[Heidi Stevens] There’s work to be done

“I’m not shocked. I’m awake.”Those words — novelist Attica Locke’s words — greeted me as I drove home from a TV station Wednesday morning, fresh off a segment where we talked about healing our divisions after a bitter, divisive election.I voted for Hillary Clinton. Not reluctantly. Not begrudgingly. Not just to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office. I found her to be inspiring and eminently qualified, and I truly loved her vision for our country and its people — all of its people.Is she perfe

Nov. 13, 2016

Trump poisoned our politics

World markets tanked as American voters elected Donald Trump the nation’s 45th president over the far more experienced insider, Hillary Clinton, showing themselves to be even more divided than any serious pundit could have imagined.The bombastic and divisive businessman will confront the herculean and perhaps impossible task of calling us to a common purpose. We hope it’s clear to Trump that we cannot flourish as long as we are in this state of division.Republicans retained control of the House

Nov. 13, 2016

[Vladimir Hlasny] Amexit

Team Trump had it right. Media were biased. Until the last moment they devotedly preached that Hillary would win. But she did not. The Brexiteers had it right too. Experts were duping them. Experts claimed there was no way Brexit would happen, and they lied. It happened. In a strange case of self-fulfilling prophecies, the Brexiteers and Team Trump called it right, and showed that they were on top with their situation-reading skills. They had titillated experts that they were biased and wrong, o

Nov. 13, 2016

[Mark Davis] Trump victory is not the nightmare liberal tormentors have painted

After one of the harshest, loudest presidential campaigns in memory, the first thing that occurs to me in the wake of a Donald Trump victory is the need for some quiet humility. If the characteristically brash president-elect can display it, I can surely follow suit.I spent more than a year favoring Ted Cruz, up to the moment he withdrew. But even within that span of time, there were so many brutal slanders leveled at Trump that I spent more time defending him than I did voicing my preference fo

Nov. 13, 2016

Trump’s economic promises tapped into worker angst

As the American economy becomes more complex, the winners and losers change. On Election Night, Donald Trump tapped into not just economic populism, but the wide chasm between those prospering on Wall Street and those struggling on Main Street.If you have a 401(k), the financial economy has been good to you. But the view from the factory floor, especially through the heart of the country, looks decidedly different. Blue-collar jobs and pensions that once supported a stable middle-class lifestyle

Nov. 13, 2016

Trump’s duty to the United States

Donald Trump has made history as the first man with no government experience to reach the highest office in the land -- and as the least popular and most divisive candidate ever to do so. The burden is now on him to leave a mean-spirited campaign behind and demonstrate that he can bring people together to move the country forward on important issues.　His victory speech hit the right notes. After showing a graciousness toward Hillary Clinton that was lacking throughout the campaign, he said it wa

Nov. 11, 2016

[Ravi Velloor] Trump triumph a sign of the times

This election, it was said, was Hillary Clinton’s to lose. Seems it turned out that way all the same.Pollsters had called it for her. With a ton of money at her disposal, a charismatic husband who continues to be loved by most Americans, vast experience in government as an active First Lady and later, secretary of state, Clinton was uniquely positioned for the top job, never mind that many found her chutzpah hard to swallow.Beyond all this was what was thought to be favorable demographics.Americ

Nov. 10, 2016

[Jim DeMint] Voters rejected broken legacy of Clinton, Obama

Donald Trump’s victory was a defeat for the political establishment and its allies in the mainstream media. More importantly, it was an affirmation of conservative ideas.Hillary Clinton ran a personality-driven campaign, more against her opponent than for a coherent set of policies. But voters had serious concerns: illegal immigration, trade, taxes, jobs, health care, gun rights, national debt, and many others. In each case, a branch of our government had either exceeded its constitutional autho

Nov. 10, 2016

Time to heal and move forward

Midway through the 2016 presidential campaign, when it became clear Donald Trump would claim the Republican nomination, a rueful joke circulated among disbelievers: “Can we just admit that we may have taken this ‘Anybody can grow up to be president’ thing a bit too far?”The disbelievers have gone from laughter to shock. On Tuesday, Americans put the future of their nation in the hands of Donald Trump, an untested leader with deep character flaws and no experience in governance or national securi

Nov. 10, 2016

Into the great unknown with Trump

Come January, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.　This newspaper, along with many Americans both liberal and conservative, had hoped never to write that sentence. But the time for arguing about who should lead this country for the next four years is over.　When Trump takes the oath of office in January, he will become the only president this great nation has. He will be our president, and yours, too, no matter how you voted or even if you voted.　Enhancing his

Nov. 10, 2016

[Albert R. Hunt] Trump‘s guide to team building is his instinct

Most new Republican administrations are filled with experienced hands from a previous government -- a few governors and members of Congress, a prominent corporate chief executive or two. That’s not likely with Donald Trump; look instead for fellow deal-makers, political pals and fervent early supporters.More than any modern president, Trump doesn‘t come from the party establishment and owes it nothing. Some conservative think tanks will rush to fill the void, but with limited interest in policy,

Nov. 9, 2016

[Conor Sen] the election forecaster since Brexit poll　

When election season rolls around, Americans want the news before it happens. The journalistic innovation of poll aggregation tries to meet that demand with political forecasts, and it’s become a booming business. But there’s a problem.The credit for this business, and perhaps the blame, belongs to FiveThirtyEight, which earned its reputation by using others’ polls to forecast the outcomes of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Presidential and Senate candidates send out fundraising messag

Nov. 9, 2016

[Aryeh Neier] Africa vs. the International Criminal Court

On Oct. 19, South African President Jacob Zuma’s government delivered documents to the United Nations signaling its intent to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Many ICC observers were taken by surprise.A week earlier, Burundi charted a course to become the first member state to leave the ICC. The ICC had indicated it would investigate, and possibly indict, government officials after Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza threw his country into turmoil by pursuing a third term, in vi

Nov. 9, 2016

[David Ignatius] Three big items left on Obama’s agenda

President Obama should focus on three foreign policy challenges, postelection, to finish fights that began on his watch. These include setting rules for cyber behavior with Russia and other nations, pressing on toward Raqqa and the destruction of the Islamic State group, and a “Hail Mary” effort to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal during the lame-duck session of Congress. The most delicate challenge during the transition involves Russia, whose pre-election hacking of Democratic Part

Nov. 9, 2016