Wednesday will be more than just another day — more than even just another day after a presidential election.

For millions of Americans tired of the flood of negative ads and the bitterness of the campaign, it will bring relief.

Commentator Joe Scarborough wrote a column titled “Both sides should calm down.” He described the parallel worlds of partisans on both sides, saying his Democratic friends have been nervously clicking on liberal Web sites like the Huffington Post and “listening to liberal hosts who assure them that the only way their party could lose would be through lies, stolen votes and a racist America.”

Scarborough continued, saying his conservative friends have been reading Wall Street Journal editorials and “listening to talk show hosts who told them the only way their party could lose was if the media buried their candidate or pollsters entered a grand conspiracy.”

It’s clear that regardless of who wins, if there is a clear winner, there will be no mandate. Given the closeness of the race, about half the population of the United States will be disappointed. Some will be angry. Some will be resentful. Some will be worried about the future of the country.

With each election, the level of negativity and vitriol seems to increase. Many Americans are afraid to discuss politics with friends or neighbors because of the fear that harsh disagreement could threaten the relationship.

The television ads that have run this election have been overwhelmingly negative. According to Campaign Media Analysis Group, as of Oct. 28 there had been 1,086,162 ads aired. About 90 percent of the ads were negative. In most cases, the negative ads distorted or lied about the other candidate. The possible result is that unless people do research on their own, they could believe that no matter which candidate wins the election, he’s a liar, wants to see America fail, only cares about the rich, wants to destroy the environment, hates teachers, likes to see record numbers of people on welfare or wants to tax most of the money people and businesses make.

A Pittsburgh newspaper suggested in an editorial Monday that if potential voters only get their information about the election from the misleading TV ads, the country would be better off if they stayed home and didn’t vote.

But beyond relief that the campaign is over, Americans should also realize that there are huge challenges facing the country.

Voters also should admit that neither candidate has addressed those challenges in any detail. That’s because any specific plan with details would stir up fierce opposition. A candidate who told the truth about the hard choices facing America, the need to reduce spending on entitlements and the need to increase taxes — and on not just the wealthy — would have been destroyed by the opposition and defeated at the polls. So, both candidates largely skirted the big, tough issues.

Americans need to find a way to come together, despite the negative and nasty campaigns that worked to divide us more than ever.

Capturing the White House might not matter much if Congress continues to be as dysfunctional as it has been in the past two years.

If the GOP strategy of saying no to every Obama or Democratic initiative works, then Democrats might opt for the very same intransigent behavior when facing a Republican in the White House. It might be smart politics, but it’s dumb government.

The list of challenges facing the United States is daunting.

Deficit spending of $1 trillion a year and a $16 trillion national debt.

A crumbling infrastructure of roads, bridges, railways, sewer and water systems and electric grids.

Unsustainable entitlement spending in Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid — which gets worse as the baby boomers retire.

Constantly rising health care spending, where twice as much is spent in the U.S. on a per-capita basis than in other countries.

A failing public education system that is not adapting to a new world with different job-skill requirements.

Rapidly escalating costs in higher education that are making a college education unaffordable for millions — or saddling them with many thousands of dollars of debt upon graduation.

A culture in Washington where special interests rule through lobbying and campaign donations, crowding out the interests of average citizens.

Failure to develop a comprehensive energy policy in the United States and failure to develop a plan to safely store nuclear waste.

A weak global economy, which is depressing the recovery of the U.S. economy and hurting manufacturing.

A still dangerous world of terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

The list goes on and on. Yet few in Washington are telling the public in any serious and credible way what they plan to do.

It will be nice to no longer see the TV ads or get robocalls at home, but the end of the election only means a transition to what should be the serious work of actually governing. After the celebrations are over and after the recriminations and second-guessing end, it will be time to move forward and find a new way of doing business in Washington.