Reply #4: You're all right on

[MountainLaurel]

I remember reading of the disappointment across the world when Bush was reelected. The international community was willing to give the U.S. a pass for 2000-2004 because of the election shenanigans in Florida, even though that did give the country all the appearance of a banana republic. However, when the U.S. seemingly reelected him with no such problems (Diebold and Ohio not having made much news overseas), the U.S. is now seen as a lost cause that chose its own status as pariah.