With the benefit of two weeks since the election, and in the interest of wrapping things up, here are some thoughts on what happened and where we go from here.
Let’s get real folks. Trump won. Whatever you think of the Electoral College, that’s the system we have. But let’s also remember that Clinton will probably have a margin of two million more votes than Trump. That would mean she will have received more votes for president than anyone in history not named Obama. Just sayin’.
As for how the respective sides are lining up in the aftermath of the election, let’s get real about that too. When Obama won eight years ago he inherited a s*** storm. Now, I don’t normally use language like that in writing or conversation but sometimes one has to make a point strongly. The economy was tanking. It was the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. Trump is taking office during a much better economy, extremely low unemployment (and please don’t make the argument that we cannot trust the figures. They use the same methodology as when Obama took office, apples to apples!). The stock market—and that includes many retirement accounts—is in record high territory. The economic problem that Trump ran on was slow growth and the need for creating good jobs. We’ll see how that goes in the years ahead. Unlike Republicans, whose stated goal was to make Obama a one-term president, I am hearing Democrats, Senator Cory Booker yesterday on NPR, say they want to work with Mr. Trump and grow the economy.
As for the argument that Trump’s election was a repudiation of Obama’s eight years, here are a few facts. President Obama currently enjoys a reasonably high approval rating, much higher than Trump’s even with his post election bump. To his credit, the president-elect is now saying good things about Obama. He should. So why did the Democrats lose? Well, for one thing, and this is important, since Truman’s election in 1948, only once has either party held the White House longer than two terms. That was from 1980-1992 when George H.W. Bush succeeded Ronald Reagan. As we know, that President Bush only held the office for one term. So change in the White house after two terms, though not inevitable, is the norm. People wanted a change and the choices were dramatic. Donald Trump is different. The people spoke.
This election was ugly. Between the false facts thrown around without shame, to the coarseness of the dialogue, we can, should, must, do better. As for the news media, that’s a discussion for another time.
Mr. Trump has an opportunity to lead. His words are mutable to put it politely. But, as the cliché goes, actions speak louder than words. So let us remain vigilant. We shall soon see what kind of a leader Donald J. Trump really is.
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