Is this country exceptional? Are Americans exceptional? Yes and no, I believe.

Pundits debate the question of American exceptionalism. They have for a few hundred years. For example, French historian Alex de Tocqueville described the U.S. as exceptional back in the 1830’s.

President Obama damned the idea by faint praise a while ago. Political satirist Bill Maher recently ridiculed the idea on his TV program.

I like it when celebrities pooh-pooh or promote the idea. Their remarks set commentators a-flapping. Too often those commentators overlook a few things.

The most basic of these is the system. Our system of governing ourselves. It was exceptional when our founders created it. Many countries have since copied parts of it. Many have not. Compared to their systems, ours is certainly exceptional.

Some of the exceptional ingredients? Our concept of checks and balances. To keep people from wielding too much power. Our system gives our president great powers. Ahh, but it also gives our congress the power to whack his legs from under him. Double ahh, it also gives our courts the power to rein in our congress as well as our president.

Other exceptional ingredients: The Bill of Rights. Guarantees of various freedoms. Protection to own property. Innumerable devices that let our system flex with the times.