Yesterday I said I just wanted the election to be over. That was a lie. I wanted a certain result, a different result. I just couldn’t imagine this result. To help myself process, I jotted down a few random thoughts.

• The pollsters missed on Brexit and now this election. Are we in a post-poll world? I know we never answered a poll this entire season. “Sorry, we don’t do polls here. Thanks for your call…” I imagine others did the same or maybe just lied for kicks. If we can prove with an election that pollsters get it wrong, how much credence should we give them for other opinion issues that are not validated with an election?
• That surveillance state some trusted Obama with? We just gave the keys to Trump, a man with a history of striking back for even the slightest slight. Watch those who stand against him—they are being very brave.
• Racism is about to get much worse. As I was recently told with a wistful tone, “I remember when being black was wrong…” Or, as I was just told at Starbucks, “It’s good that a white person is the president again.” What?!
• All the ‘isms are about to get much worse. We must stand up for those who are different.
• Pray for the health of our supreme court justices. And their stamina. ;-)
• Those that are expecting checks and balances to operate need to realize that the Republicans also control congress.
• Many have said that Trump doesn’t mean what he says, that it’s bluster or negotiation or hyperbole. Now we will see. And hope they were right.
• I remember when Evangelicals questioned whether they could vote for Romney, an honorable man, but a Mormon. The religious test is clearly gone. And maybe that’s a good thing.
• Both parties nominated candidates so disliked that they only had a chance of winning because of who their opponent was. Expect soul searching by both parties as to how to run a primary. Maybe the primaries would experiment with different voting systems.
• The Republicans proved that they could win, at least one more time, with just the white vote. That’s a small tent that needs to fold.
• Trump promised to put Hillary in prison. This could get very ugly and would set a bad precedent in American politics. Obama could pardon Hillary, like Ford pardoned Nixon. But what’s the quid pro quo? Hillary can’t resign. I know one thing: the healing can’t begin if Trump is prosecuting Hillary. And do only losers ask for the healing to begin?
• Trump who has only recently shown the ability to take advice. Now he has a job that will be impossible to do without taking a lot of advice. May he choose good advisors and listen to them. Based on who he chose to help run his campaign, I’m not hopeful.
• I’m proud to be in Oregon, where we have 100% vote by mail. No long lines, no voter intimidation. Just lots of time to research the candidates and issues and feel confident that we voted for the best available. It’s time for the rest of the nation to follow suit.

Elections have real results. Here they come…