Throughout One Daily Link’s run, Damon Linker has been a reliable source for the honest, respectful commentary we highlight. More than once, we’ve had to stop ourselves from featuring his columns several days in a row. It’s not that there aren’t other great columnists out there. It’s just that there are few as good as Linker.

Today’s featured piece is proof of why. Linker, a moderate Democrat, has spent the past several years trying to understand the Trump voter. He’s not doing it in a condescending way — this isn’t Van Jones talking to Trump voters like they’re Martians after 2016. This is someone who knows things don’t happen in a vacuum and wants to figure out what he (not Trump voters) is missing. That involves closely considering rather than outright rejecting arguments he disagrees with. He’s not afraid of new information. He knows it could strengthen his argument. He also knows that if it doesn’t strengthen it, his argument might need to change. Of course, this all makes perfect sense, yet name one high-profile commentator willing to genuinely entertain an opposing point of view. 

Take your time. 

We’ll wait.

Linker’s is the kind of commentary we should be consuming — nuanced, interested, open to discussion. The tone of his piece isn’t “You’re wrong and here’s why.” It’s “I see where you’re coming from and I disagree.” Why would anyone want anything to do with the first approach when the second is so much more constructive? We don’t have to agree with each other on everything. We do have to make the effort to see where the other side is coming from. Linker knows this. It’s what makes him, and his piece today, one of the greats.