"You live and learn," said Roddick, who spread himself thinner than skim milk in projecting his all-American image far and wide.

Here he was, a Mexican-American skater who belied his sport's all-American image.

Mr. Previtali said Coke, with its all-American image, appealed to G.I.'s eager to embrace mainstream American life.

"I think many consumers are already saying that Kobe fostered an all-American image but he did nothing to deserve it," Williams said.

While the GTO name evokes all-American images, the new car is a testament to globalization.

For the designer Ralph Lauren, the patriotic sentiment that swelled in the weeks after the attack was tailor-made to the all-American image he has long cultivated.

Even today these men strain to uphold a 50's-style all-American image.

Alford's wife Tanya said, "Everybody talks about his hair, his all-American image, how mothers would want him to marry their daughter.

He just had that all-American image.