Politics

In every political contest, someone must win, and someone else, possibly several someone elses must lose (or there is no contest.) Each of these losing candidates, in turn, has hundreds, or thousands, or tens of thousands of supporters who must now accept that their candidate did not win.

But let them not feel their labors were in vain.

If you supported a losing candidate, your candidates and your work tested the ultimate victor. Revealed his or her true face. Revealed how they respond to pressure by applying it to them, and yes, provided them experience they will need in the times to come. Because a person elected to a leadership position in this country must be able to lead, and they must lead under pressure. They must be able to inspire confidence and they must inspire trust, and they must be able to ask people to do things they don't actually want to do and get them to do them. You don't get far in the political world without that ability. The person who ultimately wins the election, in a free and fair election, is the one who is better at it.

So on this election day, this night while the results really are still up in the air, let me thank the ones who don't win, whoever they turn out to be, and their supporters. Hopefully you made the person who did win better.

And may the best one win.

-JRS