I'm embarrassed to admit I had bought the 'spreading freedom and democracy' crap when President Bush spoke of it during the US-backed regime change in Iraq. I was an Air Force civilian at the time and it was officially designated as 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' (OIF), believe it or not. Years later, I heard President Obama use the term 'American exceptionalism' in one of his speeches, and that was just too much. My BS alarm went off and I woke up on the spot, like a hypnotist snapped his fingers.