Conan O'Brien chooses to see the optimistic side of Donald Trump's election

On Wednesday's Conan, host Conan O'Brien took a bigger-picture look at Tuesday's election, noting that Donald Trump's victory made half the country happy and the other half "somewhere between despondent and furious." But as a history buff, "I was struck by one thought today: We have been here before," Conan said. "We have had angry, bitter elections for 200 years," and he listed some. "The point is, this is our thing, okay? And the optimist in me chooses today to be happy that we have fair and free elections at all — I think that it's an amazing thing, I really do."

After traveling to places like Cuba and Armenia over the past few years, he's learned that people in many countries "would give anything to have our system," Conan said. "In America, we get to pick who's going to ruin our country." Watching President Obama and Hillary Clinton promise a peaceful transfer of power "gave me chills," he added. "Now today, Americans have the right to feel happy, angry, pessimistic, optimistic, but everybody should feel grateful that we get to vote, and if we don't get our way, we have the chance to try again. It is a beautiful thing." He quoted Winston Churchill's line about democracy being the best worst form of government, then ended with a more dubious Churchill quote, "When healing a divided nation, always resort to cheap visual comedy," and an example of that maxim.

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Earlier in his monologue, Conan half-joked that with Trump's election, "my job just got easier for the next four years," quipped that "the first thing I did this morning was call my old high school bully and congratulate him," and offered some unwelcome solace for Clinton: "For the millions who are disappointed for Hillary, remember, America has a special place for people who lose. And ironically, it's the cast of Celebrity Apprentice."

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