Donald Trump's aides, understanding their leader, vie to be most ostentatious about calling his victory "historic."
That claim deserves close inspection. Certainly Trump's rise to the White House was unusual and surprising, even if only because it produced the least politically experienced and probably least qualified president in American history. It could also have lasting consequences: the shape of the Supreme Court, the prospects for war or peace, the shredding of regulations and the social safety net.
But the truly historic elections reshape or realign U.S. politics. There are many reasons to believe that 2016 isn't one of them.