Mr. Montaner,

I think the correct answer is we no longer have any moral authority to dictate economics, human rights, or the glow of democracy to the rest of the world.

We've spat on our founding principals for the past 30 years and some are still trying to claw ourselves further into a hole by insisting on continuing the same broken philosophy that the markets can be left to their own devices without consequence. We don't make much here anymore so other nations that realize this will begin to starve the beast stateside which is rampant consumption. As we puff out our chest and espouse rhetoric of "victory" bankers will find a more stable market to place their investments. We're much more dependent on the rest of the world than we care to admit.

patriot16, I still believe that but I could be proven dead wrong if McCain and Palin get elected (now there's a horror that should dwarf even the financial crisis). I think the half of the country that fell for Bush lies are beginning to get it- the rest of us are trying to self correct.

He won in 2004 by only 3,000,000- not the landslide he claimed. He didn't really win in 2000, that election he stole. This election is a battle of our fears over our common sense and need to change. Mccain wants us to be cowed and fearful.

There is a great article in Rolling Stone on McCain: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

The story of his roll in the fire on the USS Forrestral should make us want to put him in prison.

We'd best learn how to share the podium with the likes of China, Brazil, the EU, and Iran, among others who will be the chief participants in a dialogue which no longer allows the presence of a hyperpower. The age of balance of power politics may have returned--that is if nations can regulate the marketplace again to the extent they used to do.

Representative democracy, the rule of law, civil liberties... These concepts have spread across the globe in a way unfathomable at the time of the founding of the USA. No one speaks of the divine right of kings anymore. People no longer believe that anyone has the right to rule over them without their consent. It is a sign of the success of the fundamental concepts upon which the US was founded that it can now be criticized by the free citizens of so many other democratic nations.

There will always be corruption. It is when you don't see it exposed and prosecuted that you have to worry.

Considering that turncoat Cubans (gusanos, I mean) are thoroughly despised in Latin America, to the point that nobody wants them, to say that this guy is widely read (I never heard of this Cubiche de mala muerte), is a gross overstatement (like saying Bush is half-wit). In any event, USA lost its moral bearings 8 years ago, when this hypocrite dub took power in a rigged election and was appointed by the Scalia court. Fortunately, replacement day is around the corner.

I'm afraid the US lost moral authority with the rest of the world with that phony election back 2000, when George' Sr.'s friends, oops, I meant the Supreme Court decided that actually counting votes would be too much trouble, and decided to give the election to George Jr.

Sooooo, here we are, eight years later, sitting in the middle of what might be called, "a hot mess". What did we expect?

I also take issue with the notion that the United States can do no wrong. We are not a deity, we are a country full of imperfect people, lead by imperfect people, all striving for an ideal of living life in a judicious and civil way. What has happened to freedom of thought? Why is it unAmerican, to disagree with a war, that we now know was begun under false pretenses?

When the US stops thinking of itself as a "shining light" and start realizing that we are just a country in a community of other nations, then the better off we will all be.

To all you die hard Christian Republicans out there, Matthew 7:5

"You hypocrite, first remove the log from your own eye, so that you may see how to remove the speck from your borther's eye."

Hello? Guantanamo anyone? We lock up suspected terrorists with no charges for indefinite amounts of time. We can't point at China for their human rights violation or else what is Guantanamo? A spa vacation?

Equal pay for women for equal work and equal opportunities? We tried to run out the Taliban so that Afghan women and girls could freely go to school to learn, yet here in the US, we send those our girls and boys to school but we keep information about their own bodies and fertility secret from them until they are married?? A woman who is abused by her husband for years and can prove it, is prevented from holding a job is unable to sue him for violating her civil rights - Here, in America. Apparetnly, however she CAN sue McDonald's for giving her coffee that's too hot.

We don't think it would be financially viable for women to be paid the same as men for the same work. Women need more training. Oh, I thought my university degree was the same as a man's university degree, apparently not in the United States.

How about healthcare for everyone? As citizens, don't we deserve to get some kind of medical attention.... paid for by the same Gov't that brought you corn fructose in EVERYTHING, and rocket fuel freely dumped in the nation's water system?

