I have a theory that one of the reasons people outside of the US were so happy when Obama won is that most people really want to like America because they think it's cool. Like American food, you know it's not exactly good, but it sure is tempting.
It was very hard for most people to like the US when W was... doing whatever it was he did. So when Obama came in, we were suddenly allowed to like America again, to admit that it was pretty cool after all. We were prepared to forget Dubya, to overlook all that 'lying to Congress and the people so we can go to war' thing, and to gracefully pretend that the startling oddity that is Palin never really happened.
Them came the whole birth certificate thing, and the Muslim thing, and the whole crazy anti-healthcare thing ... and the US was back to being that embarrassing drunk friend at the party that you'd all like to ignore if you possibly could but is making so much noise that you can't help but look. And cringe. And wish they were cool again.
Sigh.
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