It may have been appropriate to slander a candidate during the election, who’s to say. Our politics have always been a blood sport and it usually makes our leaders better for it… However, it’s an entirely different thing to spread lies and smears about our President. Your president, my president.

If you’re feeling bitter or dejected or even feeling that this man does not represent you. That’s fine, I can’t begrudge you that. I hope your attitude will change, but maybe it won’t. Who knows.

But what you do now know is the rejection and betrayal many of us have felt for the past 8 years of a presidency hijacked. You’re seeing a little bit of the world we saw when our disagreement was called unpatriotic, and anyone that liked the sweeping Republican majority from the past 10 years would call me anything under the sun because I didn’t see it their way.

Well. It’s different now. Being ostracized for your political views is hard and it hurts, and it divides this nation. I sympathize with you and being on the losing side of the election, and I sympathize that many people with broad views weren’t happy with the results, but I stand here, as a fellow American, and I don’t gloat, I don’t drive you out, and I don’t call you an idiot.

Instead, join with us in bringing our country back together and join us in scaling down the hyperbole and attack, and making sure we have a healthy and robust debate about the issues. None of us should tolerate unnecessary and untrue attacks on character. Let’s all try to put partisanship behind and fix our problems.

Come on, we’re all Americans in the end.