How can we approach a dreaded election year?
A free audio excerpt of Differ We Must offers a hint.
We’re one month away from the presidential election year 2024. Surveys show President Biden dominating the Democratic field and former president Donald Trump far ahead among Republicans—though nothing is assured, and if anybody tells you they know the future you should ask them to cite a source.
Many voters have expressed a wish for different candidates and seem to approach the election with dread; but the election will come all the same.
My friend Jon Karl of ABC News captured the state of play recently when I interviewed him at an event for Tired of Winning, his book on Trump’s post-presidency. Jon cast his entire book as an advisory for what Trump plans to do if elected—seeking “retribution” for enemies, removing many of the constraints on a president’s power—and added that he’s “not yet convinced” that Trump will be the Republican nominee, though he is aware of the odds.
We don’t know what world events will intervene, what third-party candidates may gain traction after the major parties settle their nominations, or even what the candidates’ health will be in six months.
What does seem clear is that the people who perform best in 2024 are likely to be those who build the broadest political coalition. This is true for both political parties. Democrats will lose control of the Senate unless they perform well in several swing states or conservative states, including some that voted in 2020 for Trump. That will take work, and reaching out to many kinds of voters. Biden will be at risk of losing the presidency if he doesn’t perform well in a half-dozen closely divided states. And Republicans are at risk of losing their House majority and all else if suburban voters, who’ve been drifting away from them for years, again find them too extreme.
So what does it take to build a coalition—to make common cause with people you believe to be wrong? Lincoln offers a historic example, and in that spirit I offer a free audio excerpt of Differ We Must. Audio File magazine just named it one of the best audio books of 2023.
This passage is the start of the introduction, beginning with a simple observation: “Abraham Lincoln was a politician.” The relevance has never been greater.
Thanks for listening! You can find the hardcover, audiobook, or ebook at Amazon and many other locations including your local bookstore.
The book was excellent and presented events and scenes I was unfamiliar with. I plan to reread it soon to absorb more. Thank you.