Is it true when traveling abroad, never admit to being American, instead say you're from Canada?

no. ? im proud to be from America.. :)

If you want to be Canadian, move to Canada.

I've traveled around the world and never encountered a problem. They know you are an American anyway.

As for the French, they say they don't like American's but I've always been well received in France. I've had some great experiences there!!

No, that's nonsense. In almost all places you can say that you're American. Maybe keep it to yourself if you're too close to Iran though :-)

Most people abroad will distinguish between the US government and individual citizens. While the US government is definitely not terribly well liked (Obama or not), this will usually not cause much problems. Though it is true that there are Western European countries where you may be confronted with their opinion about the US government. I guess that's part of coming from a democracy.

France is one of few countries where many of the locals will often give you a hard time if you don't speak their language. Of course, I don't know how a Frenchman or Portuguese or whoever would fare if they came to the US and only talked in their native language.

It depends on the situation, you can't deny being an American in front of a customs officer. :))

Seriously, terrorists worldwide are targeting at Americans more than any nationalities, and the military aggression the US has shown around the world is causing some hostility from foreigners, among some other reasons. I think it's not a bad idea pretending unAmerican in certain unfriendly places.

Americans need to be courteous and friendly wherever they are...and not pretend to be Canadians or anything else. I have heard that Americans are poorly treated in France and some other countries...but other Americans say they love being in France. Individuals have different experiences and often this may be because of their own behavior.