The very best hymns and the very best pop ballads do this. And I think Vin does it, at least in some of the first several essays. And I stayed up way too late. I don't always agree with Vin, but he does persuade me to his point of view more often than any other writer. He can do that because his positions stem from a solid philosophical committment.
Most editorial columnists are really the advocates of some faction or another.
Their positions depend on whose ox is gored, so they often cannot rely on logic, lest it make them inconsistent with some position they swore to hold a day or two before. Vin doesn't get into that position because it's never over whose ox is gored. I actually think this book could become a classic, for reasons like the above. He told me your analogy that preaching to the choir isn't a bad idea if you want somebody to pay for your preaching. I think there are a lot of people in this choir, and a lot of them are going to buy the book.