Oh, that was Trump, of course. How far did you get before it became obvious? He said that back in April 2015.
Why am I quoting this now instead of quoting Hillary Clinton gave a speech on "American exceptionalism" in Cincinnati yesterday? Because all the news today is about Donald Trump. I know Hillary gave that "American exceptionalism" speech yesterday, but can you find a news story about it?
I'm looking at the front page of the NYT and there's nothing about Hillary — and plenty about Trump — in the whole top screen. I do a search-the-page for "Hillary" to find something, anything, and I find, down at the bottom, in tiny print: "News Analysis: Trailing Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Turns to Political Gymnastics." That's about Donald Trump! Further down: "The 2016 Race: Could ‘a Better Trump’ Be Leading Hillary Clinton Right Now?" That's about Donald Trump!
There's only one other thing, in the "Recommended for You" list at #5: "ON THE RUNWAY/Fashion Extends Its Support for Hillary Clinton." Ugh! She gave a speech on "American Exceptionalism" and the only news on the front page of nytimes.com is non-news from 2 days ago about how people in the fashion industry are doing something utterly predictable. And some fashion designer opines about Hillary's clothes: "She’s very tailored now. But I think she could go more feminine, and flowy."
Oh, yeah, well, how about some feminine and flowy American exceptionalism?
Did Hillary say anything in Cincinnati? Is it too boring to memorialize in a brief squib of a news article? Was it embarrassing or off-the-mark in some way?
I searched the NYT website for Hillary Clinton American exceptionalism, and I came up with an article, published yesterday: "Hillary Clinton, Swiping at Donald Trump, Argues U.S. Is Vital World Leader." It's off the website front page already, but it does exist. And yet the main point seems to be about Donald Trump. Maybe that's why it's not on the front page. The front page is already overloaded with Donald Trump material.
Here's the Hillary quote about American exceptionalism the NYT puts in paragraph #3:
"If there’s one core belief that has guided and inspired me every step of the way, it is this: The United States is an exceptional nation."Why does everything sound like a lie? Compare the Donald Trump quote that begins this post. The words do seem to be coming unfiltered from his brain.
That's... exceptional.
IN THE COMMENTS: The very first comment comes from Rob:
Hillary chose her words carefully: "if there's one core belief that has guided and inspired me every step of the way . . . ." In fact, there is not one core belief that has guided her--unless you count ambition as a core belief.MORE IN THE COMMENTS: So I answer Rob: "Rob, are you a lawyer? Good catch!"
And Rob says: "Ann, I knew Hillary at Yale Law. We go way back."
David Begley erupts: "As a classmate of Hillary's you can't leave it at that! Throw us a bone."
Rob says: "I was a year ahead of her, David. She was fine at law school, and far less militant and angry than several of the women there. Subsequent developments like her reported behavior on the impeachment staff, her commodities trading, her role in quashing bimbo eruptions and of course her private server have all seemed unlike the person I thought I knew, and apparently didn't know very well."
Posts
68 comments:
Hillary chose her words carefully: "if there's one core belief that has guided and inspired me every step of the way . . . ." In fact, there is not one core belief that has guided her--unless you count ambition as a core belief.
Rob, are you a lawyer?
Good catch!
"If there’s one core belief that has guided and inspired me every step of the way, it is this: I will lie, cover-up and do anything to make money for me and get into power and retain power."
Good catch!
Clearly we are all prepared for a Hillary presidency.
I always understood American exceptionalism to refer to the fact that we are the only country in history formed on an idea. That's what makes us exceptional.
With the Clintons one needs to pay attention to little words like "if" and "is."
The NYT has thrown in the towel. Those guys see the real polls.
Trump should go ahead and pick his cabinet. I propose Corey Lewandowski as press secretary.
Reading Trump's confused monologue -- do you think it makes more sense if seen -- led me to look up A.E. in Wikipedia, so at least your post reinforced my understanding of what it meant.
I can see why Democrats want to destroy the belief in exceptionalism. You can't divide us and gain power that way if we act in the belief that everyone should be equal under our system of government.
Oh, and Begley? You need to remove the "If" from Hillary's sentence to make it accurate.
American exceptionalism is the foundational idea that government authority derives from the consent of the citizenry, not divine right of kings or family ancestry or ownership of property or military strength, only the consent of the governed.
American exceptionalism is the acceptance of the universal truth that individual rights are more important than government power.
