HOW SHE SEES IT Let us put the election of '04 in done column

By MARSHA MERCER
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Just in time for Thanksgiving, the tableau of four presidents together at the Clinton library dedication reminded Americans that we have much to be grateful for.
No jokes about four turkeys, please.
Seeing Bill Clinton beside George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter at the Little Rock love fest was a patriotic tonic.
As Clinton said, "Today, we're all red, white and blue."
Gone was George W. Bush's pointed and oft-repeated pledge from the 2000 campaign that he'd "restore honor and dignity" to the White House after Clinton's two terms.
Both Presidents Bush praised Clinton's personal drive and determination.
The current president called Clinton's life a "remarkable story" and an inspiration.
"We thank him for loving and serving America," the president said.
Small club
The former presidents society is a small club with a unique perspective. A presidential candidate has to fight for votes, and a sitting president has to battle to achieve his agenda. Former presidents work on securing their place in history.
Clinton, the gracious host, praised former President Bush for initiating education reform and said the younger Bush has been "very kind and generous to my family, and I thank him for that."
Clinton wants those who visit his library, "whether they're Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives, to see that public service is noble and important ... I want young people to want to see not only what I did with my life but to see what they could do with their lives."
These days, public service often seems far less than a noble act. It doesn't help that for the past 20 years, candidates have been bashing Washington on their way to office here. To see respect, courtesy and, yes, bipartisan affection between former foes, it helps to have the election behind us.
For a party badly bruised by the bitter defeats of Nov. 2, "the man from Hope" even provided a model for how Democrats might talk about faith.
At the dedication ceremony, Clinton thanked his pastor "and all the other ministers here who have taught me, prayed with me and counseled me over the years. I thank God for my family and Hillary's family ..."
He wished President Bush well on the path to peace in the Middle East.
"I hope you get to cross over into the promised land of Middle East peace ... we are all praying for you," Clinton said to cheers and applause.
The presidential campaign really is over. It's time everybody took a deep breath, removed the campaign signs from their front windows and got on with life. We can be Americans again -- not red Americans and blue Americans, just Americans. We're human.
Sometimes it takes a major health incident to jolt one into a greater appreciation of what's important in life.
Cancer
That appears to have happened with Sen. John Edwards, the Democrats' vice presidential nominee, and his wife Elizabeth. When she found a lump in her breast two weeks before Election Day, Elizabeth Edwards didn't want to bother her husband. She broke the news to him about a week later, only after tests showed it likely was cancer. The cancer diagnosis was confirmed the day after the election.
Senator Edwards said in an interview on the "Today" show last week that anyone could have seen a difference in him that last week before the election.
"I mean I was completely preoccupied with her, and how she was going to be -- also our kids. You know, we've got Kate, just 22, and Emma Claire, who's 6, and Jack, who's 4. They need us and we have to be there for them. So, for all those reasons, I was focused on Elizabeth," he said.
Clinton has come through his heart surgery with a greater appreciation of life.
In an interview with ABC News last week, he talked about taking long walks and seeing the world as if for the first time.
"I was always working too hard and too long. And so, today, when I take these hourly walks that are part of my recovery, you know, and I walk past 40 trees, I can probably tell you what color 30 of them were. You know, I find birds that I used to know, I'm more alive to just the pace of daily life than I used to be, and I'm very grateful for things that are easy to take for granted."
Happy Thanksgiving.
X Marsha Mercer is Washington bureau chief for Media General News Service. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.