American Exceptionalism

This year's presidential campaign has had its share of arguments over issues long thought settled - contraception, for one. But another wrangle between Republicans and President Obama dates far earlier than that 1960s throwback and centers on the very origins of the nation. Republicans have argued that the president fails to understand that the country was divinely inspired, based on the Declaration of Independence's assertion that citizens were “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” The "American exceptionalism" argument, as it is known, is meant to curry favor with tea party adherents who revere the founding documents, inspire a religiously tinged sense of optimism and -- not least -- portray the president as out of the American mainstream.

"It's a difficult business," writes David Graeber, "creating a new, alternative civilization. " Just open a window or turn on the TV - the same old civilization is rotting all around us. Budget cuts, police shootings, endless and ever-broadening wars, the climate in full-scale, almost-end-times spasm, a Congress of hand puppets yelping on about the manufactured crisis of the moment, a president whose answer to every crisis is More of the Same....

Had Oliver Stone not been involved in "Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States," which premieres Monday night on Showtime, would the 10-part miniseries have a less hectoring tone? Would voices of actual historians replace clips from Frank Capra and John Wayne movies to make points of fairly grave significance? And perhaps most important, without the regular use of histrionic questions such as these, would the essentially reasonable warning against American nationalist preening have been less condescending and therefore more convincing?

Had Oliver Stone not been involved in "Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States," which premieres Monday night on Showtime, would the 10-part miniseries have a less hectoring tone? Would voices of actual historians replace clips from Frank Capra and John Wayne movies to make points of fairly grave significance? And perhaps most important, without the regular use of histrionic questions such as these, would the essentially reasonable warning against American nationalist preening have been less condescending and therefore more convincing?

President Obama used a Rose Garden news conference with the president of Mexico and prime minister of Canada to reject the political argument of his likely Republican opponent that he's insufficiently committed to the notion of American exceptionalism. GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, in a speech to conservatives in a suburb of Wisconsin on Saturday, continued a line of attack that has been made by other Republicans during the primary battle, saying Obama "doesn't have the same feelings about American exceptionalism that we do. " "And I think over the last three or four years, some people around the world have begun to question that," the former Massachusetts governor said, according to the Washington Post.

Last year, when asked if he believed in American exceptionalism, President Obama responded, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. " This reminded me of the wonderful scene in Pixar's "The Incredibles," in which the mom says "everyone's special" and her son replies, "Which is another way of saying no one is. " But at least the president made room for the sentiment that America is a special place, even if he chalked it up to a kind of benign provincialism.

Suggestion box? Re "Brown wants speedy budget deal," Dec. 15 "Depressing" is the word that comes to mind while reading all this doom and gloom about cuts here, there and everywhere. But I'm confident that if anyone can turn our Golden State around, it's the no-nonsense, think-outside-the-box incoming governor, Jerry Brown. Why don't we all think outside the box and send suggestions to our governor-elect? Let's help him help us; we are all in this together. My suggestion would be to sell thousands of state-owned properties.

Unclear on U.S. exceptionalism Re "America, the one and only," Opinion, Nov. 9 Like Jonah Goldberg and President Obama, I think the United States is a great country. It was great before we abolished slavery; it was greater afterward. What did conservatives think of that? It was great before women had the right to vote; it was greater afterward. What did conservatives think of that? It was great before workers had the right to join unions; it was greater afterward.

United we stood Re "When unity was all-American," Column, Dec. 5 On a beautiful Sunday morning, I was listening to a football game with several other men when suddenly a special announcement interrupted the broadcast: "Pearl Harbor has been bombed. " We looked at each other and said, "Where's Pearl Harbor?" It didn't take us long to find out. In less than two months, we had all enlisted in the United States armed forces. Franklin D. Roosevelt said we'd never forget that day. Seventy years later, I remember it well.