The US? Moral Authority? You've GOT to be kidding. Any country who's birth included slavery and near complete genocide of the original inhabitants of the land can never claim to be any kind of moral authority.

to Robert James -
At the ripe age of 57 you should have a better sense of history - and what the US did for you Aussies! Being born in 1951 you escaped all the excitement of WWII - and unfortunately have no appreciation for what the US did for you.
Please do not lecture me my friend. Were it not for the US you would be speaking Japanese and licking the boots of His Imperial Majesty.
The US has done more for Freedom, Health and Good Order than any other nation in History!
Carlos Montaner is an irresponsible egg-head picking the low fruit by playing on the feeble princples of the extreme lefties!
Hardly worthy of a leading newspaper - but then WashPo gave that title up long ago!

Yeah, whatever. NEXT!

Deluded Rovains in the US think they have the same moral authority to point their twisted, evangelical fingers at other countries like Mexico over human rights while Cheney runs a torture camp at Guantanamo. Do as we say, not as we do.

I don't see any evidence that individuals at investment firms committed crimes, as Mr. Montaner suggests. The deregulation put into place by Phil Gramm and John McCain meant almost anything was allowed in the financial markets. You can't commit a crime if your actions aren't legally defined as such.

The financial crisis and the Iraq invasion are connected at the hip.
The massive inflow of capital - much of it from overseas - to fuel the housing bubble, which created consumption at levels never seen before, was (a) a perfect distraction for the masses (b) the only way to finance the wars.
In two words: "Panem et circences".

Look at these 3 sentences from Pres. Bush's speech on Sept 24:
....massive amount of money flowed into the United States from investors abroad....securities were sold to investors around the world....many believed they were guaranteed by the federal government.

One could almost conclude that, though most nations did not endorse the war, they ended up paying for some of it all the same. Of course, that does not absolve the greedy bankers worldwide that bought the junk securities. They should have known better.

AFTER EIGHT YEARS OF THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE U.S.A., THE WORLD CAN SEE THROUGH THE LINES OF HOW LOW THE U.S.A. HAS GONE FROM BUSH'S IRAQ WAR WHEN HIS DAD HAD IRAQ SEWED UP, TO THE SUBPRIME PROBLEM CAUSED BY GREED THROUGH BUSH & McCAIN DERUGULATION OF BUSSINESS BY GOVERMENT RESULTING TO ILLEGAL PACKAGE OF SUBPRIMES THAT THE BANKS KNEW WHOULD FAIL. NOW IN THIS ELECTION, McCAIN, age 72 AND HIS PICK OF A RUNNING MATE, SIX-PACK SARAH DUH WILL NOT SPEAK OFF THE REAL ISSUES OF U.S.A. BUT SPEAK TO THE VOTERS LIKE WE WHERE EARLY TEENAGERS. MY FELLOW VOTERS, IN TOMMROWS DEBATE, HAVE A OPEN MIND AND QUESTION OF WHAT IS SAID AND WHY. THIS GREAT COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN THE TUBE BIG TIME BUT WE MUST VOTE IN NOVEMBER WITH OUT FAIL. IF YOU DO NOT VOTE, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM. HELLO ROME!

"there's one thing this election points up about America- as a country, as a people, we still believe in our Constitution -we still believe it is what defines us and defines the best in us. ""

Oh would that this were true, but alas it is not.

We stood by as this administration began to systematically dismantle the Constitution in the name of our "safety". We spat on the graves of hundreds of thousands of Americans who died defending the Constituion with idiotic comments like "you can't have civil rights if you're dead". We scorned those who condemned the erosion of civil rights in this country as "unpatriotic". We watched silently as the Patriot Act, foisted upon us at a time of great national fear, was renewed at a time when cooler heads should have prevailed.

Today we are cheering wildly for politicians who think subpoenas are for suckers. We are rallying around candidates who think judicial oversight of government spying is optional. Millions of Americans are seeking to create a Christian theocracy that would bring our science and technology future under its dominion. Clearly, Rule of Law is only for suckers.

If we give up the Constitution, if we give up Rule of Law, if we give up human rights, what will we have left besides hubris?

The downward trend started the moment the US ceased to " dictate " the price of energy ( read oil ). The conversion of a creditor nation to a debter nation sealed the fate.
Why should nations listen to our " preaching " ? All this freedom agenda is just lipstick on the pig, glad you all realised it now.

