Change can kick you hard, but stay cool

I felt worst for my daughter, Ella.

She's 11, and wanted a woman to become president so badly. No, she was not versed in the nuances of electoral shifts and rural-urban splits. She wanted a girl in charge, at long last. Ella was far, far more energized by the prospect of a Clinton presidency than her crusty, cynical old man. Her enthusiasm was pure and heartening.

And then, heartbreak. 'Who won?” She asked me, as she ran a brush through her long, blonde hair and I stood bleary-eyed in the dim early morning.

'Trump,” I said. 'But it was close.”

'Oh,” she said, her brush strokes becoming faster and forceful. The look on her face was sad but stern. Her upper lip remained stiff. 'Darn it.”

I told her politics can be very disappointing. It can raise your spirits and kick you in the gut. This time, it's the gut. Lesson one of many.

And how we deal with that disappointment is what's really important. Winning is easy. Balloon drops and fist bumps. It's the ability to lose that truly sustains democracy. Besides, your critics love to watch you wail and gnash. They yearn to roast marshmallows in your hair fire. Don't give them the satisfaction.

So keep calm and carry on, as the once cool, now woefully overdone, T-shirts recommend. Maybe try to figure out what happened, look for bright sides in the muck.

What happened? Plainly in Iowa and elsewhere, voters wanted change in a big way, even if it came in an undesirable package. Exit polling in Iowa, according to the Associated Press, showed seven in 10 voters were dissatisfied with the federal government. Four in 10 wanted change. More than half named the economy as the top issue. Six in 10 Trump voters were among the dissatisfied.

And yet, six in 10 didn't think Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump are honest and trustworthy. Just four in 10 Iowa voters who took exit surveys said they strongly favored their candidate. Less than half of voters polled believed Trump has the temperament or qualifications to be president.

So it seems disaffected voters were willing to set aside their misgivings about Trump's multitude of jaw-dropping flaws in the interest of securing change. Shake it up. Burn it down. Drain the swamp. His pants on fire, apparently, were actually a torch leading many voters down a new road.

Where it goes, we can only guess. The dark corners Trump veered down during the campaign remain raw and frightening. But his victory speech did include hopeful words about binding wounds and coming together. Now, does he possesses the skills or inclination to do it?

I don't yet regret a single word I wrote about Trump. I still believe he's unfit and dangerous. But he will be my president, and I sincerely hope I got it all wrong. I still love my country more than I can dislike any politician, even a historically unlikable one. I still have faith our democratic institutions are sturdy enough to halt Trumpian excess. I pray I'm right.

'I'm worried about my whole future, but that's cool,” said my daughter Tess, the teenager, who inherited snark from someplace. Still, good advice. Be wary, but cool.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com