In honor of Guzzardis birthday and the Davidsons anniversary, a departure from pure-politics is directed towards probing the concept

of American Exceptionalism. Putin, the EXCEPTIONAL VILLAIN, TRASHED A MEDIOCRE PRESIDENT IN NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED, an unprecedented event which inter alia prompted Jim DeMint to school Vladimir Putin in 'AmericanExceptionalism,' Michelle Malkin to School Juan Williams on American Exceptionalism, and Pat Buchanan to observe that People worldwide are sick of hearing talk of American Exceptionalism. What must always be recalled when recoiling after BHOs quote is recalled [I believe in American Exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British Exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek Exceptionalism.] is that the basis for the variety invoked in America is deeply rooted in ensuring government is controlled by We, the PEOPLE!

Kate Smiths God Bless America Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith to be the best singer of her time. He said that, when he and a million other guys first heard her sing "God Bless America" on the radio, they all pretended to have dust in their eyes as they wiped-away a tear or two. This video shows its first public singingin its entiretyincluding the original lead-in, which some omit. It occurred in 1940, a time of hardship and worry for most Americans; America was still in a terrible economic depression, Hitler was taking-over Europe, and Americans were afraid we'd have to go to war. This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE; American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainersand no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith. Kate was also large [plus size, as we now say]; the popular phrase still used today is, in deference to her, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings." Kate might not have made it big in the age of TV but, with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggest star of her time. Kate was also patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans depressed, afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope for America and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to cheer them up, so she asked the famous American song-writer, Irving Berlin (who also wrote "White Christmas") to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country. When she described what she sought, he said he had just the song for her; he found a song in his files he had writtenbut never published 22 years before, in 1917. He gave it to her, and she worked on it with her studio orchestra. She and Irving Berlin were unsure how the song would be received by the public; they agreed all profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America which, over the years, has yielded millions of dollars in royalties. This video starts with Kate entering the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new song and starts singing. After the first few verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, "You're In The Army Now." At the 4:20 mark of the video, Ronald Reagan [a young actor in the movie] is seen sitting in an office, reading a newspaper [Variety]. God Bless America stirs patriotic feelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, she may not have realized how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worryand for many generations of Americans to follow. Knowing the story of the song, people may enjoy it and treasure it even more.