U.S. power and influence had already begun to wane under the Bush administration as people the world over turned away in revulsion from the arrogant, bullying, we-know-best philosophy of the Bush administration and the corruption and deceit surrounding the unilateral invasion of Iraq in violation of international law. The U.S.-supremacist philosophy of "U.S. exceptionalism" only has only magnified antipathy toward the United States. Now, the corruption and incompetence of the Bush administration when it comes to financial markets and the economy is only further reinforcing what the world already knows: the emperor has no clothes. Yes, the decline of U.S. power and influence is definitely accelerating and it is hard to see how the country will turn things around. The rest of the world now looks elsewhere for leadership. Perhaps, in light of the lawlessness, arrogance, torture and other crimes of the Bush administration, together with the horrific role it has played as the main contributor to global warming, that is a good thing. Only when Americans wake up to the fact that they have to pay attention to what the rest of the world thinks, can America be a force for good in the world again.

The United States is like any other company in that it experiences fluctuating levels of product line effectiveness. Its machinery and its tolerances must be recalibrated in light of market demands. Where is all of this sentimentality coming from?

Really, when did a capitalist society become wholly reliant on anything but the effect of its advertising and business grit? The US will take a break and will then have to get clever all over again--just like any other company.

US may be down but definitely NOT out. It is such a big country with vast resources and it cannot be easily erased from the world scene. This is just a passing phase. If the policies of Bush is continued say for another 100 years probably it can be written off.
As regards moral authority it cannot lose as it had none. Only US and its camp followers ever imagined that it had.

"Before America existed, the world was divided by European countries. Before America entered WW2, the world is ruled by Germans, Italians and the Japanese. During their reign of terror, they can shoot you at will if they sense that you are a part of the "resistance"."

Someone please get this man a history book. Let me just apologize for my fellow countryman's complete mental breakdown.

LAST MONTH, 159,000 AMERICANS JOBS WERE LOST. IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT THE TOP PRIORITY FOR A MAJORITY OF VOTERS IS THE ECONOMY.

BUT THE MCCAIN CAMPAIGN DOESN'T SHARE THOSE CONCERNS, ADMITTING YESTERDAY THAT "THERE'S NO QUESTION WE WANT TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT HERE," AND THAT THEY'RE "LOOKING FORWARD TO TURNING THE PAGE ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS."

MCCAIN HAS LAID HIS CARDS ON THE TABLE. AND TO EVERYONE TIRED OF THE POLITICS OF PAST, THIS LATEST ANNOUNCEMENT IS AS DISHEARTENING AS IT IS DISTURBING.

It wasn’t clear what Senior Montaner meant when he asked if America had the ‘moral authority’ to interfere in other countries. Even the UN Charter doesn’t define ‘moral authority’ although it is more than happy to claim such when condemning genocides around the world. It also assumes a sovereign ‘moral authority’ even when a nation is busily exterminating an ethnic, religious, or political entity within that sovereignty. Individuals in this blog have been saying a lot in the context of American ‘moral authority’ but it isn’t clear what they meant. Note the following definitions of ‘moral’ and ‘authority’. Do they match what Senior Montaner is describing?

Moral (Adjective):
1. Relating to principles of right and wrong; i.e. to morals or ethics; "moral philosophy".
2. Concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles; "moral sense"; "a moral scrutiny"; "a moral lesson"; "a moral quandary"; "moral convictions"; "a moral life".
3. Adhering to ethical and moral principles; "it seems ethical and right"; "followed the only honorable course of action"; "had the moral courage to stand alone".
4. Arising from the sense of right and wrong; "a moral obligation".
5. Psychological rather than physical or tangible in effect; "a moral victory"; "moral support".
6. Based on strong likelihood or firm conviction rather than actual evidence; "a moral certainty”.

Max Weber, a European, defines 'authority':
in sociology, authority is a particular type of power. The dominant usage comes from functionalism and follows Weber in defining authority as power which is recognised as legitimate and justified by both the powerful and the powerless. Weber further sub-divided authority into three types:
Traditional authority which simply derives from long-established habits and social structures. The right of hereditary monarchs to rule furnishes an obvious example.
Charismatic authority. From time to time, people make extraordinary claims of heading a revolution of some kind (which is always against a well-established system of traditional or legal-rational authority). When these claims are taken seriously, this is an instance of charismatic authority: religious or political authority that does not flow from tradition or law, but instead thrives on the short-lived excitement of social change. The careers of Lenin, Martin Luther, Hitler, and Lech Walesa provide examples. Charismatic authority is always short-lived (even when successful) and it inevitably gives way to either traditional or to legal-rational authority.
Legal-rational authority depends for its legitimacy on formal rules, which are usually written down, and often very complex. Modern societies are based on legal-rational authority.

