In the reunion classic "The Big Chill," a criminal defense lawyer played by Mary Kay Place tries to find the words to convey to her old college friends just how awful her clients are and settles on the phrase "extreme repulsivos." Asked who she imagined she would be representing, Place replies, "I just didn't think they would be this guilty."

The outgoing Trump presidency has produced quite a rogue's gallery, none more disgraceful than the outgoing president himself. We are reminded of this on a daily basis. Last Friday, President Donald Trump held a White House meeting with convicted felon and all-around expert on who should be locked up Michael Flynn to discuss declaring martial law and ordering America's military to force new elections in the swing states won by President-elect Joe Biden. On the same day, news emerged that the president wanted to appoint as special counsel Nutcase-With-a-Law-License Sidney Powell, who has traversed the country making the fraudulent claim that the presidential election Trump lost was "rigged." The president wants to authorize Powell, whose right to continue to practice law is open to question, to use governmental power to pursue his untethered claim, which has been rejected as bogus by every court that has considered it.

Amidst the craziness, it is easy to overlook the promising news on the horizon. Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, the polar opposites of Donald Trump in every way, will soon occupy the White House, and not a moment too soon. They bring with them refreshingly old-fashioned American values that have seemed to be on newly vivid display since Nov. 3: an appreciation for patriotism the way we learned about it in civics class, small-towners' respect for others and devotion to family. The faith that has sustained them is welcome balm for a nation reeling under round after round of reasons to lose faith. It is perfectly in keeping with the unembarrassed mendacity President Trump has displayed in repeatedly accusing Joe Biden of threatening religion. Biden, a devout Catholic, attends Mass regularly, while Trump could not tell a Bible from a bacon cheeseburger. The footage of Biden attending church these days feels like a shot in the arm, a reminder to Americans of Biden's frequent exhortation to "keep the faith." And Dr. Jill Biden exudes warmth and humor at a time when the country badly needs both.

Foretelling what we have in store, MAGA World contrived a chance to demean the incoming first lady for having the temerity to use the standard title "Dr.," traditionally used to signify the achievement of earning a doctorate. It is obvious to all but the willfully blind that Dr. Biden is not only accomplished but also a mensch who has led her family through excruciating loss and trauma. Why, then, shouldn't she be targeted for mean-spirited belittling by the whackadoodles who have cheered on Team Trump?

Leading the charge was Fox News' most-watched flim-flam man, Tucker Carlson, who pronounced Biden "illiterate" and guilty of using "fake credentials" to "justify their power over you." Carlson is, of course, well-positioned to patronize Biden for her three graduate degrees inasmuch as he has none. But the chutzpah paled before the misogyny, an absolute must-have for anyone aspiring to hero status in Trump Land.

One of the curiosities of American history is that, at crisis points, we have lucked into electing badly underestimated presidents who proved to be just what the nation needed. Abraham Lincoln, who took the oath of office just weeks after the country had split apart, was one. Franklin Roosevelt, sworn in amidst economic calamity that was two and a half years underway and had no end in sight, was another. In the last six weeks, we've watched a president-elect about to lead a country ravaged by a pandemic, and a citizenry whose future is more uncertain than at any time in a century, project calm and discipline, humanity and decency.

There's been plenty of bad news. The good news for the country is that our new president looks like what the doctor ordered.

Jeff Robbins, a former assistant United States attorney and United States delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, was chief counsel for the minority of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. An attorney specializing in the First Amendment, he is a longtime columnist for the Boston Herald, writing on politics, national security, human rights and the Mideast. To find out more about Jeff Robbins and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.