I agree. Afterall, the Germans bought anti-American craps that made Schroeder win last time... So, openly 'pro' American may not be too helpful in the election.
They can build things well, but unless they change the cradle to grave socialist policies, they are unlikely to ever be able to clean our clock.
We work hard, probably too hard by the rest of the industrialized worlds standards. But the benefit is that we can put our nose to the grindstone if we must.