American exceptionalism (def. "exceptionalism") refers to the theory that the United States occupies a special niche among developed nations in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions and unique origins. The roots of the term are attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, who noted that the then-50-year-old United States held a special place among nations, because it was a country of immigrants and the first modern democracy.

Barack H. Obama's resent speech in Europe (France specifically), he declared that "In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world."  In his defense, he also went on to tell the French that Europe often inappropriately places blame on America for all the world's ills and that we should all just "get along" (my paraphrase).  This speech, which you can read in it's entirety online or catch some YouTube footage, was another teleprompter success, but in substance was very revealing in as much as it further reveals Obama's deep held distaste for American Exceptionalism.

This basic fallacy, that Europe is the World Leader, is the antithesis of the doctrine of American Exceptionalism that, during the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama claimed to believe in.   The evidence strongly leads toward the fact that the Europeans can not even provide cohesive leadership for Europe, let alone the World.  If you don't believe in the moral superiority of the American Ideal, then you can not defend it.  If you don't believe in the supremacy of the US Constitution, that you are sworn to uphold and defend, you can not promote and propagate the very fundamental principals that it embodies.

This conciliatory, ass-kissing may make "The World" love us again, but it will be a superficial love lacking in substance and respect.  As the world's last remaining superpower we have an obligation, even a moral imperative, to lead from a position of strength and rightness.  Obama's European Vacation was a quantum leap backwards for American interest and American global leadership.