North American Exceptionalism (2)

"We still have the most creative, diverse, innovative culture and open society — in a world where the ability to imagine and generate new ideas with speed and to implement them through global collaboration is the most important competitive advantage" Thomas L. Friedman wrote in The New York Times of 25 December 2008 ("Time to reboot America"). Needless to say, Friedman must be a US citizen (he thinks in superlatives) and by "we" he does of course mean the US. Well, North Americans are known the world over for having a slightly distorted view of themselves. In fact, we all have but not all of us are spreading it all over the place. By the way, how would one measure "the most creative" I wonder?