As a child you probably wanted to do things that you saw your friends do, and your parents might have asked you this question:
"If everyone jumped off of a bridge would you jump too?"
Your parents were trying to explain to you that you should not do or believe something just because everyone else does, and they were right. But isn't Obama making the same mistake? He is saying that we should believe in exceptionalism just because all these other countries do. But is exceptionalism good? Is it fair or just? What effect does it have on the citizens of the United States, and on those who live in other countries? We don't know - the only thing he's told us is that it's popular.