A lot of people in the US see our president as being the "leader of the free world", and you're right, mandotim, its roots are deep in the way a lof of the people in this country see us as a nation (ie: we are the greatest nation in the world - we are the most freedom loving people in the world [ha!] - we are the most generous people in the world - we are the most advanced nation in the world, etc).

My response to this particular bit of hubris, however, would be, "what 'free world'"?