Before America existed, the world was divided by European countries. Before America entered WW2, the world is ruled by Germans, Italians and the Japanese. During their reign of terror, they can shoot you at will if they sense that you are a part of the "resistance".

Maybe America should lie low again so the rest of the world would start acting like idiotic kings of the world and the subjugated as the idiotic slaves of the world.

Let Putin reacquire its neighboring states, let vietname reoccupy Cambodia. Let North Korea invade the south. Let Japan occupy China again. Let France and Germany, and Britain duel who should rule western Europe and Africa. Let the idiots live out their idiocy.

FOOLS.

The USA is a clever nation that has made a wonderful contribution to the world in many ways. However, it also contains it fair share of fools, egomaniacs and dangerous people.

It often proclaims itself as 'The Greatest ...'. In other words, the rest of the world is inferior to America.

I am 57 years old and I see America as dangerous because it is an imperialistic bully which spends too much time naval gazing.

America has made terrible mistakes whenever it invades other countries or interferes in their affairs. Now how many Americans cannot recall all of the invasions and the covert operations and the accompanying deceit and double standards.

If your mind is blank then how do you expect to review your actions and to learn from your mistakes?

Why was it proper for America to destabilise Chile so that its newly elected President Allende was assassinated in a military coup which led to years of misery and citizens being thrown alive from helicopters? Children were kidnapped and given to military couples that did not have children.

In Vietnam you relied on slogans and your hatred of communism to justify your invasion of that country.

When the Shah was overthrown in Iran you encouraged Saddam Hussein to wage war against Iran and you propped him up.

Your invasion of Iraq was based on several lies. Now there is instabilty in the Middle East and Iraq is in turmoil. I did not like Saddam. I thought that he was cruel and dangerous. I also think that Bush and America are cruel and dangerous.

Why is it that when America invades another nation it assumes that its actions are justified by its proclamations that America has the high moral ground and that its enemies are evil?

You rely on slogans as a substitute for thoughtful analysis. That is why you put that empty headed George Bush into office. You didn't do it once. You did it twice. How many of you realise that all of you are responsible for putting him into office and the terrible war that you are waging in Iraq?

How many of you are prepared to support Palin who is even more empty headed? You indulge and delude yourselves when you do not denounce her as a dangerous fool.

You clung to slogans that opposed government intervention and regulation in the financial markets. Now you will pay a high price as will the rest of the world. What do you do? You engage in blame and you reach deeper into your slogan mentality.

You lecture other nations. You surround the Russian bear with NATO and then you wonder why Russia is upset. What would you do if Russia moved into South America? You would react.

When the Georgian President bombs his own cities you do nothing. When Russia steps inside Georgia you condemn Russia. Now Russia acts like a bully and a thug. It is sending its neighbours and Europe and the US a message: if you threaten Russian security then we will react.

Of course, when Russia reacts in a different way to the the way the US reacts then you deplore its actions. However, the fundamentals of Russian bad behaviour and Americn bad behaviour are the same: these strong bulllies push others around and might is right and bullies do not listen to condemnation. No they insist that their honour is more important than the right of smaller nations to live in peace.

Bush has the temerity to lecture China on human rights while imprisoning people without charge in Guantanamo Bay. He sneds prisoners overseas to be tortured. No of you care. You support the imprisonment just in case the prisoners are dangeropus. You believe in show trials. You do not care about those individuals who were innocent but held for years by you aand treated with your disdain. It was terrible when McCain was held in the Hanoi Hilton and tortured but when do it you do not care one iota. No you care about rising fuel prices.

America is not the Greatest NAtion. Its democratci structure is badly designed. It makes accountabilty and challenge to an incumbent president almost impossible whereas the Parliamentary systems are able to efficiently remove of an ineffective or dangerous leader.

America is no better than other nations and at times it abuses its power and behaves abominably.

