exceptionalism

In the spirit of the holiday season I have a gift for you: a freshly minted Herman Cain joke.

Q: Mr. Cain, what about Libya?

A: I never laid a hand on her.

But life isn't all jokes and foolishness. It just seems that way when you're dealing with politics. There are serious issues to be addressed — college football, for example.

The grimmest college scandal in memory has erupted at Penn State, a quiet university deep in the Pennsylvania mountains, dedicated to academic excellence and watching football.

We are the greatest country on earth. If you don't believe it, just ask us.

American "exceptionalism" -- the declaration of which produces that warm feeling of knowing there's nobody as good as you are -- is a growth industry these days, particularly in the right wing's workshops.

Hardly a day goes by without a conservative politician telling us how terrific we are and how anybody who disagrees should be deported.