That neither candidate for president understands this is clear. And shocking.
Pitchforks, rope, lamp posts. Or at least tar, feathers and a rail.
Some assembly required.
Hillary is corrupt. What difference does it make? what difference do words flowing out of her lying mouth, make?
Oh my - Did you notice this? Kaepernick says:
“We have a presidential candidate who has deleted emails and done things illegally and is a presidential candidate. That doesn’t make sense to me because if that was any other person you’d be in prison."
oho!
It's too much work to teach what "American exceptionalism" means. There are lots of words and phrases like that: feminism, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, just war, climate change, etc.
That's why Hillary knew she could grab "alt right" and make it the new "tea-bagger" thing, and her minions will run with it.
Ann, I knew Hillary at Yale Law. We go way back.
Rob
As a classmate of Hillary's you can't leave it at that! Throw us a bone.
What is so hard to understand concerning Trump's view on the term "American Exceptionalism"?
When elites like Hillary sell us out for personal gain, we are no longer exceptional. When we give away and watch the erosion of an industrial base that basically won WWII for us, we are no longer exceptional. Maybe just stupid as Trump says truthfully.
When the Secretary of State goes to France to serenade the people with James Taylor, we are no longer exceptional. We're idiots.
When we run generation X into a lifetime of student loan dept in return for a mediocre education, and to pad administrative salaries Universities, we are idiots. No longer exceptional.
The main point Obama's Hope and Change was to prove to the American Population just how unexceptional we are. It worked.
I don't think Hillary really believes in anything, but she does play the part of an interventionist at every turn--she's never in her professional life opposed a single foreign intervention and has frequently called for more. So claiming to be for "American Exceptionalism"--a recurring theme among neocons and hawks--doesn't really fly against her hawkish instincts. But she manages to mix it with a willingness to put her own ambitions above her country, so it's hard to imagine she really believes in it.
The thing about American Exceptionalism is if you really believe in it, you don't really need to talk about it--it's just a given that our country is exceptional and our foreign policies should reflect that. Sort of like when Nixon said "America's still number one" was a bit jarring because we never used to have to say it.
I guess we should get used to this sort of non-reporting from the NYT. President Hillary Clinton will probably be an information singularity as far as the most of the MSM is concerned. It's doubtful that she'll give many press conferences anyway. Why should she? The axiom with Hillary Clinton has always been that the more you see and hear of her the less you like her. To progressives the idea of Hillary Clinton has always been more appealing than the actual person.
The words do seem to be coming unfiltered from his brain.
If there's one word that best describes Donald Trump's speaking style it's gotta be "unfiltered". The only thing that he seems to edit from his thought stream before it hits his mouth are swear words.
I was a year ahead of her, David. She was fine at law school, and far less militant and angry than several of the women there. Subsequent developments like her reported behavior on the impeachment staff, her commodities trading, her role in quashing bimbo eruptions and of course her private server have all seemed unlike the person I thought I knew, and apparently didn't know very well.
Well, keeping the center of attention on Trump, in the expectation that (with the help of the usual media operatives) he will self-destruct, is the goal of the Hillary! campaign. So the NYT is just playing along with the script. If the attention shifts to Hillary!, it quickly becomes apparent even to those hardly paying attention that Trump is right to refer to her as crooked, lying Hillary. Only she can elect him, and only he can elect her. It's just a matter of which one people decide to focus on.
"Hillary Clinton is making a case for American exceptionalism. “The United States is an exceptional nation,” she said on Wednesday at the American Legion’s national convention in Cincinnati. “It’s not just that we have the greatest military, or that our economy is larger than any on Earth, it’s also the strength of our values.” Clinton added: “Our power comes with a responsibility to lead.”"... from The Atlantic story "The Inverted Politics of American Exceptionalism"
I'm not sure that is the common definition of the phrase-- it's certainly not the definition I've held for many years. Yes, we are the beacon on the hill, the shining light, but I don't think that ever correlated with militarily forcing leadership on the world. Isn't that more of a neo-con conception of American 'leadership'.
I disagree with Trump that saying America is exceptional is saying that over countries aren't. I've always associated the concept of American exceptionalism to our strong Christian heritage where we struck a balance between the secular and religious. I would say it is the gains by secularists to destroy the religious nature of our history that has rendered the phrase meaningless.
But I certainly disagree with Clinton that the phrase is a rationalization for American hegemony.
