All Those Bitter Elections

For almost twenty years now, two of my favorite Americans have also been one-term presidents, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. It wasn’t their presidencies that drew my affection, but their principles, their love of family, and their love of those who were weaker, those in need of defense. These were good men, decent men, men who lost elections to figures and opponents who spoke about solidarity and unity after a bitter, partisan struggle.

But it was the elder Adams who may get a little more attention in the days and weeks ahead, especially following the 2020 Election. Mainly, because he hated his successor, argued the results of the 1800 Election to the bitter end, and left the presidency at about 4am on the day of Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration. So obviously, he didn’t attend. I remember learning this, years ago, and then watching as controversial elections (Bush v Gore, McCain v Obama) ended in clean transitions between parties that tore each other apart in the general election, neither ever quite feeling that the election was totally fair, but accepting the results for what they were and handing off the reigns of government, one party to the other, without incident. I remember being thankful that Americans always elect presidents who, despite their party differences, trust the results of the nation’s electorate, for them or against them. Adams didn’t do that and it remains, to this day, a tragic stain on his otherwise unsullied reputation.

This time around, 200 years removed from that event, it’s hard to say where things will end up in January, whether the incumbent will leave on his own or be removed, but either way, the nation has voted to move forward. And who knows. Maybe a future Trump will run for office and win, just as John Quincy did after several cycles and several decades, a pattern of his father. Considering that such a significant portion of the country still favors the incumbent, I’d say a future son or daughter has a reasonable chance at earning that portion’s favor again. But this is not their time. Not for a few years, at least.