A Presidential Historian On The Art Of The Concession Speech

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It’s pretty easy to sound gracious in a victory speech, but it’s a bit trickier when delivering the address no candidate wants to give: the concession speech.  Be they classy or defiant, the speeches have long been a defining staple of American democracy.  In this country, winners take office and losers concede.

Presidential historian Brady Carlson explains the art of the concession speech.

Presidential historian Brady Carlson has studied these addresses and gave "On Second Thought" a lesson on the art of the concession speech.  He’s author of “Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation’s Leaders.”