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October 13, 2008
The financial crisis is an indication that the US is in decline as a superpower. It is ensnared in Iraq and Afghanistan, is unable to resolve the financial crisis and is in debt. That means a very different geopolitical landscape is forming as the tectonic plates of geopolitics shift.
If we recall the Bush administration's dreams of only five years ago, then, they were convinced that they would create a Pax Americana globally and a Pax Republicana domestically that would last generations. Pax Americana has come unstuck due to unsustainable economic and military policies; an overextending itself and doing so by running up a lot of debt.
Now the US's economic position looks precarious, it does not look as if the US is willing to get at some of the root causes of its problems even though we now have a multipolar world.
Eight years of Republican administration has meant that America is poorer, weaker, and more isolated and vulnerable than it has been in several generations. The Republican base, which has been in a rage for some time, is looking around for someone or something to blame. So the Republican strategists persuade them through smears to hate black people. Will the strategy work as the economy heads into recession?
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The attitude of the new Congress to the military-industrial complex will be as interesting, and perhaps more significant that the election of the President. I am pessimistic, but the possibility is that they may be mugged by reality.