The glass that defines your America

The presidential election may come down to what kind of America a majority of voters see.

If you paid attention to the Republican National Convention, a very skeptical picture of the nation was painted, and Donald Trump was promoted as the person most qualified to lead us out of the mess.

If you paid attention to the Democratic National Convention, a very optimistic picture of the nation was painted, and Hillary Clinton was promoted as the person most qualified to continue the path we’re on.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch stopped by The Press for a visit. A former Idaho legislator, lieutenant governor and governor, Sen. Risch talked about national security, the presidential election and several other topics. He was asked which America he sees.

An adept politician and practiced lawyer who happens to be a very positive person, Sen. Risch answered the question this way:

Both.

“We are the luckiest people in the history of the world to be living here today,” he said. That’s the glass half full approach, he added.

The glass half empty? “But I also see the challenges we face that are monumental,” he said.

We all know what those challenges are, don’t we? A national debt approaching $20 trillion. Climate change, no matter who or what is causing it. Terrorist threats of the physical and the cyber varieties. A sense of instability from living in a world that is changing so rapidly, almost nothing is certain or predictable.

Sen. Risch is a Republican, no question, but we were struck during our conversation by the fact that he sees himself first and foremost as an American. He said that when he gets down on his knees, he gives thanks that he’s alive in this time and this place — in the country that he sees as not just the greatest on the planet, but the greatest in the history of the world.

“And you know what?” he asked. “I think we can do better. We’re Americans. We’re up for this.”

No matter who’s elected president on Nov. 8, we can meet any challenge as long as we do so as Americans, not Republicans or Democrats.

We agree with Sen. Risch: We’re up for this.