by Robert Fischer
I’ve been hoping to write these words for months now as the campaign and election unfolded. Apparently the tortuous and embarrassing presidency of Donald Trump is over. There is much to do, of course, but starting in January, there can be a new beginning for all Americans.
The pundits have already begun writing what the president’s defeat means for the future of American politics. Partisans on both sides have begun to spin their interpretations of things, but the fact is we don’t know what is going to happen and won’t know for some time. The point is that Trump will soon be in the rear view mirror.
From the beginning I have written that my quarrel was not so much directed at conservatives or Republicans as much as the man in the White House. Above all, he did not deserve to sit in the seat of Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Reagan, or, I might add, Obama. Clearly Trump’s incompetence and foul behavior cost him a second term, and that is the message of his defeat.
There are other messages for us as well, given the small electoral margins and the rough balance between the two parties. There was no landslide, no major rebuke, and no definitive mandate for change. It was simply a repudiation of the sitting president.
Now the task before us is to listen to one another and come closer together while still working for our personal and ideological visions for our country. We need to have patience and give Joe Biden and Kamala Harris a chance.