Now you are going for broke. The nation lives on a credit card and spends and spends. My government in Australia has no debt. It has money in the bank.

At times the governments behave appallingly. Our last Prime Minister backed Bush to the hilt. Out new PM has told Bush we are out of Iraq but we will stay in Afghanistan. We help people. As a general rule we do not invade other nations unless our conservative parties are in power and their philosophy is to follow the USA into Vietnam and Iraq.

The USA will do no better than it has done in the past unless and unitl it has a little bit of introspection and gets rid of its slogan mentality becuase it stops thoughtful ploicies being formed and implemented.

Best of Luck.

Carlos:

Thank God you stopped listening to the propaganda long enough to keep yourself from drinking the kool aid. What took you so long?

There is no question that we have lost our standing and influence in the world. We lost it through arrogance, greed and corruption. The arrogance of the supposed free unregulated market, started by R. Reagan was the first step.

American exceptional-ism a phrase of the Neo Con/ Neo Fascists in this country; for me,this is only a step away from calling America the Fatherland.

We are blessed in much that we have and how we have used it, both for our own nation and others; as in WWI and II and through foreign aid and too many other ways to list.

But we are only showing our arrogance when we call "ourselves" exceptional.

This is a changing time in a changing world. The Bush/Cheney Neo Cons and now and even to a greater extent McCain are old men living the past
as though there can not be a greater future.

McCain talks endlessly about winning. In the 21st century wars will not be won. Negotiation and compromise among nations beyond the two that may be head to head is necessary. The current head of British troops in Afghanistan said yesterday that the war "cannot be won". He speaks of "working something out with the Taliban".

Neo Con's and too many others do not want to work anything out. Settling any problem with something other than partisanship and or force is waving the white flag and not patriotic. Many evil forces in the past have been super patriotic.

McCain is still fighting the Vietnam war for himself, but, in Iraq. His erractic behavior and poor judgement does not portend well for the U.S.

Winning is not the issue, resolving the problems is.

Or, McCain could win and then we'll have all of us bomb ourselves into oblivion while he sits in the nursing home for advanced Alzheimer patients and Sarah "I can dress a Moose" Palin hangs on Cheney's every word. Shades of George Bush...again. Yeah-

Just the opposite is true...
When the world sees how problems in the ole US of A affect the entire world, they will more pay attention to what happens here. And our influence will grow, not out of awe or respect, but because of the immense problems our problems could cause them. We are like the parents of the world, and when Obama becomes president, we will be like one huge dysfunctional family, on its way to the ruin of Western Civilization with Obama letting others lead the way.

Every country rises and falls, and rises again (or not). Some have cycles that last hundreds of years, others just a few. Sad to say, the changes in American fortune and influence should have been a longer cycle and 9-11 was a turning point when a congruence of factors made a sharp downturn begin. Bin Laden had long planned 9/11 and could not have known who would be president when it was executed. Bush was the perfect foil- a man with all the character of a sock puppet, backed by the Masters of Manipulate the Universe, and supported by a cast of our own home-grown religious fundamentalists. We were at a cross-roads we never saw because the Republicans were so blinded by arrogance and the greed of party power.

Not to let Democrats off the hook either- they played their part because they played right into the hands of the Rove-Cheney machine.

We don't just have religious fundamentalists in this country- we have something worse- partisan fundamentalists, political fundamentalists who have done far more damage to the Constitution and Bill of rights than any Falwell, Robertson, Hagee, or Parsley could. And who thought that waving the flag would satisfy the American people more than the truth.

And for 7 years we fell for it. We fell for the flag-waving, the support your troops (which really meant, support us while we send our troops to die in an unnecessary war in Iraq), we must be strong against the terrorists (but let's let Halliburton make some money for Cheney too), let's be a real "christian" nation by showing women they don't have the right to their bodies and gay people are not equal to us "real, moral, Americans" (but they still have to pay taxes like the rest of us) garbage.

That's the personal responsibility of the American people- that we didn't hold them up to a high standard- hell, we didn't hold them up to any standard. We let our so-called leaders jerk us around in circles and we let them. Shame on us -we fell for that crap hook. line and sinker.

