They really do think differently

It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy though I feel sorry for his family. What is perhaps more interesting about the Eliot Spitzer debacle is how it's being viewed from China and elsewhere. The Chinese press (and/or foreign press) is pretty predictable criticising American decadence and hypocrisy and my sense is that they've been to a degree successful at creating the impression that Americans really aren't much different than how the Chinese government works.

Of course, I'm not sure any foreigners know what to make of Barack Obama - a black man (ignoring for a moment his mother was white) with the middle name of - gasp, Hussein who could actually become President. When I first started making friends with people who were born and raised in China, it was almost an assumed that I was discriminated against (in the negative sense) growing up (generally not the case).

Then there's this. The post captures it perfectly. The Chinese are truly fantastic at backhanded compliments.