His anti-Semitism and racism are evident, if ironically displayed, and estab-
lish his acquiescence in some of the most pernicious narratives of the
exceptionalist tradition. But then, dealing with the legacy of American
exceptionalism requires that theorists stop looking for ideal models.
Adams’ alienated familiarity with American identity suggests to us a reader
capable of recognizing the power of the exceptionalist tale without imitating
it. It is all but impossible to avoid reading exceptionalism in American
politics; Adams suggests a position of skeptical readership. Rather than
reversing or redeeming American exceptionalism, the theorist must now
confront it,Wnding new ways to read the role played by the United States in
a new century, and refusing to be tempted by the easy and apolitical escape of
identifying the one true and ‘‘essential American soul.’’
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