John Kerry showed he’s more of a class act than most Republicans would have dreamed possible. He took a look at the numbers, realized there was nothing to be gained by prolonging this, and did what he needed to do — he conceded. He did so graciously, with an appeal to unity.
And the President sounded like he was at least going to give lip service to the same interest: “[T]oday I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust. A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation. We have one country, one Constitution, and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America.”
The problem is, I don’t believe it. And I don’t think he believes it either. I think he believes that he’s entitled to whatever he wants because he has the power to get it (or at least to try to get it). And what I’m afraid he wants more than anything else is a country made over in his own religious-zealot image.
The acid test will come with the first appointment he makes to the U.S. Supreme Court: when William Rehnquist steps aside or dies, watch to see whether we get offered an appointee for Chief Justice who is a total idealogue.
I hope I’m wrong. I’d love to be proved wrong. But watch for it. And then don’t say I didn’t warn you…