George H.W. Bush: “He is a good man, and he has outstanding credentials.”

This means that people of every race, religion, ethnicity can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed.

I understand Americans are angry and frustrated. But we do not need someone in the oval office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration.

More than 220 years later, Washington's warning feels strikingly relevant.

Strength is not empty rhetoric. It's not bluster. And in my experience, the strongest person usually isn't the loudest one in the room.