The words motes and beams spring to mind

There seems to be a good deal of excitement, especially on the American blogs, about Tony Blair's "withering attack on Thursday on what he called "mad anti-Americanism" among European politicians".

All well and good, say we. It is, for some reason, an accepted wisdom that while Europeans are anti-American, the British are not. This has long ago ceased to be true. There is a great deal of anti-Americanism among politicians and not just those on the left; there is a great deal of ignorant and bigoted anti-Americanism in the media, again, not just on the left; and there is a great deal of ignorant and bigoted anti-Americanism among the people of this country in general, despite the wholesale adoption of many American words, customs and practices.

I have heard too many people in this country, on all positions of the political spectrum, who seem convinced that every single American is stupider than every single Briton and this despite the obvious evidence of far more serious publications per head of population, far better university departments and research (not all, naturally) and greater achievements in many fields, as proven by my colleague's postings on defence and our general discussions of the situation in Iraq.

So, Mr Blair, if you are reading this blog. May we respectfully suggest that you contemplate Chapter 7, Verse 5 in the Gospel according to St Matthew:

"Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Here endeth the Lesson.