American needs to be more like Lance?

There is no doubt that Lance Armstrong’s seventh straight victory in the Tour de France, which has prompted sportswriters to rename the whole race the Tour de Lance, makes him one of the greatest U.S. athletes of all time.

What I find most impressive about Armstrong, besides his sheer willpower to triumph over cancer, is the strategic focus he brings to his work, from his prerace training regimen to the meticulous way he and his cycling team plot out every leg of the race. It is a sight to behold.

I have been thinking about them lately because their abilities to meld strength and strategy — to thoughtfully plan ahead and to sacrifice today for a big gain tomorrow — seem to be such fading virtues in American life.