Tucked in the celebrative and cartharic tones and images of last night were two speeches, one by Joe Biden, the president elect, and the other by Kamala Harris, the vice president elect. Both speeches were uplifting and substantive. If they suggested a return to normal, it was a new normal, structured by deadly pandemic, racial inequality, economic distress, climate disruption, and, not least, democratic possibility. Neither speech even hinted at a resumption of the pre-Trump “Glory Days.” No plan of action was offered for sure, but this wasn’t the occasion for it. That lies in the future and will be the handiwork of the new administration, the new Congress, and all of us. One job done, another one ahead of us.

I know of one very happy former president!

The nearly 75 million people who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris belong on the honor role of this election. In denying Trump a second term, they denied him the immense and concentrated power of the executive branch of government for the next 4 years. The right wing extremist movement that Trump leads, we are reminded, still retains considerable power and influence notwithstanding Trump’s loss. While that is the case on one level, on another the loss of the executive branch and its associated powers not only puts a stop to an accelerated dive into full blown right wing authoritarianism, but also constitutes a body blow to their power and influence going forward.

Any idea that the Democratic Party and democratic coalition should turn into a warring camps now that Trump has been repudiated at the polls is misguided. First, what Trump can’t win fairly, he will attempt to secure by foul and anti-democratic means. Thus a firm and timely rebuff by a broad cross section of the people is imperative. Second, even if he does concede defeat at some point, he will still occupy the White House another 3 months and he can do a lot of harm during that time unless prevented by the very forces who defeated him at the ballot box. Third, the white nationalist extremist coalition supporting Trump and Trumpism has no plans of exiting the political stage. It will likely adjust its tactics, shifting from frontal attack to obstruction and gridlock, but its strategic aim of full spectrum dominance of our political structures and society will remain unchanged. Finally, periods of transformative change are the handiwork of tens of millions. It takes more than the left to restructure the political and economic landscape. To think otherwise as some do, is belied by history and a conceit that will come back to bite its proponents (as well as the rest of us), if persisted in.

The outcome of the elections wasn’t a realignment (maybe we saw the beginnings of one) like some of us had hoped, but the removal of Trump from the White House makes it historic and of great consequence to our country’s present and future. The significance of Trump’s defeat can’t be overstated. We halted a slide, engineered by Trump and his coalition, towards entrenched illiberalism and white nationalist rule. Bravo to the American people,