The presidential race has become characterized by the outsized dislike of the candidates by those who are opposed to them.
The American people are befuddled.
They hear no saving grace in the debate about which of these people should be president. Their hopes for their government and the nation’s future are being seriously tested.
{mosads}It is not an unjustified concern, this sense that the nation’s presidential path is not a good one.
But, as important as the president and his or her leadership may be, there is much more to our way of governing.
We are a nation of over 320 million people. We have a clear identity as a country with a history that gives us direction and purpose. The president’s influence should not be underestimated but it should also not be overstated.
Obviously the presidency is the focus of attention, especially in a time that seems to stress simple solutions and approaches to governing. It is easy to understand a single individual, his or her motives, and the directions he or she wants to go.
But the president is not the only significant player on the stage of American governance. Our system was built to be pluralistic, with many forces swirling around the process of governing.
We have the states and their governors and legislators. We have the Federal Reserve and its direct influence on economic wellbeing. We have the court system and especially the arbiter of our rights, the Supreme Court. And we have the Congress.
These other partners in our self-governing play large and defining roles. They are dominated for the most part by talented and basically good people.
The discouragement that many voters feel when they observe the presidential choices before them should be tempered by this fact.
It is true that much of the frustration that has created an opening for the players in the presidential election was, and is, a reaction to the generally perceived failures of these other parties in the governance of our country.
But if you consider the leadership of these entities, whether it is the Federal Reserve, the Supreme Court, the state governors, or the Congress, it is apparent that they are populated by people who are expert, dedicated and generally of good will. Their problem is that they are not able to engender confidence in those whom their policies affect — the American people.
But this does not have to continue to be the tenor of their efforts.
One of the national parties’ candidates, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, is going to become president. Whoever wins, he or she is going to start out with a serious deficit when it comes to having the support of the general population.
The new president and more importantly the country is going to need those who occupy other power-centers to step up and give stability and direction to the nation.
It is the Congress that is going to have the greatest responsibility to pursue this constructive course.
It is not clear who will control the Senate or, for that matter, even the House. But whichever party is in control — and no matter whom the president is — members of Congress will have the opportunity to restore the nation’s faith in our government.
The pursuit of partisan agendas cannot do this — although, if one party controls both the White House and the Senate this will be the natural, political inclination.
Rather, the Congress needs to return to a period of bipartisan reconciliation and action. This should occur quickly, as soon as the new Congress convenes; the tone of the early days of the next Congress will define it for its entire term.
In fact, if the next president wishes to have any success in his or her first one hundred days, he or she will need to embrace a bipartisan approach even before he or she is sworn into office.
The president, whoever it is, will need to do this aggressively — and not just in language but in their actions. Otherwise the opposition will build, since the next president will come into office disliked and distrusted by more than half the nation.
The encouraging news is that this can actually happen. There is, within the Senate at least, already a number of cross-aisle initiatives being pursued on topics such as budget process reform, tax reform and veterans’ benefits reform.
All it takes to make this sort of dramatic break from the ways of the past that have been so debilitating is for constructive people in the Congress on both sides to come together.
This should not be a heavy lift. In fact, both parties have within their congressional ranks people who are motivated to work in this manner. They need to stand up to those, on both sides of the aisle, who stay in the corners and shout and bully.
We have good people in the Congress who understand this.
We are fortunate to have them and it appears their time may be here. They can give this nation a real lift just by doing what they know is right, which is to work together on the big issues that face our nation.
Judd Gregg (R) is a former governor and three-term senator from New Hampshire who served as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, and as ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Foreign Operations subcommittee.