AE

There is a strange poetry to the fact that those who most vociferously demand that the concept of American Exceptionalism be accepted without question are the very same people who, ironically, are suspicious of any American that is in fact exceptional. Curious. - XMASTIME

Interesting bit HERE re: our curious devotion to the concept of American Exceptionalism despite the fact that such a thing means death when it comes to things like the very businesses we fetishize or, potentially, America:

If businesses don't evolve, they end up like Atari, Pan Am and Woolworth's, onetime industry leaders that crashed against the rocks of strategy, innovation and competition. So the successful ones aren't shy about borrowing good ideas from others.

Then why is it so hard for the United States to admit its shortcomings and do the same?

Craig Wheeland, a political scientist at Villanova, believes it has something to do with America's innate wariness of government.

"We have a peculiar set of approaches to how government should act in our economy and in our society," he says. "That creates a barrier to looking at best practices and borrowing ideas. The business world doesn't think like that. They look at ideas that seem to solve problems and test them out, and if they don't work, they change. They're more pragmatic."

This is why the whole "Mitt Romney should be president cause he'll run it like a business!" idea is laughable. The very people that bray such a thing are the same people who think Jesus is the answer to healthcare.