not the first French philosopher to note American exceptionalism...
Alexis de Tocqueville marveled at the uniqueness of America.
Tocqueville described the tension between individual and communal interests in the America of the 1830's.
That conflict remains alive and well after a centrury and a half of window-shaking change.
What Tocqueville observed with wonder was the unique structure that allowed private and public interests to coexist.
The individual and his community is both the marriage and divorce of America in that this dichotomy holds America together as well as drives Americans apart.
Publius