NEWS AND OPINION:
Despite all the hand-wringing in some political sectors, the nation is feeling pretty good about 2017 — now a mere 96 hours off, give or take a few minutes.
Rasmussen Reports offers this handy summation of how things are shaking out, based on their own recent polls: “Sixty-one percent believe American society is fair and decent, the highest level of confidence in three-and-a-half years. Americans also are more optimistic about the future than they have been in over four years,” the pollster noted.
A new Associated Press poll finds that 55 percent of Americans believe things will be better for them in the coming year — up 12 percentage points in the last year, with Republicans “especially likely” to feel such optimism, the poll said.
And yes, Americans feel happier about their pocketbooks. A CNBC economic survey covering the fourth quarter of the year found that 42 percent of Americans believe the economy will get better in the next year, an “unprecedented jump” of 17 points following the election, and the highest level since President Obama won the White House in 2008.
Gallup, meanwhile, finds religion is still a factor: Three-fourths of the U.S. identify as Christians; 2 percent are Jewish, 2 percent Mormon, just under 1 percent are Muslim, and 2.5 percent say they practice another “non-Christian religion,” while 18 percent are agnostic or atheist. Amid the differences, Gallup also found that 53 percent of Americans overall say religion remains “very important” in their lives.
OBAMA’S PLANS FOR JAN. 21
In a lengthy, casual podcast aired Monday by CNN, President Obama told his former close adviser David Axelrod that he’s already got his eye on the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“I think my intentions on Jan. 21 are to sleep, then take my wife on a nice vacation. And she has said it better be nice. She’s earned it; she deserves it,” Mr. Obama said, though he did not reveal Michelle Obama’s ideal destination.
The president has a to-do list, however. “I’m going to start thinking about the book I want to write,” he said.
It would make his third major book. Mr. Obama is the previous author of New York Times best-sellers “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.” He’s also revealed he plans to remain politically active for progressive causes. Things could get pretty lucrative.
The president and first lady could make up to $45 million on post-presidency book contracts, according to The New York Times.
“More than enough to pay the estimated $22,000 monthly rent for the nine-bedroom home they will occupy in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington and foot the bill for flights on private jets,” the news organization noted in a recent story about Mr. Obama’s post-White House life.
“His is going to be easily the most valuable presidential memoir ever,” literary agent Raphael Sagalyn told The Times. “And I think Michelle Obama has the opportunity to sell the most valuable first lady memoir in history.”
FOR THE LEXICON
“The Kissenger.”
That’s a two-way “mobile kiss messenger” for use on smartphones that allows users to simultaneously send and receive the sensation of a kiss on a specialized silicone pad now under development at City University in London.
Designer Emma Yann Khan says the device offers “effective communication of deep emotions and intimacy through a multisensory internet communication experience.”
TRUMP COULD USE REAGAN TOUCH ON ISRAEL
The relations between the U.S. and Israel are fairly miserable following a United Nations Security Council resolution that declared Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank illegal; the U.S. abstained from the vote. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared his nation will ignore the vote. What now?
“President-elect Donald Trump has said that things at the UN will be different after January 20. But the damage to Israel has been done, and won’t be undone easily. There is every reason to believe that Trump will re-establish our friendship with Israel. There is no reason for him not to do so. But he has to do more,” writes American Spectator contributing editor Jed Babbin.
“Ronald Reagan was a conservative internationalist. He wanted to engage with the world, but chose wisely not to do so through the UN. Trump must pursue our foreign policy on those grounds. The UN is only a danger because President Obama has allowed it to govern our foreign policy for the past eight years,” he advises.
“Some in Congress have advocated diminishing our funding of the UN which accounts for at least 22 percent of its annual revenue. Trump should demand that Congress drastically reduce our payments to the UN. We await his decision to press Congress to do so. We’ll see if he does. Part of history’s judgment of his presidency will be rendered on it,” Mr. Babbin cautions. “It’s time to walk Reagan’s path again and not let the anti-American, anti-Israel United Nations decide our policies.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 77 percent of Americans say Donald Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton is an “extremely” or “very” important news story.
• 63 percent say worldwide terrorist attacks in several countries is an extremely or very important news story.
• 51 percent say unrest following police-related deaths and police killings are extremely or very important.
• 43 percent cite the spread of the Zika virus, 38 percent cite the North Carolina bathroom issue.
• 34 percent cite the Brexit vote, 34 percent cite protests against the North Dakota oil pipeline project.
• 28 percent cite the approval in four states of recreational marijuana; 24 percent cite the death of Fidel Castro, 16 percent the death of Muhammad Ali.
Source: An Associated Press poll of 1,007 U.S. adults conducted Dec. 9-11.
• Murmurs and asides to jharper@washingtontimes.com
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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