Xenia Sobchak was a guest on Morning Joe today, declaring, in perfect
English, that she represents those Russians who want their country to be
more like the US, (which calls itself
exceptional). Her interview came as Congress miraculously avoided a
‘shutdown’ of the US government, similar to the one that took place
about ten days ago. (One of the characteristics of American
exceptionalism is that when it comes time to vote a budget, if the
parties don’t agree on who gets what — or the President signals that he
disagrees with their hard-won compromise — the government — or at least
its fringes like national parks and museums — oh, and soldiers’
paychecks — are frozen.)
