海角大神

Dear reader:
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听The late Sen. John McCain would have been proud of his friend President-elect Joe Biden. The two went back decades 鈥� back, even, to before Mr. McCain鈥檚 election to Congress. In the late 1970s, when the Arizona Republican was the Navy鈥檚 Senate liaison, he used to carry the young Senator Biden鈥檚 bags on overseas trips.
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听鈥淭hat was almost 40 years ago, and by God, I still resent it,鈥� Senator McCain joked at a 2016 event celebrating their enduring bipartisan friendship.
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听They were the recipients of an award for 鈥渃ivility in public life,鈥� a poignant event. But has civility, I wondered, become so rare that notable practitioners merit a prize? Both men were appearing in person, so I decided to go. Here鈥檚 the story.
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听Now, civility seems to be in even shorter supply. The presidential election of 2020 was the ugliest in memory, and it鈥檚 still winding down. On Monday, the Trump administration 鈥渁scertained鈥� that Mr. Biden is the 鈥渁pparent winner鈥� of the Nov. 3 election, allowing the formal transition process to begin.
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听Yet President Donald Trump is still tweeting about fraudulent votes and his campaign is still sending fundraising emails claiming the election was stolen. In this parallel universe, the outcome of the 2020 election is still very much in doubt. That鈥檚 intentional, and to many people, divisive. The president and his campaign are working to keep his supporters united and 鈥渟et the stage鈥� for his next act, as Politico reports. It鈥檚 entirely possible he鈥檒l run again in 2024.
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听For now, though, President Trump still seems to enjoy the performative aspects of his job. He came to the briefing room Tuesday to tout the Dow crossing 30,000 for the first time. Later in the day, he engaged in that most venerable of presidential traditions, the pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey.
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听Mr. Trump kept it light 鈥� and civil. As he and the first lady headed back toward the White House, he ignored a shouted question about whether he might pardon himself. The first couple just turned and smiled.
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听Mr. Biden put on another kind of show Tuesday when he introduced diverse members of his foreign policy and national security team. Each spoke movingly of her or his background and dedication to public service.
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听Mr. McCain, the GOP nominee for president in 2008, never reached that highest rung in American politics. And if he were around today, he would surely say that he doesn鈥檛 see eye to eye with his friend, the president-elect, on some matters. But he鈥檇 do so civilly.
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听Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.