So says "U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, the dean of the Minnesota congressional delegation . . . ."

I believe the largest challenge of the next president is not global warming, not restarting the domestic economy, but changing America's image in the world," he said. "For that we need a transformational president. I think Sen. Obama will be that transformational president around whom the rest of the world can rally.

Where I come from, we call that "Amero-centric Thinking." Or something like that. I thought it was Rush Limbaugh who believed in "American Exceptionalism."

The portrayal of "image" as being an important, pragmatic issue is interesting, given the traditional distinction in our culture (going back to Plato and Aristotle) between "image" and "substance."

*ponders*

-MT