I read this piece by George Weigel earlier today and, however accurate or otherwise his specific observations may be, I think he gets at the reason why the thing seemed so strange and even disturbing to some of us: it just was not what we expected of England. It was more like something you'd see in this country. Although I can't think of anyone on the public scene right now who could command this sort of devotion, who would be the least surprised at displays of mass hysteria here? We Americans are crazy, and everybody knows it. But we still think of the British as more sensible and stable. Or at least we want to. Pre-TypePad