Homeless drug users in Amsterdam? Have you ever visited?

“Point is, you're free to educate us to the contrary, but it is certainly the imagery we grow up seeing in the American media.”

Feel free to educate yourself.

Don't wait for the European socialist nannies to take care of all your educational needs like.

Their economies are stronger and debt far lower because of our corporate nanny state, in which we borrow massively from China ($1 billion a DAY) and hand it out as pork, waste it on wars of choice and lavish it on companies through tax “incentives” and government giveaways to those least in need.

“Europeans, in so many of their countries, have grown up with ultimate nanny states who hand out virtually everything to the detriment of their economies.”

Please tell me that you tried to make a joke. I hope your understanding of Europe is a bit better than this.

Europeans, in so many of their countries, have grown up with ultimate nanny states who hand out virtually everything to the detriment of their economies. It's no surprise to me that they would relate to the Democrats more readily. They also tend to have a lot less of a racial and religious divide than the lingering ones we find here. All of this is just IMHO of course.

Senator Obama and the Democrats would be winning in a rout if they could figure out a way to appeal to the middle class without hurting their core groups such as blacks, Hispanics, elite whites, public sector employees, and the teachers unions. However, when SEnator Obama makes it quite clear that the teachers unions are more important than academic learning in public schools (but not private schools) he loses support.