I have been asked and asked if I can articulate what it is that I can possibly see in President-elect Trump that makes me believe in him at all and think he might do more good than harm. I have pondered that question a lot since Donald Trump won the election. Here are a few of my random thoughts about why I’m willing to give Trump a chance.

During the campaign I wrote dozens and dozens of articles calling Trump out for what he has been and therefore is. I am aware of the many things conservatives do not like about Trump. Some may never like him for a whole host of reasons which were pointed out over and over during the campaign.

But Trump won despite all those concerns. We need to, and will, hold President Trump accountable, just like we have other elected officials at all levels of government. That’s part what conservative political activists do — fight the bad and encourage the good.

As the new president, Trump deserves a chance to get it right or screw it up. We will call him out when he is wrong and congratulate him when he gets it right. Perhaps it is because I am congenitally optimistic. But my optimism is tempered by my schooling. Law school and the practice of law beat skepticism into my head.

I do not want Trump to fail, unless he tries to take us down the wrong road. I don’t like that Trump is unprincipled and that everything is negotiable and a negotiation. But maybe that makes him more realistic, than I am. Unlike Obama or Hillary, I think Trump can and might push things in the Right direction. I’m willing to give him a chance.

I believe there is a chance President Trump, with the Republican-controlled Congress, can improve some serious problems facing the nation. I will wait and see what he actually does. I take everything happening now with a grain of salt, and will continue until Trump actually takes action as president. We have to wait and see if Trump does what he said he would do in his Contract With the American Voters. There are a lot of things in the Contract that I think will be helpful.

I am encouraged that after Trump was called out this week for including lobbyists in his transition team, an obvious inconsistency with this promise to drain the swamp, Trump sent in Pence to clean house. That gives me hope that perhaps Trump will stand by his promises to the voters.

I like some of the people Trump has chosen to help him, such as Vice President-elect Mike Pence and his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. But I am concerned about others such as Chris Christie and Steve Bannon.

That’s my rationale for being supportive. I want, and I am skeptically optimistic that as president, Trump will not only act presidential, but he will govern as the Conservative he now claims to be. I will watch the Trump presidency hopefully, but warily, and hold him to account.