Nation should unite behind leader

This time it was different.

President Bush was re-elected Tuesday with a 3.5 million vote margin over his Democratic rival John Kerry. It was, once again, quite a narrow Electoral College victory for George Bush, but nowhere near as controversial as the 2000 election, which hinged on a few hundred disputed votes in Florida.

This time around the focus was on Ohio, but the president prevailed there by more than 120,000 votes, not close enough for Kerry to seriously challenge the legitimacy of the result.

In addition, the substantial popular-vote victory by President Bush put him in a position of power he did not have following the 2000 election, when he actually lost the popular vote by half a million votes to Vice President Al Gore.

Fortunately, Sen. Kerry recognized the position he was in, and gave a gracious concession speech Wednesday afternoon to acknowledge that the president had won fair and square and to pledge his continued service to the country.

He set an example that his followers and his opponents should heed.

We all should now take steps to protect and preserve what used to be called our commonwealth - the public good.

Clearly, this last year of partisan politics has taken its toll on the unity of the American public. Anger and animosity have replaced polite disagreement as the mechanism for political discourse, and ideology has replaced patriotism as the spur to service.

That needs to end.

"We all wake up as Americans," said Sen. Kerry in reminding his supporters why they were all still winners even if his campaign was a loser.

"We are required now to work together for the good of our country," he said.

Kerry revealed in his speech that he had addressed the problem directly with the president: "We talked about the danger of division in our country and the need - the desperate need - for unity, for finding common ground and coming together."

Kerry later pledged to do his part "to try to bridge the partisan divide" and asked his supporters to join him in doing that.

That does not mean, however, that we will all hold hands and sing folk songs together. As much as everyone wishes for an easy, peaceful life, it behooves us to realize that such a goal can only be accomplished through hard work and vigilance against our common enemies.

Sen. Kerry in his concession speech seemed to be aware of the challenges ahead. He probably disappointed some of his supporters by his willingness to put the national interest ahead of his own political self-interest, but such an example will do more to increase the senator's stature as a statesman than all the campaign speeches in the world.

And let us be clear. Sen. Kerry knew full well what issue has most divided our nation recently, and he did not play politics when he spoke of the Iraq war on Wednesday.

"Now more than ever, with our soldiers in harm's way, we must stand together and succeed in Iraq and win the war on terror."

There is no doubt that this president, in his second term, will do his best to win that war. We hope that Sen. Kerry will remember his words, and that other Democrats will join him in playing the role of the "loyal opposition" in the coming months rather than working to undermine the Bush presidency.

In a time of war, it is particularly important that we show a united front. Sen. Kerry has indicated he understands that necessity, and President Bush has said he will work to earn the support of everyone who voted for his opponent.

"A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation," he said. "We have one country, one Constitution, and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

We hope those sentiments are the salve that heals our wounds as we renew our strength and face the future together.