Are there any optimists left? Any positive thinkers?

If you listen to most candidates, you might not think so. If you read a lot of columnists and watch a lot of bobbing heads on tv, you might not think so.

Most of them blah blah about our problems. I grow weary of their pessimism.

They tell us the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Well, folks, it has always been headed in that direction. And it always will be. We will never run out of problems that are going to do us in.

However, when we study these problems through dark lenses we are less likely to see solutions. And there is a compelling reason why we should peer through lenses of optimism. That is that today we are better able to solve problems than at any time in history.

I guess my complaint with the candidates is that I don’t hear any of them say, in effect, “Sure, that is a problem. But with our technology and intelligence I’m certain we will overcome it.”

Instead we hear Armageddon-type predictions. Walter Mondale asked “Where’s the beef?” I would ask “Where’s the optimism?”