President Donald Trump lost on Tuesday. And it was not even close.

Hours after the post-election press conference, Donald Trump’s anger exploded anew, as his White House suddenly yanked CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s White House press credential. All because Trump didn’t like Acosta’s style of questioning.

We are three former attorneys general who served in Republican administrations, but we share the view that Jeff Sessions, who resigned at President Donald Trump’s request on Wednesday, has been an outstanding attorney general.

Brett Kavanaugh must have been smiling as the returns came in on Election Day, because it is now clear that the Democrats’ campaign to destroy him will go down as a massive blunder.

Once again, wolves in the old Profanity pack territory (OPT) are being lethally controlled by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife because of livestock depredations by wolves in the same grazing allotment of the Colville National Forest.

On Tuesday night, America stepped back from the abyss.

When it comes to news from the office of the special counsel, it has been a quiet couple of months. It appears Robert Mueller has been abiding by the unwritten Justice Department policy of avoiding significant moves in political cases during the two months leading up to an election. Other events, such as the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, have consumed the public’s attention. But after Tuesday’s election, the Mueller investigation may once again take center stage. Of course, the lull in public action doesn’t mean Mueller and his team have been sitting on their hands. But because grand jury investigations are secret, little is known about what might be happening. The press and public are left trying to glean information from witnesses who have testified or from obscure court-docket entries with titles like “In re Sealed Case.” But with the election behind us, we soon may be able to rely on more than just speculation.

The nation’s view of our democracy has always been a unique contradiction of cheering, wailing and disinterest. The shining city on the hill is also a swampy snake pit. The world’s greatest deliberative body is hopelessly corrupt, and the land of opportunity is completely rigged. While opinions vary, the dominant sentiment these days is understandably bleak. According to a recent bipartisan poll, half the country believes we are in “real danger of becoming a nondemocratic, authoritarian country,” and over two-thirds of respondents believe democracy is growing weaker by the day. The more optimistic view points to the numerous crises we’ve weathered over the past two centuries and maintains an abiding belief that the structure of the democracy is essentially self-correcting. Public sentiments careen left, right, bold, fearful, populist, elitist, inclusive and uncharitable, yet somehow our democratic society serves as ballast that keeps us afloat despite churning seas.

Leadership today is more important than ever, so choose wisely when exercising one’s franchise.

We’ll know soon who won the fiercely contested midterm elections, but we already know who lost: We all did. What’s been missing is any realistic engagement with the difficult issues facing the country.

While many seem convinced that the United States will never recover from the Donald Trump presidency, the truth is conservatism, the Republican Party and our nation survived Nixon – and we will survive Trump.