Since I have been writing about this presidential election for more than a year, in its aftermath, it seems appropriate to offer some kind of valedictory.

The column I was expecting to write assumed a President-elect Clinton. It would have urged reconciliation, even quoting from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address in 1861: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as they surely will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

The column would have expressed the hope that a Republican-controlled Congress would give the new president a chance to govern, despite the eight years of obstructionism that crippled her predecessor.

Well, it just goes to show you that you shouldn’t block out a column, if only in your mind, in advance of the facts. It isn’t President-elect Clinton; it’s President-elect Trump.

Surprisingly perhaps, my thoughts are much the same. It is time for reconciliation. We should not be enemies. The divisiveness of this campaign has torn our country apart, and it must stop. It must stop before it causes permanent damage to the social contract that binds us together as a people. To my fellow Democrats and progressives, it should start with us as an affirmation of our belief in our Constitution and its tradition of a peaceful transition of power.

Whether the olive branch extended will be accepted remains to be seen – Lincoln’s was not – but I think it important that we make the offer.

The second part of that once-imagined column still has some validity. To a Republican-controlled House and Senate, be judicious in your exercise of power.

Your leadership has preached the necessity of change from the policies of the Obama years. You have claimed that 70 percent of the population wants change. Well, with control of House, Senate, and White House, the fate of our nation is truly – and completely – in your hands, and those of President Trump.

Use your power wisely. Remember that (at least as this is written) Hillary Clinton received more votes than Donald Trump. Moreover, this country is no longer the preserve of one race only. We are a multi-hued society, and becoming more so. All have aspirations that demand to be addressed. Women expect their place in that society to be determined by something other than a scale of one to 10. Younger citizens demand an economy that has opportunity for them. Older citizens claim their right to dignity and security in their senior years. Should you ram through ideologically motivated measures that fit your vision of political orthodoxy, but shortchange these realities because now you can, you damage not only the country but your own political futures.

As you settle into your new digs inside the Washington beltway, don’t forget the moms and pops, and other “little people,” who put you there. You don’t “own” anything in Washington. You merely lease it for a period of time from the American people – and they have long memories. Major promises were made. New jobs. New trade treaties. More secure borders. The return of manufacturing from overseas. The reopening of the coal fields. A reduction, if not outright repeal, of environmental regulations deemed obstacles to economic growth – hopefully without wrecking the environment in the process.

An ambitious, some might say overly ambitious, agenda, but these folks put their faith in you and the new president. You had best not disappoint.

To the new administration, best wishes and God speed.

To my friends on the short end of the election, don’t forget that we have been here before.

The last time it was a B-grade movie actor who once had a chimpanzee for a co-star and shilled for 20 Mule Team Borax in the early black-and-white days of television. It turned out to be survivable, and so will this.

In the meantime, smarter folks than I will dissect the obvious and not-so-obvious things that went wrong for us a few days ago. If we have the will and the courage to correct our shortcomings, we still have a message of hope and renewal that can resonate with the American people and find its place in the future of the country we all love.

But first, a binding up of the wounds inflicted in the course of the campaign, because, at the risk of irritating the victors, it is undeniable that we are “Stronger Together.”