If the attention shifts to Hillary!, it quickly becomes apparent even to those hardly paying attention that Trump is right to refer to her as crooked, lying Hillary. Only she can elect him, and only he can elect her.
Very well put. I'm hoping he does not self-destruct.
At some point, if he doesn't, Hillary must actually campaign, and maybe then the scales will fall from her supporters' eyes.
The Democrats nominated THAT?
"If the attention shifts to Hillary!, it quickly becomes apparent even to those hardly paying attention that Trump is right to refer to her as crooked, lying Hillary. Only she can elect him, and only he can elect her. It's just a matter of which one people decide to focus on."
Exactly--this campaign season has sorely lacked any real focus on Hillary because of all the attention Trump is taking. There's really little critical analysis of the inane things she is saying or promising, and voters aren't really having a chance to think much about just how unappealing she is.
"At some point, if he doesn't, Hillary must actually campaign, and maybe then the scales will fall from her supporters' eyes."
Or at least her reluctant supporters. I know too many people who couldn't stand her but are voting for her simply because Trump is on their mind all the time.
This could have been a year where the big question is "what is wrong with the Democratic Party that they just handed it to this woman?"
Ann, you seem consistently disappointed, if not annoyed, by the NYT coverage of the campaign. Why? Do you *expect* evenhanded coverage from the NYT? When has that ever happened? The MSM is a joke and to expect honest reporting is delusional.
Going around claiming to be "exceptional" is not a good thing and can easily lead you into following policies that are not so exceptional. However, when just being yourselves, I must - putting my "furriner" hat on - say that you Americans are a very strange bunch of people, but indeed "exceptional" in some, and mostly good, ways.
mikee: American exceptionalism is the foundational idea that government authority derives from the consent of the citizenry, not divine right of kings or family ancestry or ownership of property or military strength, only the consent of the governed.
American exceptionalism is the acceptance of the universal truth that individual rights are more important than government power.
That neither candidate for president understands this is clear. And shocking.
Those ideas didn't spring up de novo from the brains of some colonists in the New World. They were the product and flowering of a cultural tradition of law and politics centuries in the making. What got Americans pissed off enough to foment revolution in the first place was their conviction that they were being denied their rights as Englishmen, to which they were bloody well-entitled.
One can see the ways our country is distinct and good, without having to believe that our political culture is an unrooted abstraction plucked out of the clear blue sky, and that everybody else in the world until us lived under civic cultures somewhere on the range between pharaoh worship and abject despotism.
Trump's rejection of "exceptionalism" appears to be based on the (imo sane and prudent) understanding that nations are distinct and meaningful entities, and that one size doesn't fit all. Hillary's embrace of "American exceptionalism" has precious little to do with anything distinctly "American" (a real nation worth preserving and protecting), and everything to do with globalist steamrolling carried out under the banner of revolutionary universalism.
I'm much more interested in understanding what a candidate thinks "America" is, than I am by their meanderings on the phrase "American exceptionalism", which is now mostly used an emotional appeal by people who want to use American resources, power, and lives for purposes that may have precious little to do with the interests or welfare of real live American citizens.
In 1948 Thomas Dewey, well ahead of Truman in the polls, tried the run out the clock strategy, while Truman hit the road.
"Dewey Defeats Truman"
Craig Howard said...
I always understood American exceptionalism to refer to the fact that we are the only country in history formed on an idea. That's what makes us exceptional.
That has always been my take on it too.
There is no system to hold you back.
I don't know if this is true or not but it was rumored that once the Hessian mercenaries hired by king George the third found out that you could acquire land in the new world they didn't want to go back home. Back in Prussia unless you were nobility you could never own the land your family worked for generations. Ever.
So Trump wants to make America great again, just not exceptionally great.
It'll be interesting to see if the "inverted politics" of Hill claiming to favor AE and Trump being opposed because it's not nice will earn him any kudos from the left, besides Mother J. Trump has in fact taken a bunch of their issues (trade, no stupid wars) and rhetorical ploys (AE is not nice), and has sidestepped the landmines of SSM and abortion and entitlement reform, so now the vilification of non-Dem Trump comes down almost exclusively to immigration.
"Reading Trump's confused monologue..."
What's confused about it?
It sounds like a human being talking as he is thinking.
Is there so little of that going on around you that you're not familiar with the sound?
Living in an era of robots.
"Ann, I knew Hillary at Yale Law. We go way back."
Wow. Cool!
Anything else you'd like to say about her?
