In the wake of Donald Trump's devastating win last week, Democrats have fallen back on an old habit and are now trying to coax better behavior out of Republicans. In his Rose Garden speech acknowledging the loss, President Joe Biden begged, "Something I hope we can do no matter who you voted for is see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans, bring down the temperature." Striking a similar note in their statement, Barack and Michelle Obama asked people to "listen to each other," adding that "progress requires us to extend good faith and grace—even to people with whom we deeply disagree." There are no limits to the faith that modeling good behavior will cause Republicans to shape up, apparently.

You cannot turn down the temperature when one side keeps setting the furniture on fire.

Even prominent Trump supporters were making these "unity" and "peace" noises in the aftermath. Podcast host Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump, appeared not to understand the character of the man he sat with for a three-hour interview. "He’s got to unite people. He’s got to not attack the left, not attack everybody," Rogan said of Trump, reminding listeners that he is uniquely incapable of learning from experience.

I don't blame Democrats for Vice President Kamala Harris's loss, but this rhetoric is frustrating. The underlying sentiment that people should debate in good faith sounds nice but is ultimately empty. Only liberals are interested in listening to this "tone it down" advice, but when your opposition is coming at you with the fury of a deranged chimpanzee, turning the other cheek only gets you killed. You cannot turn down the temperature when one side keeps setting the furniture on fire.

Part of the problem, of course, is that Trump is in charge, and he cannot help but be the worst. He's always been hateful and........

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