An open letter to President Trump:imagining the U-turn that could shock the world

Appointing the reviled Stephen Miller as your next Chief of Staff signals confrontation, not reconsideration. Choosing him to oversee reconciliation would resemble hiring an arsonist to inspect the fire extinguishers.

But you could reverse that choice. You have never treated personnel decisions as sacred commitments.

The important departure, however, would not be his. It would be yours - from policies and habits that have inflicted so much damage.

Changing an aide makes headlines. Changing course could make history.

Try an unfamiliar kind of victory

Invite Democratic congressional leaders to the White House. They would expect a confrontation. Ask instead: What can we accomplish together before I leave office?

Then let them answer. Not every silence requires another account of your electoral greatness.

Begin with healthcare. Negotiate more affordable coverage, protections for vulnerable patients, and lower prescription costs. You need not embrace the Democratic platform. You need to decide that Americans receiving care matters more than Democrats receiving credit.

On housing, support construction, necessary infrastructure, and practical help for households priced out of a home. Deliver a serious beginning, not another magnificent announcement.

On the cost of living, examine which policies ease household burdens and which increase them. Let evidence change your decisions. Defending yesterday's mistake is not an economic strategy.

And restore federal funding for the scientific community. Help reverse the brain drain America is experiencing by giving researchers stable support and reasons to build their futures here. Stop treating universities and laboratories as political adversaries. America's scientific leadership cannot survive on patriotic slogans while the scientists sustaining it look elsewhere.

You could call these agreements historic. You probably would. The country could tolerate the adjective if you delivered the noun.