They are, that's true, and have been for some time. The good news is that stereotype, a couple of years ago, via it's dominance of American politics and ideas (publicly, to the outside world) had stretched out to be the stereotype of America or Americans, and it is now subsiding rapidly as it's becoming apparent that opposition for Bush, Iraq etc is now the mainstream in the US. The conservative with a gun in one hand, bible in the other, spewing rubbish about Freedom Fries, is, thankfuly, a rapidly diminishing image. Travel around the world a few years ago and everyone thought the US had gone flat out crazy simply because the noise of a few was shouting down the many. Switch on Fox News a few years ago and you were honestly left sitting there thinking "We're all fucked" because you felt that millions upon millions upon millions believed the hype, now you just have to laugh at those still hanging on. The head-up-the-arse attitude towards foreign affairs was scary, but it's all but gone. The head-in-the-sand towards global warming, among other things (particularly 'social' issues), just shows the stupidity of certain beliefs.