Hillary is exceptional when it comes to saying nothing and making it sound like something. In response to Anderson-Cooper question why she doesn't give press conferences, she said that there will be lots of opportunities for her to talk to the press. Duh. She could talk to the press any hour of the day or night. The prob is she chooses not to take advantage of the opportunities.
Clinton press conferences must be orchestrated. Even though the press will easily play for Hilary, it must look like the questions are tough.
Craig Howard: I always understood American exceptionalism to refer to the fact that we are the only country in history formed on an idea. That's what makes us exceptional.
Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!
"Americans and Europeans alike sometimes forget how unique is the United States of America. No other nation has been created so swiftly and successfully. No other nation has been built upon an idea—the idea of liberty. No other nation has so successfully combined people of different races and nations within a single culture. Both the founding fathers of the United States and successive waves of immigrants to your country were determined to create a new identity. Whether in flight from persecution or from poverty, the huddled masses have, with few exceptions, welcomed American values, the American way of life and American opportunities. And America herself has bound them to her with powerful bonds of patriotism and pride.
The European nations are not and can never be like this. They are the product of history and not of philosophy. You can construct a nation on an idea; but you cannot reconstruct a nation on the basis of one."
— Margaret Thatcher
I found an article about her speech in Cleveland to the American Legion in the Washington Post. The money quote from that article is "Clinton promised to invest in the military and support veterans." Any other veterans besides me think that this promise has an expiration date on or shortly after November 9th?
No Hillary, the United States WAS an exceptional nation. That is until it was hijacked by a career ruling class enabled by a lazy, uniniterested citizenry. The fact that we are faced with electing either a criminal or a pre-teen is proof positive that we're no longer the nation that did and can do exceptional things. Just like Great Britain, which once was exceptional, we are managing the decline of an exceptional USA.
Anyone--like Hillary--who doesn't believe in borders or enforcing laws, doesn't believe in American exceptionalism. A nation without borders is not a nation. And a nation that doesn't enforce its laws won't be around for long.
So The Donald doesn't like the term "American Exceptionalism," which puts him in the same boat as his buddy, Vladimir Putin. In a NY Times op-ed, Putin, criticized an Obama speech mentioning American exceptionalism. (Set your coffee cup down before reading this):
"And I would rather disagree with a case [Obama] made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is ‘what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional,’” Putin wrote. “It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.”
But Putin was wrong about exceptionalism that originated here. Just thumb through history for America'a inventions, and the encouragement given to Americans to better themselves and prosper and to be free. We don't enjoy the strongest economy in the world because we sit on our asses.
It is sad that Donald Trump's narcissistic view of the world obliterates everything not named Trump. Perhaps his next policy speech will again emphasize the return or revival of the "Ugly American."
Bob Ellison said...
It's too much work to teach what "American exceptionalism" means. There are lots of words and phrases like that: feminism, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, just war, climate change, etc.
It has become misunderstood by overuse and misapplication, but
There is a vital axiom to progressive thought: that a "Force" as scientifically identifiable as gravity affects social progress. This force pulls history in a preferred direction. History moves from a state of randomly (and unfairly) allocated resources (where value is distributed by luck, or inheritance, or cronyism, or theft-via-tournament) towards a ideally stateless condition in which all human beings enjoy a “fair share” of the “factors of production” according to needs and abilities. Any decisions or actions we take now that change our society in that naturally preferred direction -- say, imposing a confiscatory complete tax on inheritances -- puts us “on the right side of history”. Any decision which attempts to allocate resources in accord with older traditions, however justified, -- say, carving out an exception to inheritance taxes to “save the family farm” – is considered “reactionary” and regressive and because in opposition to nature and scientific forces, is doomed to failure and poverty. Since the 19th century any number of examples of nations, societies, and cultures are adduced as evidence in support of this axiom.
But, the advances and successes of the United States economy, including reductions in poverty, discovery of wholly new resources to allocate, and a “sharing” of wealth and political power that have nothing to do with socialist theory, present a counter-example to the axiom. Either the US, (as a economy, or a culture, or a form of government) is evidence that the axiom is mistaken; (or there are loopholes – exceptions – in the general rule. Or, of course, that the theoretical ideal of “the inevitable progress of history” is correct and the experimental evidence of US History is exceptionally flawed, biased, and dishonest. In either case (or any of the three cases) the variance between theory and experience is what has been meant by the “American Exception”) and those who reject “scientific socialism” and “post-modern political theory” generally on the basis of – you know – actual evidence are known as “American Exceptionalists”.
