Buddy, I’m not partisan and I have little interest in defending the Democrats. The seeds of our current economic discomfort were sown in the Clinton years and eagerly cultured by the Bush admin. Yes, we have experienced some solid growth and wonderful employment numbers in our recent past. However we are facing dire problems now and big changes are afoot. A sunny morally superior approach is not sufficient to solve these problems. A little humility might be in order for a start. These problems we face (economic coupled with our waging wars of choice with little success) directly influence how we can respond to current and future events. We are in a weak position and have little choice on the way forward vis a vis the Russian advance in Georgia. Or Iran’s quest to refine uranium. Or Iraq’s dispersion of its oil revenues, or Pakistan’s support of the Taliban. We got our backs to the wall and much of it is a direct consequence of the ill thought moves of the recent past.