Inauguration editorial: Best wishes to President Donald Trump

Today, we begin with hope.

The 45th president of the United States will be sworn into office, and the occasion commands our respect and our best energies.

During the political campaign, we made no secret of our misgivings about Donald Trump, and truth be told, he's done little since his election in November to reassure the country that he intends to lead with the dignity, restraint and compassion the office of the president demands.

But until today, all concerns, all complaints, all reservations, as well as all faith, all praise and all confidence, have been based entirely on words. Today, the focus turns to action, and we begin to see what President Donald J. Trump will do.

As the day of his inauguration dawns, we look forward to Donald Trump's most-meaningful opportunity to describe the vision he sees for America and the pathway he will chart for reaching it. And we pray he will do well. Unlike the cynical Sen. Mitch McConnell, whose greatest wish on this date in 2008 was for the failure of a president, ours today is for the success of one. As we said in our editorial after the election, our hope is that President Trump will prove us wrong about candidate Trump.

And so he takes office with all our best wishes.

We wish him the wisdom to make the tough decisions that must be made when faced with the countless challenges of his office.

We wish him the patience to work with people of all interests and politicians of all stripes, including those who at times will disagree with him, to reach compromises that will help move our country forward.

We wish him a thick skin, because there will be those who criticize him no matter what he does.

We wish him an open mind because sometimes those who disagree with him may be right.

We wish him compassion for those in need.

We wish him strength to stand up against powerful forces whose interests in themselves and their own well-being may exceed the needs of the country as a whole, especially those in its most vulnerable, fragile quarters.

We wish him boundless energy to pursue his duties.

We wish him intense curiosity to seek solutions that may not be immediately obvious and at times may be outside his comfort zone.

We wish him the courage to stand by his convictions and the humility to admit when he's wrong.

We wish him the power to dream of great things and the statesmanship to make them come true.

We wish him the willingness to rise above petty politics and real and imagined slights to always put our country first.

We wish him the unwavering desire to pursue peace and prosperity for all.

We wish him a nation, and a government, that can rise above personal politics to find workable, lasting solutions to the problems rending our nation. We wish him strong opposition when individuals or groups are at risk of harm; we wish him strong support when his ideas or any ideas that emerge through healthy, vigorous public debate hold the promise of the greatest good for the greatest number.

We wish him to be his best self. And we wish us all as citizens to be our best selves. To commit with honor and mutual respect to meet the huge challenges before us on our economy, the state of our climate, the future for our children, the health of our people and the peace of our world.

All dramatic transfers of power in America begin with expectations of change, and few transfers in our history have been as dramatic as that which will take place today. So, we are prepared for change, though, in the way of all people, we are nervous about just what it will look like.

Yet, we are prepared to shake off our fears. We remain committed to our communities and our country, as we expect our new president to be as well. Today, we infuse that commitment with the energy of all new beginnings, and the hope that it will bear fruit for all our nation.