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Edited on Tue Jan-26-10 11:54 PM by Ozymanithrax
Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire shows us that as the Roman empire unraveled it was plagued by a series of mediocre emperors. These men chosen by history to lead the empire to its end faced the challenges of the decline and failed miserably to do anything substantive. I wonder, if the U.S. is in an age of Mediocre Emperors. Relatively few Americans today (and all of those are on the right) would argue against the mediocrity of President Bush. President Obama has, so far, been something of a disappointment to many on the left and to a strident majority of independents. Though he could very well be credited, up to now, with keeping the Great Recession from becoming a Great Depression Part II, his most recent action to freeze some spending is troubling and in direct opposition to economic theory.
So I ask why?
Is this simply a campaign tactic that means nothing but is aimed at pulling the rug from beneath faux balance budget Republicans?
Is he reacting to foreign pressure to do something about our debt before the dollar collapses and everybody hangs separately?
Is this just a case of a mediocre emperor, a man with historic talents and abilities who is simply failing in the face of historical tides ripping the end of the empire?
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