Nonetheless, his qualities as a human being justify the outpouring of sadness from those who don't want his tour of duty to end. Unfortunately, we must move on.
Presidents aren't elected to be "nice guys". On taking office, when setting priorities for action, their first duty is to fulfill the promises made on the campaign trail.
In that context, it is fair that Donald Trump's term, when it ends, is evaluated on that basis and it is also fair that Obama's is also.
So here goes.
Much is being made, particularly by the so called "educated elite" that Trumps presidency is illegitimate. - Oh please, spare me the crocodile tears.
One of the reasons that Donald Trump is the next occupant of the White House is because the Democratic party did all it could through it's super delegate electoral system to rig the nomination of it's preferred candidate during the candidate selection process.
With that in mind, it is interesting to note the silence from that quarter when accusations are made about Clinton's legitimacy or her own history of dodgy deals.
If those Americans who find the Trump presidency so offensive are truly concerned about their beloved nation's future, they might do us all a favour and examine their own consciences and ask themselves a question or two about their own inaction during Obama's first term.
What did they do to ensure that the President of the day honoured his eloquent election promises during a period when he had the opportunity to do so instead of leaving it all to the last few months to implement policies that are now likely to be repealed.
If he had done so, I doubt that the world would have been subjected to the embarrassment of the election just witnessed. We might even be worshipping at the feet of Joe Biden.
We should all acknowledge - no more so than those "holier than thou" armchair critics that the world and the USA today is what it is, not because of Trump's surprise election but primarily because of the Obama administration's failure in critical foreign policy areas and it's indifference to the lives of many of its own support base.
No wonder they voted in huge numbers to take the offer of something better. We shouldn't be surprised at their actions. Given their circumstances, we would have done the same.
In fact, I believe we have a responsibility beyond that meaningless acceptance that we share the blame for the current situation.
As individuals and collectively we should do what we can to constructively help the new President to overcome the difficulties he has inherited.
That will require an act of good faith on our part. For all its shortcomings, that approach appears to be the only workable solution to the world's problems.
It will require some degree of honest reflection from all of us.
We can't afford more of the same.
Clive Bibby is a fourth- generation member of a well-known CHB farming family that has been farming at Tolaga Bay on the East Coast since 1980.
Marcus Agnew's column will return in two weeks' time.
Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz
