Even in a democratic republic like the United States of America, it’s hard to know whether or not one has voted for the right candidate for president, senator, representative, governor, mayor, or dog catcher until well after the fact. Many who cast ballots for Lyndon Johnson in 1964 probably wouldn’t have done so had they foreseen the extent of his escalation of America’s involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Likewise, some Richard Nixon backers in 1972 would likely have withheld their support had they been aware their candidate would try to subvert the Constitution by covering up the Watergate affair, just as thoughtful Ronald Reagan boosters might have been less enthusiastic about re-electing him in 1984 had they envisioned his administration swapping arms for hostages with terrorists.

In the nine weeks since America’s most recent presidential election, very little has happened that’s increased (or decreased) the faith most Americans have in their current president’s ability to help alleviate any or all of America’s both real and imagined ills. But the whiny, bizarre post-election behavior of the man who had hoped to replace him has made one thing crystal clear: Those who voted for Mitt Romney made a demonstrably poor choice.

A week after the election, the former venture capitalist/Massachusetts governor petulantly attributed his defeat to Barack Obama’s largesse, charging that forgiveness of interest on college loans and “free contraceptives” constituted gifts to younger voters, just as offering a path to citizenship for children of some illegal immigrants was a present to Hispanics and overhauling health care was a giveaway to low-income Americans. It’s ironic someone whose campaign promises included lowering tax rates on his wealthy donors and further deregulating their businesses would complain about his opponent pandering to specific demographic groups, but given Mr. Romney’s previous labeling 47 percent of all Americans as “victims” dependent on government, his obtuse post-election comments weren’t all that surprising.

Then, after three weeks of relative silence, the defeated candidate made an odd return to the public eye at a posh Las Vegas hotel. Sitting ringside at a prizefight probably isn’t the best way to get most Americans to see you as a leader, but then maybe Romney’s heart really wasn’t in it all along. A late December Boston Globe story that was oddly reminiscent of a similar tale Aesop wrote 2,500 years ago about a fox and some grapes quoted various members of Romney’s family as saying the Republican candidate actually never wanted to be president at all.

In contrast, the almost immediate post-election conduct of Angus King suggests that the 53 percent of Mainers who voted for the independent senatorial candidate selected wisely. After his election, King quickly visited Washington several times, meeting with and listening to numerous leaders from both major political parties. He and his wife expeditiously rented a one-bedroom apartment within walking distance of the Capitol. He dove into learning about the Senate Committees on Rules, Armed Services, Intelligence and Budget, since he’ll be serving on each of them.

In the epilogue of “Governor’s Travels,” King’s short but eloquent book about the cross-country tour of the United States he took with his family after ostensibly leaving politics a decade ago, Maine’s new United States senator revealed that one of the best pieces of advice he ever got came when he was in college. An older man told him, “When you get to be my age, you’re going to regret some things about your life; see that you regret the things that you did, rather than the things you didn’t do.”

King apparently took the advice to heart; his first run for public office came at age 49, by which time he had already been married twice, fathered four children, spent 15 years at a law firm, started up a company that creatively dealt with both energy and conservation issues, been a TV talk show host, and survived a tussle with cancer. And the position he was vying for as he approached his 50th birthday in 1994 wasn’t a seat on the school board, but the governorship of his adopted home state.

Running as an independent, King won that five-way race in 1995 by a narrow margin, then got re-elected with 59 percent of the vote four years later when Mainers ignored Democrats who painted him as too chummy with big business and Republicans who excoriated him for his progressive views on social issues.

Anyone who reads “Governor’s Travels” should be fully convinced that Maine is sending an exceptionally thoughtful and pragmatic individual to the Senate.

Nothing in politics is ever certain. But given what’s transpired since Election Day, it’s reasonable to conclude that Angus King going to Washington for six years and Mitt Romney going home for good are both extraordinarily positive developments for Americans in general and Mainers in particular.

— Andy Young teaches high school English in York County and lives in Cumberland County. He is still working on doing things he’ll regret when he gets older.