Christmas 2016

As I trundled around New York City in the final days before Christmas, there was a chill in the air that was not represented in the weather reports. The Christmas cheer and material excesses that usually abound in the Big Apple had a tinge of an unfamiliar anxiety - especially as one headed towards the normally effervescent Fifth Avenue.But it is also home to Trump Tower, and, as crowds mingled with a mighty security presence, there was talk of the President-elect in his lofty aerie atop of a city that in large part is none too fond of him.These are the times that try men's souls. Thomas Paine wrote that, and it's a reminder that our history has seen other moments of crisis and uncertainty. I am optimistic that we will prevail as a nation, hopefully a much more unified and fairer one. With that thought in mind, and in that spirit: Merry Christmas to all.Dan Rather