Soon as he found out I was American (which was pretty much the moment I opened my mouth) my fiancee and I were discussing Palin with him. We had a much shorter discussion of Obama, but Palin was still first even though the President was awarded the Nobel prize here last year. We ultimately moved on to a discussion of how startlingly Brazils president (the guy has a fourth grade education!) has taken them from 2000% inflation to a top five global economy; he took office as a friend of labor whom the right hated but steered a middle course that has everyone cheering, and perhaps Obama was trying to emulate him (though Brazils stimulus was in the laws, not corporate handouts). But by far the person we discussed most was Sarah Palin and I found myself in the same boat I've often been as a Christian talking to people scarred by demagogues in THAT arena: Trying to demonstrate that we're not all hate filled and insane, can even agree and identify with people so many, supposedly even among ourselvses, believe we're required to despise.

Meanwhile, China, India and Brazil are kicking butt and taking names; we need to pry our hands from around each others throats and stop insisting we're infallible and every other country hopelessly wrong. We made our names stealing and improving good ideas from abroad (e.g. steam engine, railroad, cars, assembly lines, standardized parts, rocketry, radio, TV) as much as by innovating our own, taking the best from every other country and leaving the bad to make the strongest, richest most free nation on the planet. If we don't remember that, and soon, instead of insisting everyone learn English we'll all have to learn "Do you want fries with that?" in three other languages....