Some of the political chattering class have noted that Ulysses S. Grant’s handling of Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appottamox offers a good model—and I agree. For those of you who’ve forgotten your high school history classes: Grant was “magnanimous in victory,” not only letting Lee chose the time and place of his surrender, but also agreeing to terms to designed to avoid “an unnecessary humiliation”—treating the Confederates as prodigal fellow citizens rather than an enemy. Grant’s actions went a long way toward reconciling a country split asunder.

However, I think it’s worth point out that Lee’s willingness to accept defeat was also instrumental in bringing about the end of the Civil War. Some of Lee’s officers wanted to continue a guerrilla war—and in fact, a few did so. But Lee’s insistence that the war was over and it that it was time to move on persuaded the rest of the Confederate army to lay down their arms, and is one reason Lee is revered even by those who detest the cause he fought for.

Obviously, the official surrender didn’t ease the bitterness. Many Southerners clung to the “Lost Cause” for decades. Nor do I expect the bitterness (some of it well justified) felt by many of Clinton’s supporters to go away soon. But aside from doing her party good, if nothing else, Clinton isn’t doing herself any favors by her refusal to concede. Memo to Clinton: if the situation were reversed, would you really be willing to take Obama as your vice president if he weren’t willing to accept that you won? Didn’t think so. Originally, the vice president was whoever came in second in the presidential race. There’s a reason that we no longer do it that way: it led to political opponents John Adams (president) and Thomas Jefferson (vice president) being yoked together, with the predictable result the Adams’ presidency was plagued by political infighting as Jefferson sought to—and eventually succeeded in—unseating Adams in the next election.

Finally, while Clinton may envision herself as Rocky Balboa, there’s another sports analogy that apropos: taking one for the team. The L.A. Lakers made their comeback because Kobe Bryant finally realized it wasn’t all about him. Just sayin’...