I know. I see it all too. You don’t need the numbers game from me. There is no way to cut this other than we are a deeply divided country, closely so, bitterly so, but in many cases not on the side of the divide that I believe many of you would have hoped to have found ourselves now. High hopes crash against reality.

There will be no big blue wave, but when we wake up there will be many seeds for optimism in the final analysis. These will have to be nurtured. All of that seems so distant now, I know. And painful. But we must recognize that life is big and complicated. And we face many challenges in our personal, professional and civic lives. No matter what happens, in the end, today, we have to be ready to fight on — whatever our political party or policy persuasions— for a more just, more united America.. We will need new strategies. Victory may be distant or difficult but I refuse to give in. I do not see quitting or throwing up hands in despair as in the spirit of this country, a country I will continue to love with all of my being.