Exceptionalism In The Speech

Last night's State of the Union address included least three separate references to America's singular role in the world. Mr. Obama has been uncomfortable with calling America the greatest country in the world -- not because he doesn't believe it, but because he has a subtle view of what this greatness entails. Usually, he means to suggest that our strength derives from our self-corrective capacity, rather than from some Providential or historical source. Last night, exceptionalism animated his speech: because we are America, we can solve these problems. America has a role to play in history. ("I do not accept second-place for the United States of America.")