Europe-21. USA-One. Wait, make that two.

So, Europe is still winning. They have the culture, the food, the urban planning, the languages, the art, the Euro, the history, the Catholicism, the Nutella, the public transportation, the dashing first ladies, the tourism, the budget airlines, the UNESCO world heritage, the social safety net, the inexpensive wine, the playful graphic design, the artisans, the cafes, the olive trees, and the Camino de Santiago.
BUT. And it's a big But. We have Barack Obama--and they're all jealous. It's not Barack insomuch as his race that begets this feeling. Everyone is envious of the position of race in America-- specifically, its approaching irrelevance. The truth behind the 1960s is finally revealing itself. It's not that we were the most bigoted, racist nation--we were just the first to go through these growing pains, and right in the public eye. All the water hoses, bombings, and civil rights struggles did not signify that we were backwards and close-minded, but that we were hurtling toward the future at a pace far outstripping that of our Atlantic neighbors. From Carla Bruni hoping for an "obama effect" in France to the struggles facing these countries as a whole regarding immigration, it is obvious that the United States is still THE place for dreams and, hey, let's be honest here, people of color.
Oh, and we also have peanut butter.