The real irony of this new US tactic, which Glenn has not mentioned, is that it's a huge boost for the actual al Qaeda, which is operating in Iraq in small numbers. Think about it - al Qaeda is competing with other radical groups for the hearts and minds of angry people across the Middle East. To be described by US officials and the media as the real bad guys, the ones who are really giving it to US troops, is a propaganda win for them and a big recruitment tool. The US is giving them a status which they don't deserve and they'll be loving every minute of it.

As an Australian long-term Salon subscriber, it really is kinda irritating that the one time Salon pays any attention to Australia it gets wasted on this entirely trivial, irrelevant story. Although Australia is very much a bit-player in world politics there are far more interesting and important stories to tell. WWW will have come and gone in 5 seconds and no-one in Australia will even have noticed. And there is no such word as 'parlimentaries' - the word you're looking for is 'elections'.

You guys might be laughing at her because she's female or Southern, but believe me the rest of the world is laughing because she's American.

We're laughing at her because she reminds us of your President. We're laughing because of all the times Americans have said something really dumb to us ("Gee, you speak good English for an Australian. Where did you learn?") We're laughing because beauty pageants are such a silly part of US culture. We're laughing because it reflects our general bewilderment that the richest nation in the history of the world has such a flawed education system.

The USA is simultaneously the smartest and the stupidest country on the planet. It's an amazing paradox. I love everything great about it, but I also really love a chance to laugh at what isn't so great.

healthyskeptic, some of your points are sound and some are not.

In my view the USA's introspection has nothing to do with being a superpower. It is partly a function of having a large population, and it's partly cultural. To compare to the Middle Kingdom is kinda hilarious, because it in fact makes the opposite point. The Chinese of that time were inward looking, but had no phones, TV, internet, radio or planes. They literally had no way of knowing that they were not the centre of the world. Modern Americans have no such excuses.

Also, you don't need to tell us about the USA. We know about your geography and culture. That's the way cultural imperialism works - the whole world knows everything about you, but you know almost nothing about us. We even know about the dumb things your beauty queens say!

We know that you are isolationist because we are still annoyed that you were late to WW2. We're grateful for your contribution to winning the war in the Pacific, but kind of pissed off that tens of thousands of Aussies were already dead before you worked out there was a war on. Rightly or wrongly, we would never do that to you (witness our troops in Iraq - we're so loyal that we even show up for really stupid wars), although admittedly you will never need our help in the same way.

And you really don't need to tell us that Australians travel internationally more than Americans. Mate, there are undiscoverd Amazonian tribes that travel internationally more that Americans do.

Hey healthyskeptic, relax. You're being overly aggressive. I actually agree with most of what you've said, and the rest is not very important. I understand the US OK - I've lived in the Bay Area - but happy to agree to disagree on some stuff. Have things to do (it's early afternoon here), won't be returning to this thread.

The imminent demise of the Howard govt is a cause of immense joy for many Australians. I live and vote in his electorate (though I'm not an Asian-Australian) and am truly looking forward to voting against him on the 24th.

As an interesting tangent, Rudd has committed to withdrawing all Australia's combat troops from Iraq by mid-08. The US is about to lose another Iraq ally it seems.

On the broader issue of racism, I don't believe that Australia is more or less racist than any other comparable country. There is plenty of racism sure, but that's sadly the case everywhere. To say that Australia is a racist country because of John Howard is like saying that the USA is an inarticulate, fundamentalist Christian, warmongering nation because of George Bush. Simplistic and wrong, in other words. The big picture is that Australia is, like the US, a successful multicultural society which, despite undeniable problems, has a low level of racial tension overall.

No, no reasonable person can deny the racism in either country. I agree.

My point was only that it's problematic to generalise about a whole society. Australia has many racist people and many people who abhor racism. The US has the same. There is both good and bad in all of us, and it's our responsibility to ensure that the good wins more often than the bad. Which explains why I'm voting against John Howard on Saturday week.