Hi John,

>Clinton is right. I think the gradual democratization of the world over the past two centuries points up to that.
>
>OK, but in fairness, the US wasn't a pre-eminent leader for that whole time and I'm not sure the rest of the democratic world would agree that people were following the US example- any more than they followed the US example on slavery, for example, or segregation, or female emancipation. US ascendancy really dates back to the World Wars during which the previous European powers and Great Britain trashed each other and were overtaken by a physically removed USA that suffered little if any home damage (I think there were 6 deaths on the US mainland attributed to either war, all six being killed after they messed with a balloon bomb that had drifted across from Japan and failed to explode.)

I agree in some respects. The country had it's warts like slavery which persisted here for several decades after it had been abolished by most European countries. Female emancipation? Ehhhh....not a solo US sin if you look at several European countries where the right to vote was denied to women for much longer than in the US.

Still, though, the American Revolution along with the French Revolution and British parliamentary reform in the late 1800's set the ball rolling. True, we weren't a global power until the First World War but we were a power in ideals and hence the mass immigration from Europe.

>OTOH, geopolitics is not a beauty pageant and I frankly don't think we should give too much weight to how the rest of the world "thinks" about us as long as we stick to our principles.
>
>To respond in kind: geopolitics may not be a beauty pageant but nor is it a Jackboot-stomp. Surely there is a mutually respectful middle ground, especially when US wealth depends strongly on foreign funding and trade, a dependence that is likely to grow stronger.

I agree.

>IMHO the best opportunity for the US is to trade, trade, trade. There was a time when the "USA" brand meant excitement, innovation and decent quality... something to be coveted and valued. If you can get young people wanting American jeans and American widescreen TVs, it's a heck of a lot harder to convince them that the US is actually the great Satan that needs to be wiped from the earth. ;-) Make yourselves the cool dudes again. If you don't, the Europeans and especially the Asians are poised to take over economically just as the US took over after European nationalism and misplaced pride resulted in too many own-goals last century.

I agree here, too, generally. Where I disagree is that I don't think trade or making American brands coveted will remove the "Great Satan" label as that comes from a different mentality. I mean, look, there are crowds in the streets of Middle Eastern cities burning the American flag while sipping Coke and wearing Nikes.