I want to kick away from the daily and get to something larger.

We are a nation of just under 330 million. We have a lot of disputes, always have, argument is one of our traditions. To make it all work, to keep this thing going, we have to give each other a little room, a little space. We have so many different thoughts and ways. We have to be easy with each other, not pick on each other all the time.

This requires tact, which sounds sissy and small-time but is not. Tact takes brains and discipline. It’s a form of empathy: You see the other guy is embarrassed or unhappy, and you decide not to make it worse. You hold back from causing unnecessary pain. It is connected to graciousness: You let your foe up easy.

In a great roiling democracy tact isn’t only desirable, it is necessary. We won’t hold together as a nation without it.