donald j. trump <u+2019>s unlikely defeat of hillary clinton is a political earthquake of a kind that rarely disturbs american politics. not since andrew jackson has a winning candidate so defied the settled order, for better or worse. the political and media establishments are bewildered, and no doubt many voters are too. but a trump victory was always an outside possibility, and the political analysts and wall street forecasters who wrote the republican off as doomed ignored the multiple surprises of this disruptive year. mr. trump<u+2019>s victory was not overwhelming as he will probably lose the popular vote to hillary clinton. but he broke decisively through the democratic strongholds of the upper midwest to take a convincing electoral vote majority. if mr. trump<u+2019>s election is a moment of uncertainty, voters understood the choice, and their judgment can<u+2019>t be dismissed as merely a fluke of an unconventional and bitter election year. mr. trump can congratulate himself for seeing around corners to spot political opportunities where very few did. mr. trump<u+2019>s support is a testament to the democratic power of discontented voters. it turns out that many of them live in states like florida, ohio and wisconsin that mitt romney didn<u+2019>t carry but mr. trump did. president obama has too often governed as if the preferences of those voters are illegitimate, and this contempt was bound to generate a political challenge. the lesson the political class should have learned<u+2014>we include ourselves here<u+2014>is to be more respectful of voter sentiment and the refusal of the american public to accept economic decline without a fight. we didn<u+2019>t expect the obama counter-reaction to take the form of mr. trump, who lacks political experience and whose convictions on public policy are especially elusive. the businessman likely didn<u+2019>t win on his program, to the extent he has one. voters decided he was an agent of change and rejected the progressive agenda and the third obama term that mrs. clinton represented. above all, mr. trump is a walking rebuke to the general liberal indifference to economic stagnation, as if the status quo is the best this country can do. enough voters were so dissatisfied that they were willing to take a risk on mr. trump<u+2019>s unusual political profile and volatile temperament. they did so despite his disorganization<u+2014>and despite all the traditional advantages like fundraising and get-out-the-vote that mrs. clinton had on her side. mr. trump ran the least conventional campaign in modern times, but it triumphed over mrs. clinton<u+2019>s campaign that boiled down to disqualifying mr. trump on his character. the question now is how the president-elect will meet the awesome responsibilities he is assuming. stock futures originally took a tumble on tuesday<u+2019>s news, as they did after brexit, but prices rallied on wednesday. whatever worries investors have about mr. trump<u+2019>s temperament may have been offset by the recognition that he wants to lift the government<u+2019>s restraints on the private economy. mr. trump<u+2019>s job, like any president-elect, is to provide confidence and reassurance. he set the right tone in his remarks wednesday morning, pledging to unite the country and unleash every american<u+2019>s <u+201c>potential.<u+201d> one of the first tests will be his personnel decisions, starting with his picks for treasury secretary and secretary of state, as well as how he staffs the west wing. does he surround himself with smart, sound people who know how to use the white house<u+2019>s levers of power and who will tell him what he doesn<u+2019>t know<u+2014>as he did when he selected mike pence as his running mate? or does he continue to rely on his own instincts and a small coterie of advisers? after an intense and divisive campaign, mr. trump also sounded the right note of magnanimity toward mrs. clinton, who returned the gesture with her own gracious concession remarks on wednesday. mr. trump should go further and drop his campaign vow to investigate her and call off the republicans in congress. if she were charged with something, he should pardon her. mr. trump the outsider also needs insider allies, and he will find some if he builds relations with capitol hill. he and house speaker paul ryan have policy differences, but the re-elected gop congress will be crucial to a successful trump presidency. he should also reach out to senate democrats, and his wednesday call to likely new minority leader chuck schumer was smart. mr. trump<u+2019>s usual impulse is to get revenge on his enemies, real and imagined, but purges waste political capital. even republicans who have differences with mr. trump really do want him to succeed, and to help him do so. mr. trump would be wise to follow the example of ronald reagan, who adopted the reform agenda that jack kemp and other house republicans prepared. such a ready-made agenda is awaiting in the house gop<u+2019>s <u+201c>better way<u+201d> plan. most of it overlaps with the themes the businessman outlined in his prepared general-election speeches, and these ideas would contribute to a faster-moving economy that increases incomes and creates jobs. his trade protectionism and the wall with mexico would do the opposite. mr. trump has a chance to succeed if he follows through on his pledge to prioritize the economic growth that creates jobs and lifts incomes for all americans. voters tend to judge presidents on tangible results in their own lives, and prosperity solves a lot of problems. we realize that this assumes that mr. trump will be able to govern differently than he campaigned, but sometimes the institution of the presidency enlarges unlikely figures. maybe flush with <u+201c>winning, winning, winning,<u+201d> he<u+2019>ll discover a more optimistic and inclusive politics. or so we can hope, if only for comity and the good of the country. the president-elect is about to learn, and fast, that the office he will soon hold is the ultimate art of the deal. populism like mr. trump<u+2019>s is not unusual in american history, but rarely do such movements obtain actual power. the next weeks and months are not merely a test of mr. trump as a manager and a leader but also of the strength of the federalist separation of powers and the american tradition of the peaceful transition between the administrations of fiercely divided parties. in lincoln<u+2019>s second inaugural, in 1865, he appealed to his <u+201c>fellow-countrymen<u+201d> to work toward reconciliation and domestic peace, <u+201c>with malice toward none, with charity for all.<u+201d> the 16th president always repays attention, but his words seem particularly rewarding after a long night like tuesday.
president-elect trump - wsj
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