Awhile back, the world's greatest community organizer disavowed the exceptionalism of the U.S., stating that it was exceptional only in the same way as are a number of other countries. Prominent in his list of similarly exceptional nations was Greece, which he said was exceptional to the Greeks just as America is exceptional to Americans.
One can only speculate about whether he actually was sufficiently precognitive to foresee the financial ruin of the nations that he listed. But his statement was spectacularly correct in predicting both the exceptional transformational collapse of Greece into an economic and financial basket case and his then future but since realized success in bringing the U.S. down to a similar dismal level.
By slowing the world's greatest economic machine to almost a grinding halt, Obama also has succeeded in implementing another change. Under his administration the U.S. has ceased to be an exceptional power. An obviously less capable America no longer is the world's essential nation. Anyone who doubts this should think about the ramifications of the role the U.S. today is playing in Libya, holding the coats of, and cheering on its formerly dependent allies in the Libyan adventure that Obama helped initiate.
For a look at the process by which America abandoned its leadership role in the world and the ramifications of its having done so, take a look at this perceptive essay.
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