While the stakes in the recent election campaign were as high as they have ever been for our country’s future, the Democratic Party failed to earn the public's trust — that foundation of our democracy’s survival.

We are now obliged to swallow the bitter pill of defeat with humility and honesty. Sulking, pointing fingers, engaging in public blame games will only make things worse. But what to do?

It’s not rocket science. The best governance practice of institutions seeking to improve performance and accountability is to conduct periodic self-evaluations of policies, proposals, communication, messaging etc. and to adopt changes as needed.

For a political party striving to better represent the public by earning and maintaining its respect and trust, the need for such an exercise seems obvious, timely and imperative. Earning trust begins with asking tough questions, such as, "How did........

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