“To deny American exceptionalism is in essence to deny the heart and soul of this nation.”
— Mike Huckabee, August, 2010.

“To renew American exceptionalism, we must recognize that our present crisis is not merely economic, but moral in nature… As we seek to build national wealth, we must renew our commitment to the institutions that nurture the character of our people — traditional family and religion.”
— Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) in 2011.

“America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.”
— Pat Buchanan in 2008.

“I believe in America. I believe in the freedom and opportunity, and the principles of our constitution, that have led us to become the greatest nation in the history of the earth …”
— Mitt Romney, April, 2011.

“It wasn’t a mistake that the fantasy avenger figure of Rambo became immensely popular in the wake of defeat in Vietnam or that, unlike American heroes of earlier decades, he had such a visibly, almost risibly overblown musculature. As eye-candy, it was pure overcompensation for the obvious. Similarly, when the United States was actually ‘the greatest’ on this planet, no one needed to say it over and over again.”
— Tom Engelhardt, “Imperial Decline: How Does It Feel to Be Inside a Dying Empire?”, TomDispatch.com, April 19, 2011.

“When it shall be said in any country in the world my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want; the taxes are not oppressive; the rational world is my friend, because I am a friend of its happiness: When these things can be said, there may that country boast its Constitution and its Government”
— Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”.