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His post-election conciliatory tones notwithstanding, Donald Trump may be a huge jerk -- a throwback to an era before political correctness, even a dangerously loose cannon about to take the helm of our ship of state.
Still, he won – fair and square. Just like the Kansas Jayhawks last Friday and Saturday and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Hillary Clinton – not exactly a great candidate herself – lost.
The game was played. The rules were understood and followed. It’s time for everyone to get over it and move on.
Despite protests on urban streets and counselors brought to universities to ease Clinton supporters’ pain, the world will keep turning Jan. 20, after Trump takes office.
Scuttlebutt before the election was that he wouldn’t accept defeat. Ironically, it now seems as if her supporters are the ones hoping for a coup — or, at least, demanding changes in the way we have elected presidents for 227 years.
Apparently, it’s now politically correct to be a sore loser.
Truth is, the same segment of the public that elected Barack Obama eight years ago is what put Trump over the top.
Tired of never seeing real change, voters decided eight years ago to give Obama a shot, flirted briefly with Bernie Sanders this year, and in the end decided to go with Trump.
It’s not that the electorate has been overwhelmed by bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, or any of the other epithets rightly or wrongly hurled at Trump.
Eight years ago, they thought Obama would bring change, especially for minorities. Eight years later, they’re still waiting.
That meant a different approach this time, and Clinton seemed no more likely to accomplish what Obama had not.
So voters held their noses and voted for a candidate they knew was flawed, hoping perhaps that his dogged bluntness might actually shake up a government that seems beyond anyone’s control.
In our history, we’ve a lot of presidents a lot worse than Trump.
We don’t need a chorus of “Kumbaya” to dampen his personal devils as much as we need a renewed commitment at every level to make government more responsive to the needs and desires of the governed.
Otherwise, God knows what we’ll try next in our quest for change. Sam Brownback?