Who really cared if Americans did not have passports? Europeans really had a hard time understanding the concept of being able to drive a continent with just a driver's license.(Canada through Mexico) In Europe, you used to have to present your passport every couple of hours. You also usually have to give it to check into a hotel. It was also usually the only picture id, as DL did not have photos for many years.
I was confronted with this statistic many times over the years by my husband's relatives and I always pointed out the obvious to them. It was always fun to watch the light bulb go on in their head.
If you look at the graphic now, you will see that the most passports seem to be in the states that have the most immediate and easy access to Europe and or Asia. The Canadian and Mexican border states seem to be catching up, except you still can get away without the passport if you get the enhanced DL. How about adding in the enhanced DL as part of the statistic, since it gives access to certain foreign countries.
It has always bothered me when I read some apologist bemoaning the lack of passports in the US.

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