Love it or hate it, today is history

Most Press readers voted for another four years of Donald Trump.

Of those, many believe their candidate got cheated out of a second presidential term. Some may go to their graves believing it, so there's no reason to think they'll be celebrating today.

But here's what will be chiseled in the enduring tablet of U.S. history: Joe Biden won the popular vote in the 2020 presidential election, 81,283,485-74,223,744; Joe Biden won the electoral vote, 306-232.

The 78-year-old Joe Biden of Delaware today becomes our nation's 46th president.

All conscientious, patriotic Americans are praying for a violence-free Inauguration Day. Even with the dramatic shift in tradition brought on by coronavirus concerns, this is a day of both solemn and celebratory passing of the baton — even if the handoff is made symbolically rather than personally.

The new era of a Biden-Kamala Harris administration, as well as a shift favoring Democrats in the Senate, begins with only one absolute certainty: Many Republican leaders will do their best to stop or at least slow any dramatic shifts in the nation's direction. That's to be expected, just as Democrats confronted the same reality four years ago.

Biden has promised to work hard to bring the nation together. Like any marriage, both partners must agree, and that doesn't appear likely to happen. So be prepared for national divisiveness and acrimony to continue. But please, keep something else in mind.

While we have little control over what happens in Washington, D.C., we have a great deal to say in how the next two to four years unfold in Kootenai County, Idaho. If outright compassion is not in the cards, a little respect for those who see things differently can go a long way in continuing our great quality of life, magnified beautifully in the region's response to last Wednesday's natural disaster.

We're not just Americans and Idahoans. We're neighbors who have in common the key ingredient that we all choose to live, work and play here.