Now that Senator Obama has placed bitterness of political factions on the national agenda, it is time to revisit the literature on the happiness and optimism of conservatives versus liberals. Most polling that I have seen shows that conservatives or Republicans are more optimistic and happier with America than are Democrats or liberals. I don't have the archives of polling at my fingertips to prove it, but I scarcely think the proposition is controversial.A forthcoming book seems to be making the same point, once again. Craig Offman of Canada's National Post writes: As a young liberal in left-wing Seattle, U.S. economist Arthur Brooks saw political conservatives as self-interested stick-in-the-muds who were incapable of joy.Much to his own elation, he was wrong.In his upcoming book, Gross National Happiness, he shows that religious rightwingers in the United States are more capable of happiness than their secular, left-leaning counterparts. An optimistic belief in prayer,...(Read Full Post)