I confess to a touch of prejudice. I get the whole "We Are the World" idea, but sometimes, my nationalism flares up, like the time years ago when I was walking down a crowded noontime Park Avenue and an Asian gentleman placed his hand on my chest to shove me out of his way.

“Those people act like they own the place,” I grumbled to myself (I told you this was a confession.) Of course, the Japanese had just bought Rockefeller Center and a handful of other trophies along with the Germans so, in a sense, they did.

Much the same feeling arose at the recent MIPIM conference. The mood was very much one of taking advantage of the USA’s weakened international monetary status. We’ve become the bargain basement to the world, Kmart spelled out in red, white and blue, and sadly ineffectual at competing at the international real estate game until our dollar grows less anemic.

Three videos I conducted while in Cannes stand out. Howard Roth of E&Y echoes the same sentiment I just did (without the vitriol; Howard is always a gentleman). And Jim Fetgatter of AFIRE sees a long wait before capital flows outward rather than inward.

But my chat with Mahdi Mokrane of AEW Europe has special significance. He speaks of a possible double dip in Europe as need faces a major pricing gap. If he’s right, the playing field might even out sooner than anyone here expects, and I can start shoving people back on Park Avenue. Assuming, of course, the Fed has a clue on how to shore up our still-sluggish recovery and beef up our dollar.

That’s a whole other question.