Rasmussen published poll results recently that showed that more Americans see a positive future for the US than don't. However, there is more to the story.
Rasmussen found that 43 percent of respondents said "America’s best days are in the future." This is up from June, when 36 percent of respondents expressed optimism for the future, but down from this time in 2016 when 47 percent said the same.
And here's the thing: 21 percent of poll respondents said they were uncertain.
One in five voters expressing uncertainty is important to note. We are now just days away from the beginning of 2018, and Americans will be looking ahead to the midterm elections, at the progress of the economy, and the social tensions that either arose in 2017 or continued from previous years.
With so much uncertainty, how will Americans respond to the current sociopolitical climate in a midterm year?
A separate poll released on Christmas Day found that only 38 percent of voters think the US is headed in the right direction. Congressional approval remains at abysmal lows, while government dysfunction far surpasses other issues in what Americans view as the US's biggest problem.
Meanwhile, Americans remain divided in their trust in the media, and Trump's approval rating ranges from 39 percent (Gallup) to 44 percent (Rasmussen).
So what does all this mean for 2018? Well, it could be a wild year -- especially at the ballot box.