As he skulked away from the White House, Donald Trump vowed “We will return in some form.” My preference would be as a caterpillar.

Apart from the democratic ritual and sense of national renewal this Inauguration Day, we take notice of something most welcome: Vice President Mike Pence, taking part in the inaugural ceremony and then later departing with his successor, Kamala Harris. In spite of being a toady for Trump through most of the last four years — in some ways it’s understandable — he showed himself in the last week to be a responsible person who does indeed care about the democratic norms. We salute him for that.

It felt good — no, it felt better than that — to see former presidents in attendance (Obama, Bush, and Clinton). That was a reaffirmation of the transition process, one from which the cowardly Trump refused to acknowledge. He was and remains a very small child.

And as he departs, we trust he will soon find himself kept very busy, not with golf, but with trying to find seventies against the coming legal onslaught, from a second impeachment (what a terrible legacy) to civil and criminal lawsuits coming in many locales. He may hope to turn into a caterpillar sooner rather than later.