“If we don't take action (to improve the US educational system), we'll end up being the France of the 21st century.” (Mitt Romney, Nov. 15, 2005)
In the wake of a groundbreaking analogy by Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney, other potential presidential candidates rushed to draw their own comparisons between the United States and other world nations.
Former US senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards began by reiterating his oft-stated concern about “two Americas” and warning that the United States “might become the Germany of the 21st century.” Edwards was uncertain which states would be “East” and which would be “West,” but vowed to tear down walls wherever needed.
Others quickly leapt into the fray.
“If we don’t take control of our beaches,” said Senator Hilary Clinton (D-NY) in a press release, “We’ll end up being the St. Maarten of the 21st century.” Clinton was referring to the island nation’s casual acceptance of nudity which, she warned, might well induce certain high-powered middle-aged husbands to consider straying from their wives.
Peripatetic former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani expressed anxiety that Americans were becoming boring and the country could turn into the “Canada of the 21st century.” Senator John McCain (R-AZ) raised concerns about the increasing use of bleaching and hair-streaking preparations by American women. “If we don’t take action,” he cautioned, “we’ll end up becoming the Sweden of the 21st century.”
Meanwhile, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (D-MA) defended France against Romney’s attacks and warned that, with Romney as Governor, the United States risked becoming the “Massachusetts of 2002-2006.” Reminded that he has represented Massachusetts as US Senator for 21 years, Kerry reversed himself and issued another warning. “I’m worried that if we go forward with this oil drilling nonsense in Alaska, we’ll become the Saudi Arabia of the 21st century,” he told reporters.
Asked why that was bad, Kerry backtracked. “OK, so maybe instead I’m really worried we’ll become like Chad,” Kerry said, ”because no one knows who they are, and sometimes I’m not sure who I am either.”
Vice President Dick Cheney, although officially not in the running for 2008, nevertheless issued his own comparison, saying that the nation’s increasing use of torture, clandestine prisons, and secret trials threatened to make the country “the Soviet Union of the 21st century.”
“Although,” he quickly added, “that is a good thing -- a very good thing indeed.”
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