[silverleaf]

and every day I walk over a bridge that has a plaque to Lafayette who encamped troops there when he was helping America win its independence

Who is today's Lafayette or George Washington? (or Churchill or Thatcher?)

Unfortunately neither of our countries is ruled by people of the caliber of the past, and it seems the character of the nation that made such sacrifices in the past is also slipping away or being diluted in a different, lesser genetic pool

And also each county must battle unfortunate stereotypes, which may have some basis in fact. America as cowboys, and France as effete cheese sniffers who don't play well with others

[kearnyirish2]

True, but I don’t think many view us as cowboys any more. Bush II kept that going a bit, but now we have this dope in the White House and look like the “sick man of the Americas”.

I’ll always be proud of France for sinking that Greenpeace ship down in NZ; I’m not proud that they accidentally killed somebody doing it.