The Age Online  Home   >   Opinion   >   Article  A healthy dose
of reality kicks in  February 2, 2004  Printer friendly version
Print this article Email to a friend Email to a friend  America
and France have been brought back to earth with a thud over the
past year, writes Thomas L. Friedman.  A year ago, at the Davos
World Economic Forum, I saw elephants fly. Yes, sir, right here
in the Swiss Alps I saw big ideas defying gravity. At this
year's Davos forum, though, all the elephants came crashing
down. Turns out elephants can't fly after all - and the world is
a better place for it.  Since Davos gathers together a sample of
global leaders, business executives and social activists, it's a
good place to take the world's pulse.  Last year's Davos was
dominated by three big ideas. The first was put forth by Bush
officials that the United States not only was ready to invade
Iraq largely on its own, but could also pull off regime change
there without the help of either the United Nations or major
allies - France,