Americans work more than Europeans, but they are not unhappierbecause ofit.

The Greek tragedy is far from over as the debate over whether to accept debt-forgiveness conditions upended the government in Athens. Furthermore, other debt-laden European nations risk going under.

Those who compare Nicolas Sarkozy unfavorably to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher should remember that free-market reform is incremental and depends on cultural shifts.

The negative reaction to a French proposal to raise the retirement age emphasizes that France is unlikely to escape Europe's new age of austerity and the fundamentally flawed European social welfare state model.

The French are hard-working but have not yet been given the opportunity to make the most of their work ethic.

While we criticize the "capitalistic robber barons" of America because they seem too sure of their priorities, we timidly defend our Social Welfare systems. Stay out of it! It could get expensive! We'd rather discuss reducing our 35-hour workweek or our dental coverage, or our 4 weeks of paid vacation... Or listen to TV pastors preach about the need to "reach out to terrorists. To understand and forgive.

Ifthe electionlooks hopeless now, hours before voting day, it is McCain himself who has made it so.

Republicans vying for the U.S. presidency in 2008 must learn a lesson from Nicolas Sarkozy's tactics in France.