become a precedent for future administrations, rather than the bizarre anomaly that it is. If we accept this as the new norm-slinging insults, win at all costs, and never give an inch-we will begin to resemble third world countries, where civility and decorum are cast aside to make room for political blood sport.

All the changes that you hope your candidate will accomplish will become faded dreams, not because they weren't feasible or doable, but because the democratic process requires time and reasonable compromise. We did not wake up one day and have Social Security or Medicare as we know them today. It took planning, negotiation, and great political skill to make them a reality.

We need our thinkers and idealists to inspire us to be better, but we also need our capable pragmatists to bring about a tangible version of those ideas. Lofty rhetoric and great ideas are part of the process, but they will only take us so far. Then the politicians have to do the dirty work and produce a real life manifestation of those dreams. Not everyone is going to like the end product, but it is a step forward, opening the way for many more steps.