(The 20th and 21st century experimental evidence of the Soviet Union, and Cuba, and China, and lately Venezuela, suggest to me that the US is not the singular and exceptional case disproving the theory of a preferred socialist direction of history. We surely have enough data points on the timeline, now, to show that this particular 19th century “scientific hypothesis” is as misleading as astronomical notion of canals on Mars. )
We need candidates, both progressive and “reactionary”, who understand this issue and can advocate for both sides of it, so that voters can make an informed choice to “be on the right side or history” or “reject a doomed, damaging, and damning ideological doctrine”. But we have neither.
People that knew Hillary well when she was young say she was a Lefty in private and pretended to be an all-American girl in public. That was her plan to get to the top and that why she did things like join the "Goldwater Girls." The mask would drop when she was in charge.
Whenever you see someone trying to link Trump and Putin, you know that he is a disgusting fucking liar, not worthy of reading. So go ahead. DNC toe-rag.
Hillary is exceptional when it comes to making something very bad that she did sound like something very good. She didn't steal 55,000 pages of government property (emails) when she left State. Instead, she was so generous that she gave State 55,000 pages of emails when they asked.
"Ann Althouse said...
"Ann, I knew Hillary at Yale Law. We go way back."
Wow. Cool!
Anything else you'd like to say about her?"
If he doesn't I can. Let me know.
Not exceptional?
We're the only country in the history of the world which as its first act was to limit the government.
At least on paper. For that to happen in real life we need/needed people who really want to have the government limited, who value/love liberty and personal responsibility, and who choose representatives who will champion those values.
All the abundant evidence shows that a majority of us really don't want liberty. So given that unmistakable trend this only can be said. We were once exceptional, but no longer. We are now falling into the midst of the 000s of governments (and the elites behind them) throughout history which see people as subjects, not citizens.
Did Hillary give a speech yesterday? Did she do anything yesterday?
If she did, I am not going to find out about it by reading the entire front "news" section of this morning's Los Angeles Times. There are lots of stories about Donald Trump--most with at least a semi negative spin.
I'm not saying that the Los Angeles Times reporters and writers have taken a vow of Omerta where Hillary is concerned; but they seem to have adopted the idea that if they don't mention the name of the Democrat Candidate For President Who Must Not Be Named, they are helping her along. And perhaps "No News Is Good News" where Hillary's campaign is concerned.
Trump actually said, you can think America is exceptional, but he'd rather not say it and rub it in when we start taking back our manufacturing jobs. That's quite different from saying America is not exceptional.
Trump also chided the audience that we've got nothing to brag about when our trading partners have been eating our lunch for decades and we are $20 trillion dollar in debt. Trump wants to change all that but doesn't see the need to humiliate other countries. He said maybe it's because his ego isn't so big that he doesn't need to brag about America being exceptional. Somebody in the audience LOL'd.
American Expectionalism
Is a Lie
America is not exceptional. Americans are not exceptional. That seems plain in the shadows of excessive immigration, class diversity schemes, selective-child policy, and other progressive dysfunction. Don't take the nation and people's principles or "character" for granted.
I didn't get but a sentence into it before I remembered the event- he was giving an answer to a question at a Tea Party Q&A if memory serves. Hard to believe it was more than a year ago. Time flies.
Paul, it wasn't a confused thought, though maybe confusingly put into words. I think the point is this- overconfidence in ones character can lead one astray in catastrophic ways- making errors in action and errors in inaction. I don't think he fully fleshed out that thought that night, but thinking about it again this morning, I can see where it took him on later statements he has made, particularly with regards to the Middle East wars, and how the US has overextended itself. I think in many regards, the US has been an exceptional country, but I do question myself whether this is still true today, and I think a lot of Americans feel the same way- it is hard to square feelings of exceptionalism today with the mood of the electorate- they seem to feel very unexceptional in many ways.
Many globalists and far, far left friends of Obama say we do not deserve our lifestyle, including the small percentage of disposable income we spend on food. Redistribute with global warming scams, like the 500 million recently sent to the UN.
Did not Obama say "you did not build what you have?"
