In the end, the election of 2004 was not a repeat of 2000. That breeze you feel comes from millions of Americans sighing in relief.

Sen. John Kerry's gracious concession speech Wednesday afternoon was more important than George W. Bush's conciliatory acceptance speech a few minutes later. It meant the nation was not going to endure the agony of challenges and recounts that drove Americans, and particularly Floridians, close to civil warfare four years ago. Ohio is not going to count its provisional ballots until more than a week has passed, but the president's margin of victory there was enough to ensure that Kerry had virtually no statistical chance at winning. He is to be commended for accepting that reality.

Kerry's speech was the first step toward healing an America that remains deeply divided. The rest of the steps will belong to Bush.

This election was a referendum on Bush's performance. It was an evaluation on his decision to invade Iraq despite being wrong about weapons of mass destruction. It was a judgment on his conservative principles and religious values, and on his controversial positions on stem-cell research and faith-based welfare services.

A clear, if narrow, majority gave him a passing grade. But that is too simplistic of a way to look at things. The election was also an assertion of power by middle America. Look at an electoral map. With a few exceptions, East and West coasts voted for Kerry, while the states in between and in the South voted for Bush. The coastal-inland divide is only one of the many ways Americans can be chopped up and analyzed.

And yet, Bush must be the president to all.

We hope that the president will now feel he has a mandate that escaped him four years ago when he won despite losing the popular vote. But we also hope this empowers him to reach out to those who may feel alienated or left out.

He took a good step in that direction Wednesday with a victory speech that said America was entering a "season of hope." He reached out to those who had voted for his opponent. Kerry helped that along in his speech by committing his support.

By reaching out, the president does not need to shy away from his agenda. He should forge ahead with the campaign in Iraq and work to bring about reforms in Social Security and other programs. Battles certainly loom in Congress and among the American people. But ideological battles do not have to be rancorous or alienating. Our hope is that the next four years can be a time of increased civility and respect in public life.