Behind the rhetoric, a presidential campaign is a competition about how to tell the American story

Political conventions are exercises in storytelling. Presidential campaigns are, too. And in the history of the United States, the American story and who gets to tell it can be a contentious thing. In this campaign season, both major parties are using storytelling in very different ways to summon their visions of the country they want. And they're talking all the time about the “American story” itself. In the process, they are tapping into a longtime notion about American society — that the story, and how it is framed, can be one of the most potent campaign tools around.