George W. Bush is our nation's president.\nSince Saturday, we have had a new leader. The legal battles and protests that dragged on for weeks are over, and it is time to accept Bush's presidency and move on. Our electoral process and legal system, flawed though they might be, still work, and they have decided Bush won the election. \nInstead of protesting Bush's inauguration, as some did, citizens should put that energy toward changing the electoral process if they feel it needs to change. The time and energy that have gone to protest the inevitable could have been better spent by writing a representative and proposing a Constitutional amendment or a change in the law.\nBush has made a promise to be bipartisan, and to be "a uniter, not a divider" during his presidency. We personally should make the same pledge to give our new president the benefit of the doubt. He has appointed a diverse Cabinet of competent advisers who will undoubtedly be assets in the coming four years. We can expect our president and his staff to represent our country in much the same way as other administrations have in recent years, perhaps even better. If nothing else, protesters can take solace in the knowledge that our government is designed to prevent any one person from permanently scarring the country.\nJust a few weeks ago, other countries watched our election quibbles, wondering how we could withstand such uncertainty in our leadership. Some laughed at us, mocking our complicated legal process. But this is a system that has lasted more than 200 years with relatively few changes. We must show them that even though we don't all agree with his ideas, we can still stand behind our leader. \nThe peaceful transfer of power is an important part of our country's political tradition, and we should not sully that with useless protests. Even if laws change, they will not be retroactive and won't affect the current president. And after all, it's only four years until the next election. We will survive.
Staff Vote: 9-1-5
