“A president for all Americans”

Joe Biden is the president-elect, but a victory could be harder next time

Friends,

It has admittedly been too long since you’ve heard from me. But believe me when I say that it has been a tiresome week! And it is not for lack of trying that I have not yet posted. Since election night, I drafted this text multiple times, but each time had to start over as events in the presidential race made the text outdated.

The wait is over. As I write this, Joe Biden has just delivered his victory speech from Wilmington, Delaware — probably the most exciting thing to happen in the state ever. In his speech, Biden recited psalms and pledged to be a “president for all Americans,” a welcome call for unity after years of divisiveness from the head of our government.

Biden’s speech also means there’s nothing else to make this piece stale! So here we go!

I have been focused mainly on three things since election night. The first is the extent to which the country has become more polarized along geographic lines. Not by red states and blue states, but by population density. Bet…