Regardless of who wins this bitterly contested election, the victor will face the same basic, daunting, task: reconciling the vast promises that have been made, both in this campaign and earlier, with the government's limited ability to meet those promises.
It won't be easy.
You can blame Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or both for this campaign's guttural nature — the lies, insults, exaggerations and accusations — and certainly they can't be exonerated from the sins of distortion and embitterment. But it is too easy to blame this democratic debacle only on the candidates' flaws.