thing), don’t surrender that leverage lightly. If foes wants to bring America back to the table, they know exactly which destabilizing activities they need to stop.

Bottom line: Acknowledging President Trump’s achievements will unite Americans and help craft your own legacy.

Hoping this has been useful, and wishing you every success,

Gedalia

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 842)