To be more specific, here's why I think the segment is crap.
The whole thing is set up to make the watcher believe that Jeff Daniels' character is the fount of wisdom (from the questioner being portrayed as an idiot from the start, to the smarmy post-card woman in the back prodding him to do the right thing, to his rattling off of stats).
Let's go through the list.
Is America is the only country that has freedom? No. However, freedom isn't a binary quantity, and in reasonable measurements and definitions of it, America will be in the top handful out of the nearly 200 countries in the world, with exact position depending on how you weight the components of your freedom measurement (i.e., religious freedom, amount of regulation of personal behavior and drug use, freedom to bear arms, amount of regulation on starting a business, amount of regulation in building codes, tax rates, etc.). It is a country founded upon freedom (among a few other important concepts), and that is a core element of its Constitution.
America is 7th in literacy. No. According to the CIA world fact book, the US has 99% literacy, but there are about 28 other countries that report greater than 99% literacy. Most of them are small, but there is Russia, Poland, Ukraine, etc. that are not tiny. Some countries reporting greater than 99% literacy that might surprise some people: North Korea, Greenland, Cuba, Barbados, Samoa, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan. Literacy is good, but is 99% vs. 99.2% or even vs. 100% a major determinant of country greatness? I think that looking at distinctions in 1% is not meaningful there.
America is 27th in math. Sort of. According to 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, assessing teenagers in OECD countries (not all countries), the US is 36th. The top countries by a wide margin are China, Singapore, and Korea. America is 22nd in science. Yes. According to 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, assessing teenagers in OECD countries (not all countries), the US is 28th. The top countries by a significant margin are China and Singapore. Is math and science of teenagers the measure of national greatness? As one who has a BS in engineering and an MS and Ph.D. in science, my opinion is: certainly not. Almost no one uses anything beyond trivial math and science in their daily lives or professions. I work in a technology field, and even I hardly use much math, and the science I use is very narrow. I do think it's good to know some math and science, but there is a multitude of skills that are more important (interpersonal skills, negotiation, persuasion/motivating, knowledge of finance, knowledge of policy-level economics, etc.). The math/science metric is meant to show quality of American education through high school. But if you want to talk about science and math where it is really used, you are in the realm of needing university education, and there America leads the world by a wide margin. See, for example, The Times World University Rankings, where the US has 27 of the top 50 universities (20 of the top 30); 21 out of the top 50 universities in engineering and technology; 25 out of the top 50 universities in physical sciences.
49th in life expectancy. Sort of, but irrelevant. From WHO 2012, the US is 35th. In a country like the US, life expectancy is no longer very dependent upon level of healthcare or technology and greatly more dependent on genetics (independent of national qualities), what people prefer to eat (their own preferences), and how much they like to exercise (their own preferences). So this statistic is completely useless as a measure of country "greatness".
178th in infant mortality. No. By CIA World Factbook, US is 47th (near Canada and New Zealand). However, some countries report their infant mortality much differently. US counts a birth as a birth. Many other countries don't count it in the stats if the child is below a certain gestational age or is not over a certain size or weight. This criticism does have merit, but it is a problem more with culture and education than healthcare.
3rd in median household income. Sort of. But median household income isn't what matters. What matters is what you can buy with your income. So, if you live in a country where you make $100,000 per year, but eggs cost $100,000 each, you aren't doing so well. Also, if you earn $100,000 per year, but your taxes are $99,000 per year, you aren't doing so well. Better is to measure PPP (purchasing power parity) and make it after tax. The OECD does this for OECD countries. In that ranking, the US is #1 in household income ($39.5k for the US vs. $30.7k for Switzerland, which is #2), #1 in household wealth ($133k for the US vs. $101k for Switzerland, which is #2).
#4 in labor force. Does he mean unemployment or labor-force participation rate? These are very messy stats. Different countries have different ways of measuring. Also, this is going to be highly skewed by how hard each country was hit by the 2008 crash, and some countries (just speaking hypothetically here) could have been highly impacted by a most-recent administration that does highly inept things if the goal were to generate stronger recovery (France and . . . maybe some others that I can't name here). So, depending on which year you pick and how you measure, sure, the US could be #4 or #15. This is one area where the US is *not* doing anywhere near as good a job as it could, and to criticize our unemployment rate or labor-participation rate is, I think, appropriate.
#4 in exports. According to CIA World Factbook, We are #2 behind China (which if we weren't buying all of their stuff wouldn't be #1 in exports).
#1 in number of incarcerated citizens per capita. Yes, but over half is for drug offenses (55%). So, whether this is good or horrible depends to a significant extent on whether or not you think drugs should be legal.
#1 in number of adults who think angels are real. This is a crap statement. This is one that should be per capita (in which case the US is likely far from #1); and the smug snarkiness should at least be expanded to number of people who aren't atheists (in which case the US might not be #1 either). And if you expand it to people believing in superstition or anything non-scientific (which would include most leftists, even though they don't think so), the US might no longer be at the top.
#1 in defense spending. OK, but only a dolt would negatively correlate defense spending with "greatness" of a nation.
What does he leave out? Which country creates the most inventions -- by an enormous amount? Which country creates the most technology? Which has the most valuable companies? Which has the most freedom of religion? Which has freedom to bear arms? Which has freedom to educate your own child? Which has the most universities? Which donates the most money to other countries? Which has the highest amount of charitable donations as percent of GDP? Which has the greatest natural resources including farming? Which has the largest stock market? Which has the largest bond market? Which has the most-used currency? Which country has the most Nobel Prizes? Which country generates the most scientific papers? Which country generates the most software? Which country has the most artists? Which country creates the most movies, TV shows, books, plays, and music? Which country generates the most health-care advances? Which country is the top pick for entrepreneurs building the next big thing? Which country has the most socioeconomic and class mobility?
I don't point out such things unless someone is misrepresenting the US. To say it otherwise is obnoxious, and causes people to have a negative opinion. But if some dolt is spewing a highly slanted portrayal, there should be some counterpoints.