All that ranting aside, there's one thing this election points up about America- as a country, as a people, we still believe in our Constitution -we still believe it is what defines us and defines the best in us. While we may not always see when we're being led astray, at some point, we know we're on the wrong path and we work to get back on the right one. 80% of this country think we're on the wrong track. 80% of us are not about to fail the vision of the founding fathers because with every generation, that vision is reinvested and passed on to the next.

We're not afraid of sacrifice or hard work- it is my hope that our allies and our enemies both understand this. That our allies will be patient, and our enemies- well, they'll do whatever they will. America's greatness has nothing to do with military power or money- its in the ideas that founded this country. We can lose everything else- if we lose that, we're gone. Millions of us seemingly voiceless, powerless Americans still believe in what we should be and what we could be as a people, not as a "power".

jeangerard wrote: "We are one of many, not better, not worse, just human like everybody else. " Indeed we are- and what a beautiful thing to say too.

Anyone who has travelled beyond the provincial borders of the United States, studied history, or read anything about world affairs knows that the superiority of this country is a self-imposed myth. It is a good thing that our present losses militarily and financially will serve to bring this inflated illusion down to reality. We are one of many, not better, not worse, just human like everybody else.

My view is that this financial crisis, combined with the changes we have had to undergo as a result of 9/11, is driving us toward a long term trend that means a "Europeanization of America." Worth taking a look at:

http://writingfrontier.com/2008/07/27/the-europeanization-of-america/

The recent economic events in the United States reveal what happens when Capitalism is unrestrained by 'conscious government'.

America has used 'Democracy' in the way that missionaries use religion. Both (democracy and religion) produce identical results. You wind up with your ancestral lands confiscated and a McDonald's put in their place.

America is a 'world power' because of its 'might'; not because of its heart.
America's 'missionaries' are U.S. corporations which introduce others to the ruthlessness of unbridled capitalism under the guise of 'democracy'.
If your country resists the presence of U.S. corporations then you wind up getting 'invaded' by the U.S. military.

The recent 'bailout' (no way) of Wall Street was the U.S. capitulating to its own ruthless economic system.
"In God We Trust" is our 'corporate logo' that is without meaning; its an 'untried idea'.

.

TimScanlon wrote: "The fatal premise of this piece is that there was intent to defraud at these banks. That simply is not the case."

On what do you base this categorical statement? Hope? Faith? Charity? I'd advise everyone to suspend their verdict for quite some time to come.

From several sources (one in my family) that are close to the situation, the FBI investigation of the banking crisis, if honestly pursued (that is, not under the Bushified DOJ) will dig up an enormous amount of flatly criminal behavior, dwarfing Enron, the Keating Five, and all the other sleazy thievery of the past few years that we actually know about.

I guess castro is your moral authority...

Why don't you look at what is happening in Russia, Cuba, or Venezuela? Can you blame their mess on the US? They were a mess before the U.S. began to exist, "gracias" to the Tsars, the nationalistic madness of the Russian people, the corrupt government of the "New Spain" and the military dictatorship following their Independence? Europe enjoyed the first 50 years of peace only after the U.S. became a global power. The actual mess? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the failed engineered securities of the investment bank. Greedy? Have you ever been in the USSR before the collapse? The waiters threw the dishes in your face cause they were sure to be paid, no matter what they did: Besides, I'm an European. I know, I know: "Blame America first".

"I suppose the world would be better off if the US hadn't have gotten rid of Saddam, or gone after Bin Laden, or let crazy Kim Jung Il export weapons unfettered."

Since you have decided to go down the "what if" road of hindsight, the world may very well have been better off continuing its policy of containment of Iraq. God knows what would have befallen Saddam in the five long, deadly and expensive years since the start of that stupid war. Neo-cons always argue that somehow he would have become more dangerous and powerful. For all we know, he might be dead anyway. And four thousand American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis might still be alive.
The continuation of a Sunni regime in Iraq would be keeping Iran occupied and on the defensive.
The U.S. would have close to a trillion extra bucks in the bank, making for a stronger dollar and economy.
Afghanistan might be a Bin Laden free zone right now with a prosperous pro-American democracy that would be the template for American values throughout the middle east.
With that stability right next door, Pakistan might also be in a more stable state.
As for Kim Jong Il, that's the one bright spot in the whole mess. Thank God Bush decided to engage the North Koreans instead of using his idiotic doctrine and pre-emptivly attacking them.
Truth is - It's folly for conservatives to play the "what if" game because they lose every time.

