Let’s root for America, not for ideology

Nearly 155 years ago, newly re-elected President Abraham Lincoln stood on the Capitol steps to deliver his second inauguration speech. There was much to celebrate: The Civil War would soon end, Lincoln had pushed the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery through Congress, and Lincoln’s re-election itself was a public mandate ratifying his efforts.

Not glorifying any of these, Lincoln preached tolerance and reconciliation, ending “with malice toward none; with charity for all;… let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; … to do all which may achieve a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.”

Lincoln is not alone among presidents to use civility, common decency, and a love of America to extend an olive branch to a political enemy. In the 1980s, Republican

President Ronald Reagan and Democrat Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill rose above the rhetoric, transcending both party loyalty and political philosophy, to put first the government’s duty to fix problems. As O’Neill’s son put it, “while neither man embraced the other’s worldview, each respected the other’s right to hold it.”

Despite harsh words — Reagan famously compared O’Neill to Pac-Man and called him a “round thing that gobbles up money” and Tip in turn called Reagan “Herbert Hoover with a smile” — they separated ideology from people. They found common ground in their passion and their understanding of what Americans wanted: letting government work.

In 1981, when Reagan was shot, Speaker O’Neill rushed to Reagan’s bedside. O’Neill held Reagan’s hand, kissed his forehead, and together they recited the 23rd Psalm. At a time of national crisis, they knew that America needed Democrats and Republicans not only getting along but treating each other with the utmost respect and dignity.

When the President George W. Bush needed someone to organize relief after the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, he approached two former Presidents: his father, President George H.W. Bush, and President Bill Clinton.

While Bush and Clinton had been friendly before the bruising brawl of the 1992 election, calling each other “old” and a “bozo” left scars. But Bush 43 saw promise: his father and Clinton had paired off the month before at the Clinton library dedication, when Bush 41 recommended that part of the land become Clinton’s gravesite.

The famously “odd couple” left rivalry behind to fundraise and organize relief first for victims of the tsunami and later Hurricane Katrina. They golfed together, attended charity events together, and traveled together as informal ambassadors, like attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

On Bush’s death, Clinton said “his friendship has been one of the greatest gifts of my life” and paid tribute to an era “where our opponents are not our enemies, where we are open to different ideas and changing our minds, where facts matter and where our devotion to our children’s future leads to honest compromise and shared progress.”

Presidents (and Speakers of the House) are by definition leaders. If they can, with grace and humility, place people before politics, and find ways to exchange ideas, not insults, so can we.

Think of Bush 41’s letter to Clinton on his inauguration “I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.”

Let’s root hard, not for ideology, but for America.