You know it, I know it and the American people know it.

Or at least that’s what the late great Bob Dole, a World War II hero, senator and eventual Republican presidential candidate, used to always say.

With respect to his legacy and memory, I say again: You know it, I know it and the American people know it.

So there.

Oh, I guess I better just get to the point of what I think we’re so great at, huh?

And while the list of things we Americans do well is quite long and rather diverse, I’d like to focus on something that may seem insignificant at first blush, but is really quite remarkable in its own right.

We came up with the TV sitcom “Friends” and life, as we knew it, was never the same.

OK, fine, I’m a huge fan and think everyone should be, so sue me.

There are so many reasons I think this is the greatest situation comedy of all time. Mind you, I say this with great respect for the “Jack Benny Show” (yikes dating myself there!), “The Honeymooners,” “Seinfeld,” and “Cheers,” et al, I stand by my “Friends.”

Heres’ what “Rolling Stone” magazine had to say that backs me up.

“‘Friends,’ the popular American television sitcom that aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) network from 1994 to 2004 won six Emmy Awards, including outstanding comedy series, and from its second season until the end of its run maintained a top five or better Nielsen rating, hitting No. 1 in its eighth season.”

Told ya.

“Friends” was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and is about a group of six young adults who are either roommates or neighbors (or their siblings, in the case of Ross and Monica) in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

The program revolves around the characters’ individual and collective search for sex, commitment and meaning.

The friends consist of three men and three women, whose varied personalities and shortcomings allow for both broad audience identification and abundant comedic moments.

In the show’s first episode, we are introduced to Monica Geller (aka Courtney Cox), a chef who often changes jobs and boyfriends in her search for the perfect match.

Her brother, Ross (David Schwimmer), is a paleontologist and divorcee (three times over by the end of the series) with a son from his first marriage, to a gal who, well, wound up liking other gals.

He has a long-standing crush on our beloved Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston, whom I adore), a fashion-minded woman who grew up in a wealthy family but works (for a time) as a barista at Central Perk.

The show’s premier episode takes place at Central Perk, a neat little cafe and popular meeting spot for the group. Eventually Rachel lands a job with Ralph Lauren. Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) is a ditsy masseuse and would-be musician with a quirky outlook on life. Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) is a mostly struggling actor and kind of a “the elevator doesn’t go the top floor” kind of dude. He often confides in Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), a successful statistics and data analyst who has terrible luck with women and in time falls in love with and marries Monica.

But the bottom line is, the wisecracks, one-liners, and pratfalls belie a truly genius comedy.

Oh yes it does; don’t make me go all Bob Dole on you again!

Kimerer is a columnist who loves Bob Dole … and “Friends” though not necessarily in that order. Be a friend and send comments to pkimerer@

zoominternet.net.