Optimism reigns for 2007, poll finds

In the rearview mirror, however, it's a mixed picture.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The news from Iraq and other national headlines may be grim, but in Greenville, N.C., John Given has a new baby and his first home, and life is good.
So, too, for Sandra Trowbridge in tiny Magnet Cove, Ark. The situation in Iraq makes her feel pessimistic about the state of the nation, but at home, at least, all is well. Even if nothing special has happened to her family, she says, "we still love each other," and that's enough.
And so it goes for most Americans. An AP-AOL News Poll finds that while most Americans said 2006 was a bad year for the country, three-fourths thought it had been a good one for them and their families.
"In a time of war, so little has been asked of us as citizens," said Given, who teaches ancient Greek at East Carolina University. "We haven't had to sacrifice anything. We've been allowed to live our lives very, very well."
Looking ahead, optimism reigns.
New year
Seventy-two percent of Americans feel good about what 2007 will bring for the country, and an even larger 89 percent are optimistic about the new year for themselves and their families, according to the poll.
That fits with a long-term trend suggesting that Americans are generally an optimistic lot. Polling over recent decades is replete with optimism, and with a tendency for people to feel more positively about their own situations than that of the country overall.
Self-proclaimed optimists and pessimists think they understand why.
Krista Grueninger, communications director for Optimists International, a volunteer service organization based in St. Louis, Mo., says it's easier for people to be optimistic about their situation "because they feel they have more control over their own lives. It kind of goes along with the American dream; if you really want something you can go out and get it."
Iowan Jack Duvall, who organized a group called the Iowa City Benevolent & amp; Loyal Order of Pessimists, says that when people look at the country, "it's easy to say, 'No, I'm not optimistic.'"
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