Good day citizens and welcome to what would Jefferson do.

Our weekly opportunity to discuss current American events

with President Thomas Jefferson, who is seated across for me now. Good day to you, Mr. President. President, from a Mr. Wayne Dillon, he writes, How would you handle the present divisive and acutely divided atmosphere

within the federal government?

Well, I believe that each faction, each party, has a moral duty to reach over to the other

and to try to find common ground, and that each party should take the lead in being civil and respectful and generous.

And if that happens, that both will move back towards each other and eventually there will be common ground.

So the first thing is civility and an understanding that we as Americans share much more in common than those things that we disagree

about and I think perhaps that has been in part lost in your time.

The second thing I did is president when I knew that the Federalists

distrusted and disliked me was to have a series of dinner parties in which I

avoided political topics altogether.

I had 10 or 12 guests.

I chose the guest lists very carefully

for a maximum of harmony, and the food and wines were so good and the general

civility of the occasion was so great that many people who came wanting to dislike

me wound up having a fair amount of affection and respect for me.

And I found that that softened people's asparities and caused people to be a little more civil and a little more open-minded than they might

otherwise have been. So those would be two suggestions that I would make.

So it would seem that the magic of good food and drink did the job for you.

Well, we avoided political topics.

I made sure from the guest list that the people who were there would be in harmony with each other.

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