The spin is Obama is going to change all this and restablish America as the undisputed moral authority of the world for all time.That apart,who is going to replace America,if it really is in the dog house?The issue is far more interesting than the current state of the U.S.

The fatal premise of this piece is that there was intent to defraud at these banks. That simply is not the case.

Other than that this is yet another in a long line of US bashing, and really doesn't help do much good at all.

I suppose the world would be better off if the US hadn't have gotten rid of Saddam, or gone after Bin Laden, or let crazy Kim Jung Il export weapons unfettered. Who knows, Saddam might have even done everyone a favor with his normal mad dog behavior and restarted his war with Iran, imagine the price of oil when that explosive situation in the mideast kicked off...

It's easy to shape a rose colored fantasy with selective hindsight as a guide, but maybe not exactly accurate, much less fair.

It is high time for US to learn a lesson. They became arrogant with power and didn't care for the world or anything else. The country became more conservative i.e. more backward than forward looking. So they let the markets play its game. When the president takes pride to be dumb and anti-intellectual, who in the government machinary would spend time to understand complex market schemes and regulate them? Just 7 years ago Neocons were boasting that US has unprecedented power after Roman empire. So they took such mighty empire and bankrupted it in 8 years. It is time to pay for that karma.

Zoll1

Unlike, the European nations including Russia, America have only 60 + years of international presence. ( Its intervention during WWI wasn't, like it or not,militarly relevant, it was just politicaly relevant)
During that time, it managed to send two nuclear bombs over foreign cities, , invaded two little third world nations (Vietnam and Iraq), and fought there two wars without success, killing mostly civilian peoples, distabilised coutless nations in the world from Nicaragua to Greece,provoking the death of mostly civilian peoples, created two major financial crashes.

Now, the Us are selling weapons to Taiwan , provoking China wrath.
They are threating Russia of "tough consequences" if the Bear dont leaves Ossetia before October the 20th and they are pushing for a international situation that led to nothing but a confrontation with Iran....
They claim "victory" on Cold War when they did nothing but financed future terrorists (BIN Laden) in order to bother the USSR in Afganistan and trying to make the Vietnam mess forgoten...

Now you dare to lecture the European for they faults of the past when you even dont need an ideology for messing up with the rest of the Humanity?

Good one !

Three years later McCain also tried to rein in FMFM and their Democrat pals. From the Congressional Record.

"FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005
The United States Senate
May 25, 2006
Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]: Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.
The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.
For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs-and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.
I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.
I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation."
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"Alas, thanks to the Democrat Party and the special interests of the left, both of these attempts to reform the banking system were still born."
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All the above was found at ireport.com
check it out!

From the NY Times of Sept. 11, 2003.
"New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
By STEPHEN LABATON
The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.
Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.
The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.
The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt -- is broken. A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates.
Significant details must still be worked out before Congress can approve a bill. Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing.
''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
''I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,'' Mr. Watt said."
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Read the whole article above at nytimes.com

The financial crisis was certainly due to greed as well as to political incompetence on the parts of the Democrats. They hated to see their little socialist experiment messed around with.

Baloney.

America is one of the few places in the entire planet where people vote in favor of via the most emphatic of all voting methods – they vote with their feet. Millions of people gamble everything they have – even their lives - to come here for the chance at a better life. It’s kind of amusing to me that a Cuban dares criticize us when Cubans die every year in a valiant effort to reach our shores from “morally superior” Cuba. Moral standing is relative, not absolute. We have faults. We do bad things. America and Americans are truly Human in that we are imperfect. But those faults pale in comparison to almost every other country and society on the planet. Especially Senor Alberto’s homeland Cuba.

Basically his argument is “you have some guys who made bad business decisions in some companies in one of your industries, therefore you are a bad nation.” Kind of silly, don’t you think?

To excuse our behavior, as some who have posted suggest, based on actions of other countries is a copout. America lost the moral high ground with our invasion of Iraq in 2003. And we dare fault Russia for going into Georgia.

Abu Gureb was a terrible blemish on America. Our reaction and actions following this event demonstrated just how far we have sunk into the gutter of moral decay. My religious right friends were not even bothered by such events by saying such things as, "They got what they deserved," "Torture them," and "Kill them all." Sometimes I really wonder where we are headed, but it doesn't sound good.

