Of all the major events of our democracy, none really compares to the completion of a presidential election and the inauguration of a new president. It is one of the remarkable hallmarks of a democratic system that one entire team can peaceably be replaced by another.

Presidential elections produce important opportunities to reflect on our democratic system. There seem to be two contradictory complaints that are frequently heard about it. One is that it is too partisan and thus frequently gridlocked. The second, opposite concern, which comes mostly from each party's core constituency, is that their side doesn't stand tall and fight hard enough to establish balance and accountability.

Both are important, and each has its season in the four years that make up a presidential cycle. We just came through one of the most bitterly divisive campaigns in a long while. Suddenly it is over, and in a jarring shift, peace appears to be broken out everywhere. John McCain, who had just spent a half year trying to cut Barrack Obama down to size as a dangerous novice, offered a concession speech that may go down in history as one of the classiest and most gracious ever. The two have since had long chats about how to work together to cure Washington of some of its "bad habits."

Joe Biden, who had accused Dick Cheney of being the most dangerous vice president ever, sat down with the outgoing vice president and along with their wives engaged in what reportedly was a long, warm conversation. Before long, the new vice president will be calling the old for advice on a pesky problem or two, and they will feel a comradeship for having served in such lonely and demanding positions.

What is this all about? People who serve in high positions believe deeply in their ideas, but contrary to what is often supposed, they are motivated by a more powerful force: a genuine love of country. And this is the one short season where people from across the spectrum pause and attempt to come together.

I have had the privilege of participating in some remarkable history at the highest levels of our government, to witness and even help shape historic events, from inside the White Houses of two presidents to faraway places like Iraq. But of all the things I have been honored to participate in, nothing compares to having helped shape a transition. Exactly eight years ago, the call came to organize and lead one of the president-elect's transition teams.

For a person who dreams of shaping national policy, nothing compares to the heady business of helping to take the president's policy campaign promises, framing up the details of new programs and policies, then being asked by him to join his White House team to implement them.

What I was unprepared for, however, was the spirit that takes over Washington at this stage. Nothing compares to the bipartisan ritual of transferring power from the outgoing to the incoming administration, from one party to another. When one might expect rancor and hostility, there is instead mutual respect and deep professional pride as hundreds of senior officials from the outgoing government interact with their counterparts in the incoming administration.

Conversations range from the most complex policy to things so basic as finding your way around the building. There is talk of successes, and often there is candid admission of mistakes and concerns about remaining unsolved problems. There is far more continuity at the working level of government than many think, and most people who work there seem more eager to solve problems than assign credit or blame.

What is remarkable is that these are members of partisan teams that had been at war just weeks earlier. I recall how most in the outgoing team from the Democratic administration respected the rights of our incoming team to reorganize and move in new directions. Simply put, there was an election, and we won. So it is today — President Bush pledged that his entire administration would spare no effort in assisting the Obama camp in getting their feet on the ground.

Perhaps most amazing is watching events behind the scenes during the 24 hours of the inauguration. After all the transition planning is complete and inauguration day approaches, one team vacates the offices and turns out the lights, and hours later, while the inaugural parade is progressing, a whole new team of busy aides are scurrying around the White House setting up offices.

It is like one giant handoff of the baton, all done peacefully and with dignity.

When President Obama completes his constitutional oath, the senior military officer who carries the "football" (mobile strategic military command) pivots and follows a new commander in chief, with the most awesome power on earth transferred seamlessly.

Outgoing aides pause at the gate on their last exit. Most people who have served presidents recall the feeling of handing in their "blue badge" at the gate for the last time. This is the badge you get after the FBI does an extensive background check and which, once in your possession, allows you enter any gate unimpeded and walk straight to the president's office with guards saluting you at the door. Once you hand it in for the last time, you are just another pedestrian on the street staring like everyone else through the tall steel gates. It is the moment when you are reminded that it was a high privilege, and only for a brief season. Someone else now gets their turn.

Around the world, elections are often corrupt and violent, with outcomes frequently considered illegitimate by the losers. Too frequently, there is a score-settling, winner-take-all mentality that shows little respect to the losing side. It is easy, as some are prone to forget, for even civilized societies to plunge into perpetual bitterness.

That's not how it works here, the most successful democracy on earth. And this, after all, is why our participation in these rituals is so important. We remind ourselves again and again that we are, all of us, Americans first, members of a party second, and there can only be one president at a time. He was elected legitimately, and he deserves our loyalty and esteem, even when we disagree.

Soon enough, the president's honeymoon will be over, the "loyal opposition" will try new approaches to mounting a challenge, all with an eye on the next elections — and so the cycle repeats itself all over again. But for now, we are in the middle of one of democracy's most redemptive seasons, when most hearts are eager to join in a spirit of national unity, to listen to speeches written for all of us, privileged citizens of one nation under God, when each tries through the eyes of his own circumstances to imagine a future more hopeful.

It is easy to forget sometimes in the heat of battle that ours is the most sublime and majestic system of government ever devised by mortals. We should all be proud, always grateful, and quick to do our part to keep it strong.

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Don Eberly, of East Hempfield Township, is an award-winning author, a former aide to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and an advocate for community solutions.