There are no words to define this performance by Mark Lowry of “Mary Did You Know.”

How refreshing.

Michael Barone at Real Clear Politics:

The world looks safer, friendlier, more hopeful than it did as we approached Christmastime last year.

Then, we were on the defensive, perhaps on the verge of defeat, in Iraq. The Europeans’ attempts to persuade Iran to renounce nuclear weapons seemed to have failed. Hugo Chavez was using his near-dictatorial powers and the oil wealth of Venezuela to secure the election of opponents of the American “empire” in Latin America.

Today, things look different. And they suggest, to me at least, that the policies of the Bush administration, pilloried as bankrupt by the Democrats after their victory in congressional elections in November, have served American interests better than most Americans then thought.

It certainly was a pleasure to read an optimistic yet realistic view at this time of the year. The doom and gloom game has long lost its luster with me.

All the pundits and commentary on topics which disappear after they have served their political purpose are falling on more and more deaf ears.

Not speaking for others of course, I find myself skimming many authors, bloggers and commentary which I faithfully read in the past. When you continue to beat the same horse day after day, many of the well intentioned words lose their meaning.

Have a terrific week before the week before Christmas and remember always, we are so fortunate, with all its faults, to live in the greatest country in the world.