Astead Herndon

You know, it's sometimes feel as if Democrats or American liberals can be running from the shadow of America can sometimes feel like a little awkward about embracing a positive story about America.

I wanted to ask about that.

Like, is some of what the right has been able to do in terms of seizing the flag and draping themselves in it been made easier by a liberal distance from it?

Even though I know that's not how you come to your work, it sometimes has felt as if Democrats haven't been willing to, you know, drape themselves in red, white and blue or tell a positive story about America like some Americans want them to.

Yeah, I asked that on the road, too.

When people say when people say they're looking back to make America what it once was, I say name me the time.

It's also a view, I think, based in reality.

I mean, when I think about my travels across the electorate, people ask me, is the story of America as polarized or as entrenched as we sometimes say in political world?

And you can kind of say both sides of the coin.

I could rattle off a whole bunch of wild stuff that's happened and people throwing you out of rooms and slur or this or that.

But you also, to your point—

Have people who care in the middle of that.

Have people who support you in the middle of that.

Have people who connect with you across demographic types and differences in individuals that I think often can tell a very positive story about the country as well.

So both of those things exist right next to each other.

The last question I want to ask you is really about your work.

And as we kick off to a little game I'm going to play after this, you know, when we look back to the founding documents of the last 250 years, is there a piece that you think will have the most relevance for going forward?

Is there something that you look back to and you say, hey, this clause, this thing, this is what I think will be the kind of key for our efforts of perfection moving ahead?

Gettysburg Address.

Interesting.