@YanceyWard,
I am one of those who no longer feels we are an exceptional country. I have trouble singing the phrase "land of the free" when I sing the Star Spangled Banner now. I think of all that has happened in the past 8 years - the IRS going after political enemies of the administration, the neglect of our foreign policy, the disregard for national security by our Secretary of State, the mandate that ordinary people purchase a private product from government corporate cronies (health insurance), and I just don't feel the exceptionalism. Feels more like a banana republic.
I guess when a person has a crush on another person, every little thing they do is magic. And everything their opponent does is somewhere on the spectrum from blah to outrageous.
In truth (which is where you will hardly ever find Hillary) home-grown statists are devout believers in American exceptionalism--of a certain kind. Everywhere else, State socialism and its variations bring bad consequences, but somehow, magically, increasing the power of Big Brother here in the US will bring only good things! I guess it's the old Leftist mantra, " . . . with the right people in charge." And of course with the Brain Trust that constitutes the Democratic Party leadership these days, what could go wrong?
Our claim to exceptionalism is based on our system of government at the consent of the governed and the rule of law from which no one is exempt. These things were quite revolutionary in their day. As we drift farther and farther away from those basic tenents, we become less and less exceptional. If Hillary really believed in American exceptionalism, she would frogmarch herself down to the local hoosegow.
Michael Medved attended Yale at the same time as Hillary. He basically echos Rob's sentiments. He claims she was generally well-liked and people considered her nice and kind(!). He claims further that most people were disappointed when she took up with Bill as he was not held in equally high regard. So, what happened?
After yesterday, it appears like Trump is running unopposed.
Rodham is hardly there anymore.
Ann, at 9:49 AM I responded to a question from David similar to yours.
Maybe there was no article because they would have yo talk about attendance. I saw pictures that showed many, many empty seats. We can't share that little fact with the world.
Robert Cook said...
American Expectionalism
Is a Lie
Relax, Bob. It's only an Emu.
Robert Cook said...
American Expectionalism
Is a Lie
I KNOW!! I keep expecting the government to do its job. I keep expecting our representatives to fulfill their campaign promises. I keep expecting that pony for Christmas.
It is all one big disappointment in my expectations. It is a lie. Just like the cake!!
http://www.elections.ap.org/content/clinton-raises-combined-143-million-august
Whatever else she's been doing, someone on her team has been raising money.
And whatever else may be exceptional about the US, you have exceptionally expensive elections.
Big Mike said...
I found an article about her speech in Cleveland to the American Legion in the Washington Post. The money quote from that article is "Clinton promised to invest in the military and support veterans." Any other veterans besides me think that this promise has an expiration date on or shortly after November 9th?
Me, Big Mike. If you're a veteran, you'd have to be a fool, not just a fool, but a damned fool to believe that your Veteran health care will get better. It's a long wait to get treatment now, and it will only get worse with the Crook Hillary.
Although, I have to say, to some commenters here see that as a feature.
You didn't build that, businesses don't create jobs grifter Hillary finally admits American exceptionalism.
Best comment of the day, This year Trump has given more press conferences in Mexico than Hillary has in the USA.
Robert Cook said...
American Expectionalism
Is a Lie
I guess those Democrats at the Westboro Baptist Church are right.
I've said before and I will now say again that this election is unusual in that it only involves one candidate. This election is Trump running against the political class. The political class is originating all the attacks on Trump - at least the ones that matter. The political class is asking the country to choose between it and Trump.
Hillary, meanwhile, sits lonely on the sidelines. No one cares what she says or does. When she does say something about Trump, it's to echo what the political class, his opponent, has already said. Her campaign doesn't originate any lines of attack. She is almost supernumerary, except that she is the one who will become president should the political class win this election.
@jaed, you may be onto something.
I don't like "American exceptional ism" either. I find it weird. It seems to have started about 10 years ago. Who ever used the phrase before?
What's wrong with just being patriotic and loving your country? We don't need to keep comparing ourselves to others and beating our breast about how much better we are.
In ye olden days, we knew were better. And we didn't have to say it in public, because no one even thought of saying it, because it was so obvious.
Of course, now that we've decided to turn ourselves into Brazil Nortre, maybe we need to convince ourselves its really true.
Also, nothing is more pathetic, than hearing some Republican Pol telling us that America is really great because a bunch of Salvdorians, Africans, and Filipinos want to come here.
The exceptionalism meme has always been a believer's bold claim that God has answered the fasting and prayers of Wm Bradford's Matflower Pilgrims and still sheds his grace on Thee.
Now you can really condemn it. Because it is an historical truth.
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