First, I owe you a definition, then an explanation. You will see the word “argument” throughout this book. By “argument” I mean something besides shouting or name calling, though both often are part of the transaction. I mean a clash between at least two people (or regions, political parties, candidates, or economic interests) over
facts and ideas in the search for answers—in this case, answers to questions about the future and fate of America. The gist (the “argument,” if you will) of this book is: We are the Arguing Country, born in, and born to, debate. The habit of doing so—the urgent, almost neurotic need to do so—makes us unique and gives us our freedom, creativity, and strength. By my count, there are thirteen foundational arguments that comprise our public life—hence the title of this book. Rather than argue too much, which is the conventional wisdom’s critique, we in fact do not argue enough, about the fundamentals. If we fail to draw strength from our argumentative nature, we risk losing what made us great and gives us hope. Our disputes are not a burden, but a blessing.

Who am I to make such sweeping declarations? After all, I am neither a scholar nor a historian. I am a reporter, however, and I have been around—literally and figuratively. Long ago, a favorite professor of mine at Columbia reduced his journalistic advice to two words: “Go there.” I have tried, reporting in and about forty-nine of the fifty states (I’m saving what I expect to be the best, North Dakota, for last). I have covered every presidential campaign and major candidate since 1983. I have covered leaders and stories in other fields as well, from business and entertainment to the environment and communications. Inside the Beltway, I have come to know all quadrants, from the White House to Congress to K Street to the think tanks to the hallways of the federal bureaucracy. I also have learned about America by leaving it, traveling in more than forty countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. I have woven my own reporting from the campaign trail and from Washington into the history I have picked up along the way and discovered as I worked on this book. I came to see a pattern.