I was a guest of Darla Jaye on her talk radio show Friday and while reviewing some of the things that have been written about me she asked if I was a pessimist. I immediately answered “No, I’m not a pessimist.” I believe in democracy and no one who truly believes in democracy can be a pessimist.

Here’s the way I see it. A pessimist is one who will not acknowledge and confront problems because he sees no way to lead people toward making a meaningful improvement in the situation. What these people term optimism is really just an “emperor’s new clothes” kind of denial. I’m actually a real optimist. I see problems and I enjoy the challenge of finding ways to marshal facts, ideas and people to make change positive changes.