TO WANTTHEIRSEATS:
You might keep in mind the interesting fact that nearly every major mass murder, ethnic cleansing or genocide around the world has taken place in the ABSENCE of the American military. Examples: Russian execution of 18 million 'dissidents', Chinese murder of two million Tibetans, Cambodian killing of three million 'incorrect' people, Uganda: 1.2 million, Darfur: 2 million, Bosnia: half a million, North Korea: 1.6 million, Indonesia: 1.1 million non-Muslims, Hussain's Iraq: 2.6 million, etc.
Suggesting that "This is Mr. so-and so's war" might be too simplistic (but it gets a lot of people off the moral hook of war). What actually has happened over the last century has prevented a good number of totalitarian entities from doing what they do best: massacre their neighbors or members of the previous ruling tribe. The worst civilian casualties in American wars was during the Civil War and has decreased considerably with each subsequent 'war' against criminal cults. US forces in Afghanistan have killed perhaps one civilian for every hundred killed by the Talban cult AFTER they came there for Al Qaeda, not even factoring in those killed before that when the Talban considered it their RIGHT to kill. Is there something wrong with preventing crimes against humanity that we wouldn't allow at all in our own society?

Tying imagined Obama policies to WW1 and WW2 as Zoll1 tried to do is indicative of how far the political discourse has fallen in this country. Not surprised we didn't hear anything about the Bush administration's culpability in that little diatribe.

Critical evaluation of our participation and leadership in the current financial mess understandably produces the knocks we are about to take. However, it is most advisable for each commenting country to clean their own house first before posturing on the decline of America's world influence. There is a plethora of greed accusations to go around. After all it was a global opportunity to steal and there was no hue and cry to stop the wealth transfer as long as it was to their benefit. We may be responsible, but we are big enough to step up and fix it. One might even define that as leadership.

One thing that doesn't change is that America will continue to wage wars to keep it's war machine going. Every president has to prove to the American people that he is a "strong president" by killing countless innocent foreigners.

The Europeans of the 20th Century gave us four of the vilest political philosophies of all time: fascism, communism, nazism and militarism. These led to millions of lives lost. The European victors of WWI demanded unreasonable reparations from Germany. This stupid and short-sighted policy as well as European careless, irresponsible and Obama-like behavior (appeasement) allowed Hitler and his German nazis to re-arm, conquer free countries, murder minorities and the mentally disabled and finally (after much Obama-like and self-delusional diplomatic efforts) Europe again was plunged into another world war. The US learned its lesson with WWII and stayed in Europe (now going on 60 years) and the clueless Europeans have not plunged us into another world war and another million deaths since then.
Montaner and his European cronies should not be lecturing others about moral authority after their dismal failure to respond bravely and morally against the Evil Empire, all the while turning their backs against the Eastern European people who were held in bondage by USSR's military force.
Western Europeans were willing to enjoy "peaceful coexistence" just as long as that "peaceful coexistence" was bought on the back of others. Very much like Montaner's casual acceptance and tolerance for Communist China's brutal dictatorship and its support and tolerance for other brutal regimes like Sudan and its genocidal policies in Darfur.

On one hand, I fully agree with Mr. Montaner - American influence has vastly declined against its peak, and the effects of the Iraq War and the credit crisis have hardly been edifying.

But I think it's a mistake to say that the regression of American hard- and soft-power is only due to the events of the last five years, or the last twenty. There was never any real capability of maintaining peak power in an ever more globalized world. As a share of world production, America's industry has been falling since the early 1950's, if not earlier.

But that is a fair point to Mr. Montaner's leader. America's power hasn't declined simply because of bad economy and worse policy. It's fallen as the global economy has become more competative, ever-wider, and engaged more participants than at any other point in history.

America doesn't need to 'preach the virtues of globalization', because globalization, as imperfect as it can often be, has empowered nations like China and India to speak perfectly well for themselves.

Rather odd that American values as a model began to decline AFTER America became intrinsically involved in the 5000 year history of greed, decadence, enslavement and genocide practiced continually by the world's societies. Left pretty much isolated from other societies up until about 1904, America produced a society with strong enough moral values that it didn't care a whole lot about other countries' lack of them. What happened in 1904?

Kick the Republicans out!!!!