"For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback." — Michelle Obama

Is that a surprising sentiment to hear from a woman who wants to be first lady? You might think so, until you realize that she is married to a man who doesn't hold his hand over his heart for the Star Spangled Banner and makes a big deal out of not wearing a flag pin. Those two would make a great first couple -- of Cuba or maybe Venezuela. Granted they might be a little to the Left of the people in charge now, but if anybody needs empty feel-good speeches featuring lots of Sesame Street rhetoric about "change, "hope," and "unity," it's the citizens of Cuba and Venezuela.

But, since the Obamas’ patriotism is as thin as Barack's resume, maybe someone should take the time to explain to them why they should appreciate this country.

To begin with, we live in a Super Power with the greatest military and economy the world has ever seen. We're also the longest surviving democracy in the world and our example has inspired hundreds of millions of people across the world to seek freedom for themselves and their families -- and often we have helped them. We've done more to promote freedom and democracy in the world than any other dozen countries combined -- and we still do. We've expended immense amounts of blood and treasure to help keep 50 million Afghans and Iraqis free, our military ensures that there's peace in nations like Taiwan and South Korea, and if not for our support, Israel would probably long since have been annihilated by its genocidal neighbors. Then there's South Korea, El Salvador, Grenada -- you can go on and on with a list of nations whose freedom, in some form or fashion, that we've had a hand in.

We've also fought time and time again in the 20th century when the forces of darkness threatened to engulf the world. Our entry into WWI utterly changed the course of the war. In WWII, without our help, the Allies could not have defeated the Axis. Then there was the Cold War, where we prevented the Soviets from spreading their evil ideology across the planet.

Afterwards, it was just as Colin Powell said:

And when all those conflicts were over, what did we do? Did we stay and conquer? Did we say, "Okay, we defeated Germany. Now Germany belongs to us? We defeated Japan, so Japan belongs to us?” No. What did we do? We built them up. We gave them democratic systems which they have embraced totally to their soul. And did we ask for any land? No, the only land we ever asked for was enough land to bury our dead. And that is the kind of nation we are.

It is indeed the kind of nation we are because the American people, while not perfect, are fundamentally good, hard working, ambitious Christian folk who want to do the right thing, not just for our country, but for the world.

That’s why we are, have been, and will continue to be the nation that does the most to promote freedom, capitalism, and democracy around the world. It's why Americans give more than the citizens of any other country. It's why we're usually the first nation on the spot helping out after a major disaster in another country. It's why food grown by Americans feeds starving people all over the planet. It's why drugs, created and delivered by Americans, cure the sick across the world. It's why people all over the planet have been able to, with the help of Americans, raise themselves up out of grinding poverty and make better lives for their families.

The Barack Obamas of the world don't see this because as Machiavelli once said, they have "imagined for themselves republics and principalities that have never been seen or known to exist in reality," and they compare our nation to those fairy tale kingdoms. It's very easy to look at how we defeated the Indians and took their land, slavery, and the other assorted grievances that Barack's pals on the Left have with America and conclude that we're a terrible nation -- but, not if you compare us to other flesh and blood countries. When you do that, especially when we're talking about other Super Powers through history that have had responsibilities across the world, as opposed to Toy Poodle nations that make little difference in the world one way or another, you'll find that no other country has done nearly as much for humanity as the good ol’ U.S. of A.

And despite the howls of the anti-American Left, the "Muslim street," Socialist apparatchiks, and Western European snobs, the world knows this in their souls. That's why we're called the "land of opportunity." It's why we have tens of millions of immigrants waiting in line to move here. It's why the same nations that sneer at us when things are going well, run to us first for help when things turn bad.

America is a good country and Americans are a decent, patriotic people that deserve a leader who is as proud to be a part of this nation as they are. What they don't deserve is an unpatriotic empty suit who actually thinks that it takes a certain "audacity" to have hope in a great nation like this one.