Some good advice

The biggest divisive force in this country is not the President, but those who want to tear him down at any and all cost to the country and to themselves. I think Bush has done a good job the last four years of taking the relentless attacks by the left like a man. To the absolute best of my knowledge he's never complained once, never once said that the right of those people to speak their mind should be taken away, nor has he backed down or gone to hide in a hole. As Joseph Perkins of the SanDiego Union-Tribune points out:

I think it is time for a moment of grace in this year's presidential election.

John Kerry and George W. Bush ought to take a few minutes out of their schedule to have a heart to heart chat, much as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy had six days after the 1960 presidential election.

The Democrat and Republican should agree to accept the outcome of this year's presidential election, no matter how close, no matter which of the two candidates comes out on top. They also should forswear any post-election lawsuits. And they should urge their supporters to do the same.

If Kerry and Bush were to evince such statesmanship, they not only would do much to restore faith in the American electoral system, they also would do much to promote civility between all but the most rabid Democrats and Republicans.

That would be a great service to this country.