The people have spoken.

I thought a majority of Electoral College voters would reject Donald Trump because of his abrasive character. I expected Hillary Clinton to win because of her experience and qualifications. I was wrong.

I underestimated the numbers of voters unhappy with the status quo and willing to go with Trump because he represents change. I get it now. I'm sorry for not being a better listener sooner.

I'm a columnist who covers Chicago's south suburbs. It's a diverse area. You have solidly red areas where Republicans do well. You also have deep blue territories where Democrats do well. As an opinion writer, I know my views aren't going to appeal to all parts of the audience all the time.

In this election, the side I chose lost. I congratulate the victors. I'm still an independent moderate. Illinois is like two different states, and I-80 is often considered the dividing line. This election was as much a referendum on rural versus urban values as anything else.

I was wrong to think of Trump supporters as nothing more than angry, racist chauvinists railing against establishment elites in media and government. I get it now. In addition to immense dislike for Clinton, Trump owes his election to people protesting welfare, economic globalization and the erosion of traditional family values.

I think electing Trump is like poking a bear, and I underestimated the number of people willing to take that chance. The thing about being in a group chased by a bear is you don't have to be the fastest. You just don't want to be the slowest.

Reaction to Trump's election ranges from glee to resigned acceptance to despair. On Wednesday, Clinton and President Barack Obama delivered speeches in which they were gracious in defeat. They took the high road.

“Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead,” Clinton said.

“We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country,” Obama said.

Many appealed for unity, but I'll be surprised if the country unifies. I expect Democrats in Congress to try to obstruct the Trump agenda, and if things don't improve in a hurry, they could regain legislative majorities in the 2018 midterm elections.

Maybe some establishment Republicans will side with Democrats across the aisle, and Trump's election will actually lessen some of the partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C.

If anything, this election showed that anger, when channeled into votes, equals power. I don't expect that anger to subside.

Republicans will have control of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of federal government. It will be interesting to see to what extent Trump delivers on promises he made to his supporters.

Will he build a wall and have Mexico pay for it? Will we have “extreme vetting” of Muslims trying to enter the country? How many of America's 11 million illegal immigrants will be rounded up and deported?

He's vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare and to withdraw U.S. support of the Paris agreement on climate change. He's criticized the nuclear deal with Iran, trade agreements and other foreign policy decisions. He's pledged to rebuild the American military and to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

I believe Trump's success as president will be measured in economic terms: Jobs, taxes, the deficit. He built his base by promising a better life. He was very good at criticizing the status quo.

Soon Trump will be the status quo, and if his critics don't like the way things are going, they can blame him. Will he really Make America Great Again? He was short on policy specifics during his campaign. What will he do when he takes office in January? To what extent do his supporters expect him to actually try to achieve his campaign promises?

Trump billed himself as the savior of forgotten Americans. He said what many wanted to hear. Half the country believed him, or at least felt he deserved a shot. He won states he wasn't expected to win, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

His supporters included deplorable white supremacists, but they also included a lot of ordinary folks who feel disenfranchised.

A lot of us in the news business misread the biggest story of our lives. Mainstream journalists are high on the list of villains in this election, along with establishment politicians and Wall Street bankers.

We didn't get it. We were too preachy, too high-and-mighty. We didn't listen well enough to the working-class folks struggling to make ends meet.

Filmmaker Michael Moore called it, but I was too out of touch to see America as he does.

Yet, the signs are there, plain as day, all over the south suburbs. I whistled past the empty storefronts and vacant lots up and down Cicero Avenue. I turned a blind eye to the blight and economic hardship people are experiencing.

I placed too much importance on political correctness. I condemned the ridiculous and shocking things Trump said, as if I was morally superior. I'm not. I get it now.

I'm not sorry I championed decency and character. I am sorry by how badly I misread the mood of the people. Instead of condemning Trump as a bully I should have tried harder to understand his broad appeal.

The next four years should be interesting, to say the least. I look forward to robust expressions of views from all sides. I have faith in the rule of law, and that public officials will be held accountable. I trust the system of checks and balances our Founding Fathers built into the Constitution will withstand a strongman leader certain to test the bounds of his authority.

As for me, I pledge to be a better listener. I'll remain most interested in local concerns —injustices and inequities affecting everyday life in the south suburbs. I'll continue to call 'em like I see 'em.

Hopefully, my vision improves.

tslowik@tribpub.com

Twitter @tedslowik