A Tolerable Anarchy Rebels, Reactionaries, and the Making of America's Freedom Jedediah Purdy Alfred A. Knopf: 294 pp., $23.95 -- The Myth of American Exceptionalism Godfrey Hodgson Yale University Press: 222 pp., $26 -- In his 2003 book "Being America," Jedediah Purdy remarked that at "the same time we disclaim imperial aspirations, we Americans suspect that we are the world's universal nation."

For American fans watching on television, the Olympic Games mark an escape from workaday cares and annoyances - like political advertising. That isn't stopping President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney from trying to score a few friendly political points with pitches during the games - Obama during the opening ceremonies with a nonpartisan ode to the American work ethic and a pro-Romney "super PAC" launching spots about his winning tenure as head of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

SAN DIEGO - Mitt Romney commemorated Memorial Day by honoring the nation's veterans in this military-heavy city on Monday while arguing that the times are perilous and ensuring the United States' military might was vital for global peace. "I wish I could tell you that the world is a safe place today. It's not,” he said, listing threats such as Iran seeking a nuclear weapon, China trying to become a military superpower, Mexico grappling with drug cartels, and other international threats.

You saw the headline: “42% of American adults will be obese by 2030, study says.” But hey, why be a glass-half-full nation?  Why not a headline that says “58% of American adults won't be obese by 2030, study says”? If we can't be realistic, why not be optimistic? If we're going to be fat, can't we also be happy? That way, when you read this -- “a new report estimated that the cost of treating those additional obese people for diabetes, heart disease and other medical conditions would add up to nearly $550 billion over the next two decades” -- you won't despair.

This year's presidential campaign has had its share of arguments over issues long thought settled - contraception, for one. But another wrangle between Republicans and President Obama dates far earlier than that 1960s throwback and centers on the very origins of the nation. Republicans have argued that the president fails to understand that the country was divinely inspired, based on the Declaration of Independence's assertion that citizens were “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” The "American exceptionalism" argument, as it is known, is meant to curry favor with tea party adherents who revere the founding documents, inspire a religiously tinged sense of optimism and -- not least -- portray the president as out of the American mainstream.

President Obama used a Rose Garden news conference with the president of Mexico and prime minister of Canada to reject the political argument of his likely Republican opponent that he's insufficiently committed to the notion of American exceptionalism. GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, in a speech to conservatives in a suburb of Wisconsin on Saturday, continued a line of attack that has been made by other Republicans during the primary battle, saying Obama "doesn't have the same feelings about American exceptionalism that we do. " "And I think over the last three or four years, some people around the world have begun to question that," the former Massachusetts governor said, according to the Washington Post.

Newt Gingrich surged to victory in the South Carolina presidential primary, batting back questions about his personal life and riding a pair of strong debate performances to overtake Mitt Romney and slow his seeming march to the GOP nomination. Romney finished more than 10 percentage points behind the former House speaker Saturday, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul a distant third and fourth, respectively. Gingrich, flashing just an occasional smile, marked his victory with a sober address to supporters in Columbia, praising each of his opponents and returning to a favorite tack -- bashing the media and "the elites in Washington and New York [who]

Is America "exceptional"? All countries are different, but does America differ from all of them, in a fundamental way? Does it have a special purpose or destiny in the world? That's becoming the battle cry of the Republican Party in its bid to unseat President Obama in 2012. Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and other GOP presidential hopefuls have all declared Obama insufficiently attuned to American exceptionalism. America is exceptional, they say, except our own president doesn't appreciate it. "His worldview is dramatically different from any president, Republican or Democrat, we've had," charged Huckabee.

A buoyant Newt Gingrich struck a populist tone while claiming a double-digit, come-from-behind victory Saturday night, saying that South Carolina voters proved that bold ideas could trump deep campaign coffers. “Thank you to everyone in South Carolina who decided to be with us in changing Washington,” he said, speaking to hundreds of jubilant supporters overflowing a hotel ballroom here. “The biggest thing I take from the campaign in South Carolina is that it is very humbling and very sobering to have so many people who so deeply want their country to get back on the right track.