The persuaders

AMONG the 17 Republican presidential candidates who debated last Thursday, a handful actually seemed to be running for president – meaning offering positions that might allow them to win a general election and then govern. The rest were, well, doing something other than that.

Presidential politics in a democratic society is about determining how to honour principle in a world that demands practicality. It requires persuading voters who may not already be on your side and winning allies who do not already share your goals.

Some candidates appear to regard these skills as signs of weakness or tantamount to treason. Others understand they will be essential for anyone who hopes to move into the White House in 2017. The term for this understanding is “electability”.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush condemned politicians who use illegal immigration as “a wedge issue”, an ugly problem on left and right that plays on ethnic divisions, and he reaffirmed his support for offering undocumented people an earned pathway to legal status. He also warned against divisive rhetoric and “creating a grievance kind of environment.”

Ohio Governor John Kasich refused to be baited into a confrontation with Donald Trump and instead urged the audience to assess each candidate’s policies. One he was pressed to explain was his decision to expand Medicaid in his state, and he rose to the challenge admirably.

Many on the Grand Old Party fringe will see these as examples of capitulation. What they should see are people who are willing to tell them reasonable things, even if they don’t want to hear them.