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He can get them to do things by dint of their friendship—things that other presidents cannot.

In presenting many of his bills or ideas, he acted as if they should pass by dint of their sheer excellence—as if old-school politicking was unnecessary and even distasteful.

Last week, Donald Trump’s lawyers asked Justice Juan Merchan to dismiss the New York hush money case against him because he is—by dint of securing the presidency—now too big to sentence.

But America matters by dint of its economic and military strength, and its major role in many alliances.

So, can two Californians—one a Black and South Asian American former state attorney general, the other an openly gay former federal prosecutor—open up public safety opportunities and heal historic rifts between cops and marginalized communities by dint of beating their crooked politicians, serving in the federal government, and, quite simply, being up there in the seats of power?